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At this year’s Indianapolis 500 (noon ET, Sunday), the Brickyard took its famous “glamping” — or glamorous camping, which has been a staple for several years — to the next level by offering race fans the option to rent tiny houses for a luxury living experience inside the track. From the Indiana-based company Try It Tiny, there are 15 houses with slightly different floor plans, but they all have air conditioning, electricity, kitchens and indoor plumbing with showers.
“(Glamping in) the yurt was great with space to entertain, but no running water,” Copeland, an Indianapolis resident, said of her experience at the 2017 Indy 500. She loved previously staying in what’s known as Glamptown, but added, “I have a bathtub now.”
For $3,000 — which includes tickets to the race, parking, and other amenities — fans are living in a few hundred square feet with as many as four people in a house. Some have lofts with queen-sized beds; some have pullout couches. There are full-sized refrigerators as well as mini ones. And once a day, the plumbing is cleaned out and water supply replenished.
The tiny houses appeal to fans who want to stay inside the 2.5-mile race track but who also want something more than the traditional glamping — which was still offered with dozens of luxury tents — or even regular camping. And they definitely don’t want to fight traffic to the track every day.
“Sleeping at the track is very auspicious because only drivers (used to) sleep here,” Copeland added. “It feels really special to be here at night and see the Pagoda when no one else is allowed here. It’s really fun to wake up here and see it all come to life.”
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While certainly, not everyone living in the tiny houses moved in like she did, several people still brought grills, griddles or Dutch ovens, plus tents, portable picnic tables, and outdoor furniture to maximize the small plot of land assigned to each house.
But among the many benefits of this living situation that is no longer remotely close to camping, everyone FTW spoke with agreed on one critical feature.
A/C is key because you don’t know what kind of weather you’ll get,” said Dan Shaw, a Lebanon, Indiana resident who said he’s been coming to the Indy 500 since 1966. He and his buddy, Rod Richards — who’s from Richmond, Indiana and said he’s at his 40th Indy 500 — took advantage of glamping for the last several years. But they remembered how excruciatingly hot it would get inside the tents.
Many people in the tiny houses this year are former glampers, but there were a handful of newcomers who weren’t interested in living in tents for a weekend. However, comfortable beds, showers, and air conditioning were game-changers.
“This is the most envied piece of real estate since Boardwalk and Park Avenue,” said 18-year Indy 500 veteran Gino Lucchese, referencing the coveted spots on a Monopoly board. “We’ve got a memory foam bed, a fold-out queen bed in the couch, a full fridge and freezer. It’s great.”
