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Steven R. Shank (Steves)
New member
Username: Steves
Post Number: 1
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 3:01 pm: | |
Hello! I've been looking in on the board since I found it a couple of months back - I hope you don' t mind me piping in on this subject...
I find it humorous that Eddie Gossage has any input on this at all.
"The Dallas Grand Prix, American Le Mans Series at TMS, Formula One to Trans-Am -- they do not exist today [in this market] because they were not financially viable," said Eddie Gossage, TMS' executive vice president and general manager. "I wish them [GPX Partners] all the luck in the world, but they have a real strong uphill battle that I don't think I would want to take on."
Forgive me, Eddie, if I'm not 100% sympathetic to your seeming lack of desire to have a competing track in this area. But...
Formula One failed in this market NOT because of being financially unviable, but rather the lack of understanding and interest on behalf of the representative investors. The track was SERIOUSLY lacking, and the weekend as a whole was a complete disaster which Bernie and the F1 circus did not want to devote the time nor the resources to try and improve for the following season, let alone the future.
The American LeMans Series, was (by account of your own email response to my email) a victim of POOR marketing and generation of interest. The turnout for 2001 was leaps and bounds better than that of 2000, when the marketing machine of the ALMS and TMS teamed together to provide...well, nothing. Even 2001 was a marketing nightmare. You wonder why no one was there? Advertise!
The Dallas Grand Prix and Trans-Am Series were doomed to fail from the beginning. The Addison area was ill-suited for hosting such an event, and the debacle that was the downtown track was again, understated. A good, nay...great idea that fell victim to poor planning.
Hence, the idea that a dedicated, natural landscape facility ranking above the class and likes of Laguna Seca, Mid-Ohio among others excites me to no end. Perhaps, Eddie...just maybe...it can provide the type of exciting racing that TMS has been more than able to choke on twice now. (See CART and the ALMS @ TMS 2000-2001)
Sorry if I'm intruding, all. But I too, am racing/Ferrari competitor/enthusiast. I do not own a Ferrari as yet, but reading and seeing how much fun you all are having, I may be one soon! Thanks, and I hope I can visit again.
Steve |
Brian Kennedy (Kennedy)
Junior Member
Username: Kennedy
Post Number: 151
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 7:23 pm: | |
The car is alright... I continue to sort out its overheating problem whenever I take it to the track... next step is a Challenge Grille... hopefully that solves it. |
Wade R Nunez (308nut)
Junior Member
Username: 308nut
Post Number: 51
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Monday, December 16, 2002 - 10:14 pm: | |
Hey Brian,
How are you, and how is that car. Haven't heard from you in a while. Hope all is well, are you still racing?
Wade Nunez
www.fortunemotors.com |
Brian Kennedy (Kennedy)
Junior Member
Username: Kennedy
Post Number: 150
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Monday, December 16, 2002 - 9:46 pm: | |
Here's some more info, including masterplan and "renderings":
http://www.boundlessmotorplex.com/
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Ron R (Ronr)
New member
Username: Ronr
Post Number: 50
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Monday, December 16, 2002 - 7:51 pm: | |
How cool would that be. For-real road racing in the USA, and even closer, here in Texas. I don't know how you convert all the left-turners into fans, though. How can they not even be interested? Everything about road racing is more spectacular: the racing action, the cars/technology, the umbrella girls (do car guys have those, heh heh), the crashes, everything!
Sorry, that's been a real pet peeve of mine for years. I WILL organize a road trip out there for a MotoGP and AMA Superbike race (I'll convert you 4-wheelers too!). |
Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator
Username: Rob328gts
Post Number: 2985
Registered: 12-2000
| | Posted on Sunday, December 15, 2002 - 11:03 am: | |
Another similar artcile...
551.1
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/motorsports/4739258.htm
Posted on Sat, Dec. 14, 2002
Waxahachie could land complex for road racing
By Len Hayward and Sean Wood
Star-Telegram Staff Writers
A group of investors plans to buy more than 1,400 acres of land in Waxahachie in hopes of turning it into a racer's paradise.
The centerpiece of the planned Boundless Motorplex development would be a 3.2-mile road course with seating for 100,000 that investors hope will be approved to host international car and motorcycle races.
The group is in the process of purchasing the land. Another important step is courting the international racing organizations that sanction events in the United States.
"Every year there are literally hundreds of paper tracks that never went anywhere," Fort Worth businessman and championship road-racer Bobby Archer said. "From my perspective I hope it works. We have the population base. We have the weather. We have the financial base, and I think it's great."
Leslie Wulf, president of GPX Partners, said his group is seeking the approval of both the Federation Internationale de L'Automobile and Federation Internationale de Motocylisme for the circuit.
The FIA is the governing body for the globe-trotting Formula One series and oversees other international racing circuits. As the world governing body of motorcycle racing, the FIM oversees the international Moto Grand Prix series.
American sanctioning bodies such as NASCAR and the Indy Racing League are members of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS), a member of the FIA.
Wulf said the entire project would cost between $70 million and $100 million. Jesse Shelmire IV, chairman of GPX and a principal of Stonegate Securities in Dallas, said he has $20 million to $30 million worth of investors interested.
Plans for the development also include motocross tracks, a 50-acre lake, condominiums, skyboxes, a luxury recreational vehicle resort, racing schools, manufacturer and racing-team facilities, a business park and golf course.
Shelmire said the plan is to have the race course, pit area, stands, condominiums and skyboxes ready for racing by the second half of 2004. The rest of the development could take as long as 24 months to finish.
If completed, the project would add to a well-established motorsports market in Fort Worth/Dallas.
The Texas Motorplex in Ennis, an all-concrete quarter-mile drag strip, has hosted National Hot Rod Association national events since 1986. Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile quadoval that hosts NASCAR and Indy Racing League events, opened in 1997. Estimated cost was around $250 million to build TMS.
TMS also has an infield road course that hosted American Le Mans Series races in 2000 and 2001 in front of sparse crowds. ALMS founder Don Panoz pulled out of TMS with a year remaining on the contract, with TMS in agreement, because racing in front of small crowds hurt the series' attempt to gain credibility.
"The Dallas Grand Prix, American Le Mans Series at TMS, Formula One to Trans-Am -- they do not exist today [in this market] because they were not financially viable," said Eddie Gossage, TMS' executive vice president and general manager. "I wish them [GPX Partners] all the luck in the world, but they have a real strong uphill battle that I don't think I would want to take on."
Project officials say they are in discussion with various racing organizations about hosting events. The course would be equipped to host racing series such as Formula One, Championship Auto Racing Teams, ALMS, Rolex Grand American Cup, Trans Am, the MotoGP and the AMA Superbike Series.
Getting the approval of FIA and FIM would be critical to the venture.
"Even when [Formula One] went to Indy [the Indianapolis Motor Speedway] had to spend tens of millions of dollars in modifications to get it to be acceptable to have F-1," said Jack Farr, a Fort Worth businessman who owns the Motorsport Ranch, a "sports-car country club" in Cresson. "This thing is being built from the ground up with that type of racing in mind."
The 1,420-acre parcel is on the southeastern outskirts of Waxahachie, about five miles from the Texas Motorplex. Waco businessman Billy Meyer, the Motorplex owner, could not be reached for comment.
There are still issues to be worked out with the city of Waxahachie, which is about 30 miles south of Dallas. City Manager Bob Sokoll said the city would need to see a master plan in order for residents to comment and the staff to make any kind of recommendation.
"There are presently no utilities available," Sokoll said. "It's got to be annexed. It would have to be zoned. There are traffic concerns, quality-of-life concerns. Things like that have got to be addressed in order for it to be a reality."
GPX has until the end of January to buy the land from TREE Development Inc. The group can extend the purchase until the end of February. Wulf said the land sale would happen, and it is not contingent upon financing for the entire development.
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Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator
Username: Rob328gts
Post Number: 2984
Registered: 12-2000
| | Posted on Sunday, December 15, 2002 - 10:52 am: | |
I agree that it's an uphill battle, however, as a customer of these tracks I'm very excited and hope they make it. Maybe they'll get the course paved and if problems can sell out and let someone else run it like MSR. Gunter Ring was another attempt up by Frisco, but they never even got anything paved, just bull dozed a little. http://www.gunterring.com. |
Dave (Maranelloman)
Member
Username: Maranelloman
Post Number: 614
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, December 14, 2002 - 9:23 pm: | |
$100 million? LOL! As cool as this sounds, I suspect that the "investors" are perhaps more interested in tax write-offs than making a positive ROI on their investment. There is no way that a $100 million motorsports facility in Dallas will be self-sustaining, IMO. |
Brian Kennedy (Kennedy)
Junior Member
Username: Kennedy
Post Number: 148
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, December 14, 2002 - 6:03 pm: | |
If you didn't see it, check out the article in the DMN Business section on the Boundless Motorplex.
Here's a summary written by a friend, Bruce, on another list:
Executive summary: article title is "Motorplex is on track". GPX partners
has signed a deal to buy 1420 acres in Waxahachie that will include a 100k
seat 3.2 mile road racing course, motorcross village of 5 tracks, and a 50
acre lake for jet ski and jet boats. The project will cost $100 million and
is scheduled to open in 2004. They have one third of the financing in place.
They expect to raise the remaining 2/3rds thru private sources by the end of
January. They see the circuit holding 40 3 day events at the 3 venues each
year. They list a "homegrown" gran prix, CART, ALMS, AMA Superbike and
MotoGP. Bobby Hartdlief is listed a VP of race promotions.
Elon Werner (former GM of Texas Motorplex) says the area won't support a 3rd
big time track (TMS and Texas Motorplex are the other 2). He goes on to say
"I don't know where their market share is going to come from."
Ed Gossage says the new speedway won't hurt his business..."Any racing is
good becuase it focuses attention on the sport." He goes on to say "Road
racing is sickly in America right now. I don't know of any road race that
draws more than 50k people on race day. They face an uphill battle."
GPX President Leslie Wulf says the new track provides racing not already in
the market. He lists Road America, Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca as
comparable tracks.
Boundless Motorplex will be diesgned to conform to FIA and FIM standards.
The article then states that no US track conforms to FIA/FIM standards.
Location: On US highway 287 between I35 and I45 (between Waxahachie and
Ennis). The property has more than one mile of highway frontage.
They plan on have 120 track side condos, more than 150 skyboxes, luxury RV
resort, 4 racing schools, manufacturer and racing team testing facilities,
racing related business park, motorsport storage and permanent garges, 18
hole golf course.
A quick goolge search found this.. http://www.grandprixtexas.com/
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