Sportswear giant Adidas has taken over from Jamaica National (JN) Group as title sponsor of the Racers Grand Prix, which is set for Saturday, June 8 inside National Stadium.

JN had been title sponsor since the inception in 2016 but has given way to Adidas, which is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second largest in the world, after Nike.

Racers Track Club director Dennis Gordon, who is in charge of promotion and communication for the fourth staging of the meet, told the Jamaica Observer that preparation is going well.

“The meet is on the eighth and we are fine-tuning our athletes list. We have a new title sponsor in Adidas, as JN has withdrawn and we are looking forward to another exciting staging,” said Gordon.

The cost of the tickets normally range from $1,000 to $6,000. It will cost $6,000 for a ticket to watch the event at the finish line, $3,500 for the rest of the Grandstand and $1,000 for the Bleachers section.

Gordon, although not revealing the prices as yet, said “ticket prices have been revised and will make it more affordable to the public”.

The Racers Grand Prix, with Usain Bolt as the drawing card, has pulled a galaxy of stars and thousands of fans to Kingston and has rivalled and possibly outshone many World Challenge or Diamond League events on the international track and field calendar.

The Racers Grand Prix started in 2016 and attracted some of the best athletes, from Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to Carmelita Jeters to world record holders Wayde van Niekerk (400m), David Rudisha (800m) along with distance great Mo Farah.

With the Jamaican Senior Championships date now settled, the Racers Grand Prix has reverted to the original date of Saturday, June 8 inside National Stadium to fall in line with the National Senior Championships as athletes prepare for the IAAF World Championships in September.

The organisers had contemplated shifting the Racers Grand Prix to later in the month as a result of the late staging of the World Championships in Qatar and the announcement that the Jamaican Trials (National Championships) would consequently take place at the end of July.

This is because the Racers Grand Prix, now in its fourth year, has emerged as the final warm-up meet for some of Jamaica’s leading athletes before their national trials.

However, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association has decided to move the national trials back to its accustomed position at the end of June. As a result, the organisers of the Racers Grand Prix decided to move the meet to early June in order to maintain its proximity to the national trials.

A press conference will be held on May 9 where it is expected to disclose the names of some of the headline stars.