Oof. Looks like there may be more trouble looming for COTA. Is America's only Formula One track in trouble? Is America's only Formula One track in trouble? | News | Motorsport.com
Key here is, "again" I love F1 but I love it most in Europe. I'll give Melbourne, Montreal and Sao Paulo a pass for their history and charm. IMHO
Hmmm....seems that CoTA Management have bigger fish to fry than sicking the CoTA police on you if you spill some gas on the asphalt or fail to place plywood under the jacks?
I went to the first F1 race and first MotoGP race they had. I was going to attend the second F1, but tickets arrived the Monday after the race. You all know their history, and they can take all the blame.
I hope it stays. It's one of the races I'd like to go and see one day. However, the US seems to struggle with an F1 race in the same venue year after year. Why don't they try rotating the event around a selection of 3-5 US circuits eg COTA, Indy, NJ, and somewhere in the west coast? Might prevent the race going stale and being lost...
Bernie seems rather fickle and bored with one location already. Next possibly Vegas - 3 years later where?
I absolutely agree 100%. With over 100 years of experience, the ability to accommodate 500,000 fans , a major airport 5 miles away and a city of 1mm with lots of hotels and restaurants, Indy was a great venue. There is no getting stuck for hours on little country roads trying to get to the track like Silverstone or Spa. I think one of the reasons that the USGP moves around so much is the demands that F1 makes on the tracks. For the most part the venues were either existing motorsport facilities like Watkins Glen or Indy, or temporary like Long Beach or Dallas or Vegas. The existing facilities didn't need the aggravation and the temporary sites were just that. I don't think anyone has ever made money putting on the USPG. Even a facility as good as CoTA is having a hard time making a go of it.
COTA has been "in trouble" since they broke ground. Wake me up when they announce an F1 race is cancelled or F1 announces they will not return.
This is just Bernie's racket. The dust has settled after a few years events and everyone see's that they're loosing money and Bernie is the only one making money from the deal.
I still see more sense in this. It's the one thing missing from Vegas. A nightrace. Think they'll make a buck too...And local business owners/hookers will have a very profitable week....
Austin is good but Vegas is phantastic. Much better infrastructure for the public. And $ wise better chance to break even. So much for all those day dreamers who thought a purpose built track was financially easier than a temp street race. BS.
I think it would have been had they followed Hellmund's advice and kept the cost to around the $225M he told them would allow profitability. Instead they went and broke the business model by spending almost twice that.
Maybe. I think it is obvious that a temp race always costs less than building a track. Just common sense.
It costs less for one year, obviously, but the costs are recurring. And then you can't have any other events throughout the year to help defray the cost, as you don't actually have a track. You also have very little in the way of assets to help your borrowing power. COTA screwed themselves by spending way too much. All those construction delays didn't help.
Recalling the reports posted on F-Chat from the COTA watchers in Austin, their business plan went off the rails almost as soon as ground was broken. Frankly, once they all started suing each other, I thought the whole thing was going to come to nothing. So, the fact that they got the track finished in time (but way over budget) was a surprise, if not a minor miracle. But, once you start mixing politicians and Bernie, acrimony is bound to follow. Bernie's $25M sanctioning fee is completely absurd, even top European tracks are balking at his outrageous demands opting instead for WEC, DTM, MotoGP and Touring Car events where they can actually remain solvent and not fall into bankruptcy. The fact that Hellmund took his show to Carlos Slim and they've revived the Grand Prix of Mexico is telling. COTA sounds like a fantastic facility but long term, F-1 won't last with their sanctioning demands, and yet another U.S. track will be left holding the bag while Bernie flies away with their $25M into his Swiss bank account. BHW
I don't know the answer to the question at COTA, but I do know many tracks manage to pay their staff, maintain the grounds and so on with the revenue from the 'peanuts'. Silverstone, Spa, Thunderhill & Laguna all keep going by hosting events most weekends. I'm certainly no expert, but seems to me that done right the 'peanuts' should be enough to keep it going and hosting a GP should be the cherry on the cake. Cheers, Ian
The trick here is to be the second or third guy in. Wash away all of the debt of the original investors, give them a bath and a haircut. Buy this dog for about $50-100mm and get on with running a marginally profitable enterprise that is a labor of love and not a property coveted by a hedge fund.
