Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and the Jamaican capital of Kingston have been finalised as the four host cities of Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson’s professional athletics league Grand Slam Track.
The inaugural meet is set to take place from April 4-6 at Kingston’s 35,000-capacity National Stadium at Independence Park, with tickets due to go on sale on December 6.
“We are thrilled to be bringing Grand Slam Track to Kingston,” said the league’s founder and commissioner Johnson, who won four Olympic golds in the space of three Games from Barcelona 1992 to Sydney 2000.
“Jamaica has such a strong history in this sport. The talent and the love for the sport here make it a perfect fit for what we’re building. It’s going to be an incredible event, and we’re proud to have Kingston as one of our four Slams in our inaugural season to kick this whole thing off.”
Athletes will travel to Miami’s 5,000-capacity Ansin Sports Complex for the second leg of the competition from May 2-4.
From May 30-June 1, the 52,958-seat Franklin Field in Philadelphia will host the penultimate meeting before the season ends in Los Angeles.
The Californian city has been confirmed as the fourth host city, however a date and venue are yet to be decided.
Grand Slam Track has secured more than $30m (£23.6m/€28.3m) in financial commitments from investors for the launch of the league.
Athletes will all race in two events which have been categorised into groups, such as short sprints, comprising the 100 and 200 metres, or long distance which features 3000m and 5000m, for example.
The winner of each group will take home $100,000 in prize money, while rewards will diminish incrementally until the eighth-place finisher who earns $10,000.
Grand Slam Track will have a total of $12.6m in prize money that will be awarded in addition to the base compensation and appearance fees.
It marks the largest athletics racing purse in history over a full season.
