do they have covered/shaded grandstands since texas can be quite hot?
If I remember correctly there was shade in several of the grandstands. I just had general admission tickets last year and didn't see all of the grandstands. But I remember several had shade. Of course the main grandstands are shaded, but quite pricey. Austin isn't nearly as hot in late Oct. early Nov. It is quite nice that time of year.
Yes they do, however last year it was HOT - no matter where the shade. Fortunately there was a breeze... I think the stadium section over by the tower have covering, and all the stands on the front straight are covered... but again the angle of the sun can make it hot.
Only the main grandstand has shade AFAIK. There are some tiny shady places in the GA areas next to the bridges, and near the tower (where the "Cantina" was last year). In some places the grandstands themselves provide a little shade to the GA area (parts of Turn 1). But I wouldn't count on shade for sure anywhere but the main grandstand. That's something they need to fix, IMO. Doesn't matter so much in Nov, but for other races when it is hotter, the lack of shade is a big deal.
Hookem is right. The only shaded GS is the Main GS, and there is very little shade throughout the grounds. The T15 GSs were designed as covered GSs, but Epstein nixed that, another ped bridge, a larger Main GS, & some other things so he could have his tower & amphitheater. It is something they need to fix, as most races are scheduled when the sun is pretty high in the sky. There are creative ways to make lots of shade, and they're relatively cheap, but COTA brass won't spend any money on upgrades. They seem to be running out. THey're not even keeping up with general maintenance, really. The V8SC races out there last September were brutal. It was hot, but not particularly hot for September in Austin. It was in the lower 90s iirc. I remember one Labor Day when the temp reached 112F. Not a typo. Literally so hot it hurt my head. During V8SC the problem was that there was just nowhere to go for any significant relief from the sun beating down on you for hours. I've lived here for 37 years and we drank water all day, but that kicked my ass, and my son's. We've already had temps in the low 90s this May, and With RedFest coming up in a couple of weeks, there will no doubt be heat issues for all 150 of those people out there . X Games in June will be even tougher.
