COTA’s Turn 1 is changing shape. A private clubhouse will put hospitality above the circuit. A second track is planned to keep grassroots racing on the map.
At the Circuit of the Americas, the new four-storey Turn 1 Clubhouse has become an unmistakable feature of the United States Grand Prix. A cable car links it with the main paddock, giving the building a direct role in the weekend’s premium hospitality.
That role changes on 2 January 2027, when the venue becomes a year-round members’ club called The Circuit. Alongside the private pivot, COTA is advancing plans for a shorter second track to serve drivers and clubs losing access to the Grand Prix layout.
COTA’s Turn 1 Clubhouse sets a new hospitality course
During the 2026 race weekend, the clubhouse extends the F1 Paddock Club experience; after the event, it becomes the centre of a tightly capped membership operation. Senior vice-president of motorsports Parris Mullins says the model combines annual dues for staffing and upkeep with a one-time initiation fee that provides lifetime membership.
Demand is already substantial. Before race weekend, around 600 people had made contact, roughly 140 had held individual discussions, and many had begun placing deposits or signing agreements; more than 50 new submissions arrived in the final 24 hours before the event.
Membership will stop at 300 places: 250 for North American members, with the balance split between international and corporate applicants. Mullins describes it as closer to a country club than a conventional annual pass, reflecting COTA’s bid to turn race-weekend infrastructure into a year-round business.
The investment also answers pressure to improve premium offerings across the F1 calendar. Mullins says hospitality upgrades formed part of COTA’s contract-renewal discussions, while the sport’s expanding audience has raised expectations in markets such as Austin.
Why COTA’s second track matters to local motorsports
The private-club model carries a cost for regional driving groups: conventional track days and club events will no longer use the main Grand Prix race track as before. COTA says the planned second track, on vacant land north of the existing circuit, is intended to give those participants a more affordable place to drive.
The new layout is being developed to FIA Grade 3 standards, rather than the Grade 1 specification required for Formula 1. That opens the door to touring cars, sports cars, entry-level single-seaters and motorcycles, with the option of hosting smaller series as well as recreational sessions.
Mullins says the design has already been defined, though public details remain limited. COTA wants a distinct character from its Grand Prix circuit, with features such as a banked corner and an eye-catching chicane shaped around the sports cars people bring to the venue.
That approach is practical as well as distinctive: a circuit not designed around F1 machinery can better suit local drivers and grassroots competition. COTA still needs to complete the process with the city, and has not set a firm construction or opening date, but says it wants to move quickly.
Austin’s track expansion supports COTA’s year-round future
The new racing facilities form part of a broader push to make COTA more than a venue for a handful of major events. The circuit hosts Formula 1, MotoGP and WEC, with Formula E due from 2027; COTALAND’s amusement rides, concerts and food offerings add activity between sessions and beyond race weekends.
COTA says its renewed F1 deal runs through 2034, giving the venue a longer horizon for those investments. The challenge is to balance premium hospitality with the public-facing identity behind crowds of up to 440,000 across a Grand Prix weekend.
For visitors planning a race weekend, this COTA parking guide covers the practical side of reaching the circuit, while a look at America’s F1 tracks places Austin’s venue in a wider racing history.
The second circuit will not replace the Grand Prix layout’s status, but it could preserve a route into motorsport for local clubs priced out of the main facility. COTA’s track expansion now hinges on turning that promise into a project without leaving the grassroots community waiting too long.
