Circuit of The Americas has agreed a strategic partnership with Carlyle to help fund its growth into a year-round sports and entertainment destination.
The move will accelerate the opening of COTALAND and financing further destination experiences including a planned water park and, longer term, an on-premises resort.
The capital comes from Carlyle Global Credit, led by the firm’s Credit Opportunities strategy, which had $211 billion in assets under management as of 30 June.
COTA’s ownership structure is unaffected by the deal. The circuit, built by Central Texans, will remain locally owned and operated.
“We are proud of the Texas hospitality with which our community has welcomed guests from around the world,” said Bobby Epstein, Chairman of Circuit of The Americas.
“This partnership will provide additional resources to advance COTA’s next phase of growth, attract more visitors to Central Texas and create new experiences for our community and fans beyond race weekends.”
COTA already hosts more than the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix across its calendar, including MotoGP, NASCAR and the FIA World Endurance Championship, alongside concerts and it will soon add COTALAND – a 34-attraction theme park, to that mix.
Estimates show the Grand Prix weekend alone generates annual local economic activity equivalent to roughly two Super Bowls, supporting jobs and small businesses across Del Valle, Austin and Central Texas.
Building on that impact is explicitly the goal of the new partnership: COTA and Carlyle are aiming to grow annual visitation to as many as three million guests by 2030 through experiences that extend well beyond race weekends themselves.
This partnership reflects Carlyle’s ability to deliver scaled, privately negotiated capital solutions that support the next growth phase for established businesses and assets across the sports, media and entertainment ecosystem.
Benjamin Fund
That expansion is also framed around a specific community impact, the growth is expected to support additional job creation and infrastructure investment in a historically underserved part of the city, alongside new spaces for the wider community.
The deal builds on ground Carlyle had already broken in F1 through its role as exclusive investment-management sponsor of Oracle Red Bull Racing.
“COTA has established a distinctive sports and entertainment destination in one of the country’s most dynamic markets,” said Benjamin Fund, Partner at Carlyle.
“This partnership reflects Carlyle’s ability to deliver scaled, privately negotiated capital solutions that support the next growth phase for established businesses and assets across the sports, media and entertainment ecosystem.
“We are pleased to partner with the COTA team to advance the expansion of its year-round offerings and look forward to supporting them in the years to come.”
