US GP in Austin Discussion and Speculation...

[TifosiUSA]

The plan they have for parking and the size of the grandstands are both ridiculous, IMO.

[parkerfe]

Originally Posted by BigTex

Texas A&M is all about range grasses these days, we'll showcase some Aggie expertise!

Boy, is THAT hard for a Longhorn to type!!!
ROTFLMAO!

Gig' Em Aggies! My daughter will attend TAMU this fall. She got a athletic scholarship for the Equestrian Team. So I'll be spending several week-ends in Texas over the next four years.

[parkerfe]

Originally Posted by BigTex

Texas A&M is all about range grasses these days, we'll showcase some Aggie expertise!

Boy, is THAT hard for a Longhorn to type!!!
ROTFLMAO!

...

[BigTex]

Originally Posted by parkerfe

Gig' Em Aggies! My daughter will attend TAMU this fall. She got a athletic scholarship for the Equestrian Team. So I'll be spending several week-ends in Texas over the next four years.

I'd love to buy you dinner when you come down....

We need to introduce her to JRVs old friend, Ed Perwien and his Bluebonnet Farms, in Belleville.
He casts a pretty long shadow over the equestrian scene in Texas.

Very very nice gentleman.....

[Axecent]

Originally Posted by parkerfe

Gig' Em Aggies! My daughter will attend TAMU this fall. She got a athletic scholarship for the Equestrian Team. So I'll be spending several week-ends in Texas over the next four years.

Look me up when you come into town. You'll like my garage. And my wife is a horse person and well connected locally. She rides dressage and has an Irish draft/thoroughbred cross as her principal ride. So do PM when you have some spare time in town. And finally, we have a few GOOD restaurants.

[pitpaddock]

Steven Cole Smith of AutoWeek says the Austin F1 group is marching to a different drummer

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120504/F1/120509920

[BigTex]

"Marching" would imply more than one person in step, and maybe a unifying pattern of movement, if I recall my High School years in the band at football halftime.

I guess I need to get ready, when the flood of unpurchased seating goes on the market.

I like the part about parking the Rental Car "on the prarie"....this is East Austin, it'll be on four CMU bricks when they come back to it.

"Comments" are spot on, this is marketing 'as if' they had built an entire STADIUM of sports seating, not a motorsports event.
Time will tell.

[madmaxatl]

Check their facebook page. Construction is progressing surprisingly quickly.

[pitpaddock]

Originally Posted by BigTex

"Marching" would imply more than one person in step, and maybe a unifying pattern of movement, if I recall my High School years in the band at football halftime.

I guess I need to get ready, when the flood of unpurchased seating goes on the market.

I like the part about parking the Rental Car "on the prarie"....this is East Austin, it'll be on four CMU bricks when they come back to it.

"Comments" are spot on, this is marketing 'as if' they had built an entire STADIUM of sports seating, not a motorsports event.
Time will tell.

Yep.

Check out this article that hit a couple of days ago, this time from an old Mexico City newspaper called Excelsior.

Link to the Spanish version: http://excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=...d_nota=832247#

We did a google translation & it was pretty disjointed, so my FB: FoF1ATX buddy cleaned it up a bit. Here it is:

AUSTIN, TEXAS, May 7.

Incredibly, nearly six months until the return Formula 1 to the U.S., poor management by the company behind the race is threatening one of the best opportunities this country has had in its history to put together a successful Grand Prix. Initially confirmed for June and shortly thereafter rescheduled for November 18 (in the penultimate round of the 2012 calendar) the return of an F1 Grand Prix to the United States began as a dream.

After several years of work, Mexican businessman Tavo Hellmund managed to complete a long list of items for this race, including government support of the City of Austin, Texas, and a Mexican pilot generating buzz in F1. It was easy to imagine the response of the fans in cities like Dallas, Houston, El Paso, San Antonio and surrounding areas as well as all Mexicans could easily emulate this kind of Grand Prix circuit of Mexico.

The site, named Circuit of the Americas, referring to the most famous racetrack in our country, was presented as one of the most modern and fun racetracks ever to be seen in F1.

The idea of this track was to give the drivers and fans a stage where they could enjoy a unique experience. Tavo Hellmund, with experience in NASCAR racing and other series in Europe, helped design a circuit where the cars are seen for a long time, and would be interesting for people even if they don't understand a lot about racing so they wouldn't lose interest in the competition.

Late last year, Excelsior spoke to Hellmund about his idea for the GP. It was to compete with the best shows in the world. He told us that, unlike other countries presented by F1 in the United States, it would offer a unique and facinating fan experience, so he was not going to waste the great opportunity he had to make this a memorable Grand Prix.

Thus, he was building this dream. The government pledged to support the race: the city of Austin and the state of Texas would provide, over a period of ten years, nearly the cost of the circuit. Bernie Ecclestone, who owns the commercial rights Formula 1, provided a ten-year contract with one of the best prices on the world calendar.

With the path already defined, in the summer of 2011 David Coulthard drove the Red Bull car on the track and gave wings to the circuit at that time (and until a few days ago) which did not have a single drop of asphalt. The images were spread around the world and hoped this was the first in a series of events that would promote the great race, unfortunately not the case.

Sources close to the circuit let us know that the failure of the venture capitalists with Ecclestone was forcing them to renegotiate the favorable contract that they had.

After days of suspense COTA announced that after the trip (to London) they would pay more to bring Formula 1, losing some privileges that were in the first contract. The initial project, a race of Moto GP 2013, and the government aid is blurred and the clouds began to form over the circuit.

Tavo Hellmund, who still owns more than 20% of the project, seemed to disagree with the direction they were taking their partners and questioned some of the items with the leadership of the project he had begun, his dream with spectacular scenery. Instead the developer hired promotion and marketing people brought from Hockey League (NHL) and horse racing, none with experience in racing.
The result of this maneuver is visible in the limited number of tickets sold.

Surely, these marketing geniuses heard that in places like the Plaza de Toros Mexico and the stage of the Dallas Cowboys the PSL was a success and tried to make the business of his life, by selling PSLs for up to $5500, not including tickets that are between $500 and $1250.

Given this scenario, we traveled to Austin to see what was really happening.

For fans who already had plane tickets or bringing caps on they would ask for autographs, of Americans who believed they finally would have a decent Grand Prix and even brands that are already rubbing their hands with the opportunity to be present in this country, we found a scene of terror and no sponsor tied.

Not so impressive was the terrain, the fabulous designs, or the 500 men and dozens of machines that we saw working in three shifts per day. We were certain that the project will be ready for the rigorous review of the FIA, who will arrive a few days before event.

Unfortunately, neither with the great weather or an unlimited budget, our source told us there is not enough time to build the original project.

We found no large difference seen in the images that Red Bull made public nearly a year ago. We discovered that almost any time of the construction had been completed and understood the reasons that for too long, do not talk about cars in Austin but heavy machinery.

When it opens the door there will be four permanent grandstands, which definitely will not fit the 120,000 people that had been announced, the reason is a lot has been modified with the intention of having project completion closer at hand.

The Circuit of the Americas today needs a miracle, or else investors with lots of money, and luck, so that F1 cars will run just as the Red Bull of David Coulthard did on land, or in place of this venue will be an exhibition for Motocross or X-Fighters.

Things have not taken a good path, claims between the project owners have damaged the organization and what has happened is not a good omen.

Only time will vindicate those who have made the right decisions and if you are to take yours do not trust anyone who sees the opportunity in the uncertainty of doing good business.

This track is missing a lot and unfortunately these deficiencies are only the tip of an iceberg that could soon sink this great ship.

A bittersweet relationship:

Although more than half a century of Formula 1 has had great presence in the U.S., with 51 Grand Prix made between 1959 and 2007, could never take root in the United States.

From the first season of F1 in 1950, America has welcomed the top flight, first in the 500 Miles of Indianapolis, which was part of the schedule of the top flight, and then a United States Grand Prix separately.

Between the mid-70's and late 80's lived the period of greatest love between the Americans and the F1, even making two runs of seven seasons.

One hundred fifty-seven drivers Americans have gone through the category, the latest Scott Speed at Toro Rosso, between 2006 and 2007.

With his arrival in F1 Speed broke a drought of 12 years, after the farewell of Michael Andretti in 1993.

Despite the large number of pilots, only two were champions, the first Phil Hill in 1961 with a Ferrari and in 1978 Mario Andretti won the second title in a Lotus.

F1 has never been able to settle well in the United States for its rivalry with the national championships in NASCAR, Indy and Grand Am, beloved by the American public.

[DF1]

With the above translated article there is no way I will plan a trip to Austin. Too many other tracks nearby in Europe. Before I do I will allow at least 3 years to pass. Thanks for posting the article.

So all the Mexican fans will potentially save this or attend. Not if they give this article any consideration.

[DIGMAN52]

That was a Tavo slanted and maybe PR firm planted article dragging up the same old stuff.

The track will get built in time. Asphalt going down now.

They never promised 120,000 grandstand seats.

We don't know yet what the other seating options are, but with June upon it, we should know in the next month.

With the Ferrari Club of America selling 3 day passes for $750, I am hopeful pricing will be a lot less than the PSL pricing they have been trying to get.

[hookem]

Another aerial photo released by CoTA today. It shows the foundations for the team buildings behind the pit/paddock building (we don't get too many images with this view, since all the photo areas the public has access to can only see the front of the building)

[parkerfe]

With over 5 months to go, they should get the track done in time for the race...

[pitpaddock]

So....TicketCity has put their USGP prices up.

Just a taste: Free Practice 1 & 2 General Admission = $221


http://www.ticketcity.com/austin-tic...s-tickets.html

[hookem]

Originally Posted by pitpaddock

So....TicketCity has put their USGP prices up.

Just a taste: Free Practice 1 & 2 General Admission = $221


http://www.ticketcity.com/austin-tic...s-tickets.html

So that's a ticket broker, right? Just basically selling at a price they think they can fulfill with a profit?

I'm guessing Ticket City already has bought a bunch PSLs, but they can always buy more if they sell all their current T1, T15, and Grandstand tickets. Will be interesting to watch.

It's actually a very smart business risk. Ticket City being somewhat official looking, they will certainly capitalize on all the out of state/country visitors that have everything lined up EXCEPT their ticket and will jump on the opportunity to lock that in. They might even outsell CoTA themselves.

[Ernie Beccelstone]

$287 GA for day of race

$63 service charge (ticket city)

+tax and shipping(?)

$389 total

I can't afford that period. More important, how many people will pay that who have never been to a race? They've got to get it down to $150 to make this realistic.

[joker57676]

Originally Posted by Ernie Beccelstone

$287 GA for day of race

$63 service charge (ticket city)

+tax and shipping(?)

$389 total

I can't afford that period. More important, how many people will pay that who have never been to a race? They've got to get it down to $150 to make this realistic.

I can afford it, but won't even consider attending the race at those prices. With what woud be nearly $800 tied up in just general admission tickets for me and the wife, I'd rather just spend the money on something else that last a little bit more than an hour and a half.

Mark

[pitpaddock]

Originally Posted by hookem

So that's a ticket broker, right? Just basically selling at a price they think they can fulfill with a profit?

I'm guessing Ticket City already has bought a bunch PSLs, but they can always buy more if they sell all their current T1, T15, and Grandstand tickets. Will be interesting to watch.

It's actually a very smart business risk. Ticket City being somewhat official looking, they will certainly capitalize on all the out of state/country visitors that have everything lined up EXCEPT their ticket and will jump on the opportunity to lock that in. They might even outsell CoTA themselves.

Montreal 2012 3-day GA is $123 from the track & TicketCity is charging $221.

USGP 3-day is $x from the track & TicketCity is charging $729.



Who's good with math?

[nsxrebel]

At those prices, I'm definitely not going. Gotta be way under $200 for me to even consider it, just for race day.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by pitpaddock

Montreal 2012 3-day GA is $123 from the track & TicketCity is charging $221.

USGP 3-day is $x from the track & TicketCity is charging $729.



Who's good with math?

The math is that TicketCity doesn't have the pricing for GA, just like the rest of the world. So they are throwing out a price that will cover them for sure.

You can't expect to calculate their markup based on Montreal.