MultiGP seeks host destinations for 2026 and 2027 championships

MultiGP is shopping three championship properties for 2026 and 2027, and the real competition is among cities that can turn drone racing into tourism, STEM branding and packed spectator events. With more than 30,000 registered pilots and 500 active chapters worldwide, the league has already built the kind of pipeline that can make a host destination matter far beyond race day.

The biggest draw is the World Championship, a crown-jewel event built for roughly 64 to 132 of the best pilots and staged over several days in September or October. The format is closer to a major sporting final than a local meet, with opening ceremonies, live broadcast and finals competition. Tulsa gave a preview of that scale last fall, when the 2025 championship ran Oct. 7-11 at the Hardesty National BMX Hall of Fame, a 125,000-square-foot arena with balcony seating for 1,800 and bleacher seating for 2,000. That event field included 64 pilots from the top 150 on the Finz Global Qualifier Leaderboard, plus 16 pilots who qualified through Pro Spec and additional onsite opportunities.

For destinations, that matters because MultiGP is not selling a single race night. It is selling a layered sports product with different entry points. The 2024 championship drew more than 900 elite drone pilots from around the globe through the Global Qualifier season, and the 2024 leaderboard carried 932 entries. That kind of funnel gives a host city a reason to think in terms of hotel bookings, venue utilization and broadcast visibility, not just a weekend crowd.

Pro Spec is the middle tier, and it may be the easiest on-ramp for cities that want the sport without the scale of a world final. MultiGP says the class is built for 16 to 64 pilots and has its own frame and specifications, which makes it a separate competition property rather than a side attraction. The 2025 Pro Spec Championship also was staged in Tulsa from Oct. 7-12, and the league has already mapped a road to the 2026 MultiGP Pro Spec World Championship through qualifying races.

The collegiate championship is the sharpest bridge between racing and higher education. MultiGP says the 2025 Collegiate Drone Racing Championship was held April 5-6 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the 2026 event is set for April 11-12 at Skyway36 Droneport & Technology Innovation Center in Tulsa. That championship, built for 60-plus university pilots, comes with live broadcast, fan activations, drone simulators and sponsor integration, while MultiGP’s STEM Alliance, created in 2020 with Drones in School and the Collegiate Drone Racing Association, gives it a direct tie to workforce development. For a tourism hub, a tech-forward city or a venue that already understands pilot access, the pitch is clear: drone racing is no longer just a niche competition. It is a destination asset looking for the right runway.