While yes, sports happened, but all eyes were on another viral moment from the weekend — $190 chicken wings and $170 empanadas. And if you wanted to add an ounce of caviar to that (because Miami), it cost just $400 more!
On Friday, May 3, NASCAR driver Ryan Ellis broke the internet with a photo posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) of the food menu at the exclusive Hard Rock Beach Club area of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, where the Autodrome is located. With the caption reading, “F1 is a little more expensive than NASCAR,” the photo revealed exorbitantly priced items, like a $280 lobster roll, $180 nachos, and $170 yellowfin tuna poke (which was the least expensive item on the menu), along with a $170 “Empanada Duo.”
In response to a comment on the post asking to see “what the $3,600 food item is,” Ellis shared a photo of the drinks menu in a separate comment, which pictured a $3,600 bottle of rosé Champagne and a bottle of Clase Azul Ultra tequila for a casual $12,000. Yes, $12,000.F1 is a little more expensive than nascar pic.twitter.com/kvvjgiSoxo
— Ryan Ellis (@ryanellisracing) May 3, 2024
While 12k might be chump change for the millionaire attendees of the event, many people on social media were outraged at the prices, commenting that the image “has to be a joke,” with one X user calling out F1 directly: “Those prices are fucking disgusting to even look at. @F1 should be ashamed.” Other attendees of the Hard Rock Beach Club have since shared their own videos and images of the wild food prices on social media.
Despite the humor of it all, the photos of the menu were taken out of context. Hard Rock Stadium president and CEO Tom Garfinkel spoke with Autosport.com to defend the prices. The prices pictured by Ellis from the Hard Rock Beach Club menu during the Miami Grand Prix were not sold for an individual — or even for two-to-three people. The menu prices reflected suite prices, meaning they were larger portions meant to feed up to ten people per menu item. Garfinkel told Autosport.com, "Somebody sent out a tweet the other day that showed a lobster roll was $280 and they sent it out without comment, and the context that wasn't included is that it was for a suite. It was a lobster roll, for probably ten people, for $280.”
Tickets to the exclusive Hard Rock Beach Club started at $1,750, with cabanas going for $65,000 each — and food and drinks were not included. The luxury space, just one option in the “Premium” tier of Grand Prix ticket pricing, did include swimming pool access and performances from Ed Sheeran, Don Omar, and DJs John Summit and Steve Aoki, who brought out surprise guest, the band Yellowcard, to perform a song on Friday. (This is the only perk New Times staffers might’ve splurged for, honestly.)
Ed Sheeran performed a six-song set at Hard Rock Beach Club at the Miami International Autodrome.
Photo by Jesse Scott
As New Times recently reported, F1 owner, Liberty Media, is determined to make the popularity last and has introduced more affordable ticketing options for fans that include $29 access to practice sessions and a three-day “Campus Pass” for $450 which does not include assigned seating but grants access to several viewing areas and food courts. General admission tickets sold for $150 each.
A Miami Grand Prix attendee who requested to remain anonymous attended the three-day F1 event via a mid-tier “Grandstand” ticket, which start at $600 and did provide an assigned seat from which to view the race but, as she told New Times, included little else. “It’s a fun vibe and it does feel like a kind of extravagant thing to be doing. But it doesn’t feel glamorous because you’re physically uncomfortable.” Her seat was unshaded and she described the day as a lot of “waiting around” and scattered attempts to “get some shade and some air (air-conditioning).”
“My brother got a $47 burger at just like a jumbo burger stand," they added. "It wasn’t associated with any restaurant. The fries were separate. And the fries were $16. No drink.”
In contrast, the Masters 2024, which recently took place in Augusta, Georgia, featured $1.50 sandwiches.
Hard Rock Stadium did not respond to New Times’ request for comment on why the food prices were so high at the Hard Rock Beach Club.
Nevertheless, those empandas better have been good.
