Austin’s public transit agency says it will cost an extra $122,000 to provide expanded services during the Formula One weekend next month. But CapMetro spokeswoman Erica Macioge says part of those costs will be offset by event sponsorships, sold by Cap Metro.
“The sponsorships total about $46,000,” Macioge said. “So Capital Metro is still on the hook for a good chunk of change, but we did get some sponsorships to help offset those additional costs.”
Meanwhile, the city of Austin says it has no estimate of how much the city will spend to prepare for F1. City spokeswoman Roxanne Evans says the city will tally the costs afterward.
“Usually it’s not until after the event that we have any kind of final estimate,” Evans said. “So at this point it’s pretty speculative.”
The city did provide a few department level budgets. The police department says it expects no additional overtime or other costs related to F1, despite an expected 100-thousand+ visitors crowding the city.
The transportation department says it will paint crosswalks, use additional staff, and deploy special event signage, but it says those costs are part of an annual special events budget and were not broken out as F1 budget items.
The Resource Recovery department says it will spend $38,000 for extra litter pickup in the downtown area.