The Grand Slam track has sparked considerable debate within the track and field community. While the Michael Johnson-led tournament has earned widespread appreciation for its unique model that prioritizes athletes and ensures fair compensation, it has also faced criticism. Many view it as a significant step toward improving the world of track and field. However, some criticisms have emerged, largely stemming from Michael Johnson’s own remarks.

The track legend had said that while he was trying to save the sport, he could not save field events from dying. This agitated a lot of prominent field stars like Tara Davis-Woodhall, who went on a rampage on Twitter saying, “About my sport, it doesn’t need saving at all. It’s actually… Michael, you’re ruining the sport if you’re trying to’save’ just track.” She added, “Stop coming back and just being so self-important and just saying wild things to try to get a rise out of people because no one cares, to be honest. And we’re doing just fine. We’re doing great.” This has earned the tournament a bit of bad press.

However, it seems like the fans are back on Michael Johnson’s side and have fully boarded the Grand Slam Track train after heavily positive developments. On December 10th, Track Spice updated the tournament on X. The lowest price is set to range between $10 and $25 per event. While the highest is set to be between $100 and $200. The tweet was captioned with, “Fans, what say?”

Fans had a largely positive reaction to this news, as most of them were pretty receptive to the prices. This was great news for the tournament, as it would really need the support of the fans to operate successfully. While the model of the whole thing is pretty interesting, the Michael Johnson-led Grand Slam track still has problems lying in front of it.

This includes their need for a TV broadcaster, which has not been finalized yet. Their motto of helping the athletes earn money while giving the best experience to fans will need help financially to successfully be sustained. However, their struggles to find TV broadcasting could limit the sponsorships that come their way.

Thus, the more the fans pay attention to the tournament, the better. Thankfully, they’re playing that part right now, as the Michael Johnson tournament is definitely attracting attention.

Fans shower praise on Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track tickets

The track and field community seemed largely happy with the prices of Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track, as it felt very inclusive to them. Many believed that this would draw in a larger crowd to the events, helping them generate more revenue. “That way you generate HUGE CROWDS,” said one fan. For the sake of the tournament, this has to come true. In fact, Grand Slam tracks must hope to bring at least 20,000–30,000 people to the stadiums during each event to break even with their revenue.

But lowering the ticket prices is definitely a great move for that to happen. Not only that, these prices have certainly generated a lot of attention, as many had assumed that they would struggle to get their hands on the tickets because the prices would be quite exorbitant. But now many will be vying to watch the events live in the venues. This has certainly given the tournament a lot of attention, something that they need. One fan said, “Gotta build that hype; I’m looking forward to it.” Another also echoed a similar sentiment that they didn’t think the prices would be this low.

“Not bad at all. I was expecting $50+,” they said. Thus, it is definitely great news for the track fans. However, another individual brought up something that might haunt GST later. “I’m only going if ShaCarri Richardson or Noah Lyles races.” Despite both of these athletes having a mixed year varying between incredible success and underperformance,

Noah and Sha’Carri are still two of the most popular athletes in the US. The fact that Michael Johnson has struggled to sign either of them could really affect their viewership. While Michael has praised both of them and expressed hope in bringing them on board, neither has signed on just yet. In fact, Noah Lyles has said that he wouldn’t consider the tournament’s offer until they get a proper TV deal. Thus, this could cause problems for GST.

However, it is not like the tournament’s talent pool is unimpressive. In fact, stars like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, Masai Russell, and Cole Hocker are already signed for the tournament. Thus, they definitely have great athletes, and the fact that people can witness them at such low prices is certainly appealing. “That’s a bargain given the talent level,” said one fan. This is why fans are very happy with the Grand Slam track for now. Hopefully, in the future, the event can bring even bigger stars and truly improve the track.