We went to the 'post-apocalyptic' L.A. mall that will be featured in televised drone races
Starting on Thursday, drone races are going to be on ESPN, Sky, and Europe's 7Sports network. The distribution deal comes after the Drone Racing League secured a $12 million investment led by RSE Ventures and Lux Capital.
DRL made a big splash for its first event at Sun Life Stadium (where the Miami Dolphins play), which will air on ESPN2 on Oct. 23. Business Insider attended the setup for its second race, airing Oct. 27, which took place inside a now-desolate mall in Hawthorne, California.
It featured drones ripping around the abandoned "post-apocalyptic" mall at 80 miles per hour.
"We just thought it would be a really cool place," said Nick Horbaczewski, the founder and CEO of Drone Racing League. "It feels post-apocalyptic already."
The mall has sat abandoned for almost two decades, but we saw it transformed into a drone race track, with lighting, props, and viewing areas that gave it new life.
Here's what we saw inside.