The new Hulman Terrace Club at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. [Allan Brewer Photo]
by Allan Brewer
The new Hulman Terrace Club at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. [Allan Brewer Photo]
The lights dim. The music starts. The beautiful people are out on the town, the women in red-bottom shoes, the men wearing Armani, and there’s no telling where or when the night wlll end. Sounds like a night in South Beach, or in the Meatpacking district of Manhattan, or maybe The Standard in LA…only it’s not.
It’s the new Hulman Terrace Club that sits atop the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, cantilevered over Grandstand C and located on the outside of the main front straightaway of The Brickyard.
The HTC is served by three high-speed elevators that lift you to an oasis of premium food and beverage unlike any you’ve seen at a race track before. No smoked turkey legs, here, no sir. What you get instead is a silver-sheened, high-tech, modern entertainment and dining spot, complete with a carving station where the beef brisket is hot and juicy; and the patrons are convivially served at a long, long marble-topped bar surrounded by ferns and palms, and bottles and bottles and bottles.
The new Hulman Terrace Club at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. [Allan Brewer Photo]
“We haven’t had a completely new seating option at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in many years, so to debut the Hulman Terrace Club in time for our epic race season including the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is terrific for our fans,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said recently of his new eagles’ aerie overlooking the historic oval. “I encourage everyone to come out and enjoy our facility from a new perspective!”
And what a perspective it is, too. On perhaps the most thoroughly beautiful afternoon of the spring, I walked out onto the long outdoor deck that runs the length of the HTC and could easily look into the exit of Turn 4, through the north chute, all the way up and down the front straightaway and into the far, far recesses of Turn 1 with ease. The elevation, perhaps 600 feet above the ground, creates enough perspective to place cars on the track with accurate relative position to one another and the scoring pylon. It’s a view that is far more satisfying than an end zone seat at an NFL football stadium or a trackside box at Churchill Downs.
The new Hulman Terrace Club at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. [Allan Brewer Photo]
Beneath me overlooking the track were new chair-back seats that serve only the HTC’s lucky occupants, all of them with an unencumbered view of the same scenery I was enjoying on this bright, sunny day high above the racing surface. Back inside again, the expansive dining area is chic without being overly formal, with patrons dressed in business casual style and enjoying the multiple wide-screen televisions arrayed along the track-side wall of windows overlooking the race track.
Modern.
Stylish.
Comfortable.
Welcoming.
Those are the words that describe the Speedway’s new high-end seating and dining area. It is reminiscent of the club level at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, a place suitable for a family or a business outing without any hint of pretense or arrogance. At a price of $1750 per ticket it’s not cheap, but the execution of design and decorum that comes along with that ticket is arguably a bargain for an unforgettable day at one of the world’s greatest modern sporting venues.
The Hulman Terrace Club, boasts a capacity of 1000 persons and is handicap-accessible. It is open on race days throughout the IMS season, but is sold out for the 2016 centennial year. The fortunate ticketholders of this special time at Indy will also receive pit and garage credentials for every day except race day, a ride around the oval in one of the beautiful Chevrolet Camaro event vehicles, a special networking event, access to the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course, retail discounts at the official IMS merchandise shops, and an option to purchase seat nameplates.
More information on availability and purchase at the Hulman Terrace Club is available from the IMS Premium Services Team at 317.492.8739.
Allan Brewer covers IndyCar and other racing series for RacingNation.com. Allan is a fixture at the race track, armed with keyboard and camera, eager to take you inside open-wheel sport where the news is being made. He comes to RacingNation.com with multiple professional awards from the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AWWRBA). He began his motorsports writing career at FastMachines.com; and solely published IndyProRacer.com and A1GP.com, two award-winning websites for open-wheel racing’s junior leagues, prior to becoming IndyCar correspondent at Motorsport.com. He has also covered Formula 1, NASCAR, Formula E, the Indy Lights Series and its predecessor Indy Pro Series, NHRA events and major auto shows. His major interest outside of competition is automotive technology and its application to the cars we drive every day on the public highways.
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