Now this today ......not surprised at all.

not at all surprised about this - just wondered when it was coming - wham!! of course the CEO believes the F1 race was a success....duh, would he say anything to the contrary?? NO - so to make all this money - us the fans are the ones who will suffer the most with high priced tickets, over priced hotel rooms to come to witness a procession of cars and pay high cost airfares to do this??!??

Sounds like this guy's job might just be on the line??? being demanded to make $$$ (read below)

my post on another thread last night:
A 21st century Monaco perhaps - afterall this is the RICHEST place in the entire world, move over Monaco! The pit exit tunnel is actually no different than if you covered the new pit entrance at Spa or even covered Silverstone. It's far better than Valencia or Singapore but doesn't rate as high as Spa for me. Would I go to an F1 race there, no for many reasons. I prefer the "openness" at Monaco from Grandstand K when you look out across the harbor to the open sea - the moorings here seemed a bit claustrophobic to me, could be just the tv cameras that gave that appearance. The Yas Hotel on the circuit is a novel idea if you can afford it - like AED 2,000+ per night and has 500 rooms (that's a boatload of money per night they take in!), the Yas Island Rotana is AED 1700-2000 per night.

I'm sure that Creegan (I think that's his name) and the others might not be overally thrilled when and if they read all the websites, surely this is not how they planned to see their first race viewed by the public/media -> one F1 website story title reads "Vettel Wins Dull Procession in UAE" or "Abu Dhabi GP...Vettel Wins Season-Ending Snore" or this " or this "It was no desert classic. In fact, if it hadn't been for a late race charge from Jenson Button, Andrew Davies thinks it might have been the most boring race of the season" or "The 2009 Formula One season ended in a spectacular whimper at the inaugural day-night race in Abu Dhabi" - or perhaps they knew this type of race would occur with the current rules (one would hope this is the case).

Carol

NOW TODAY'S NEWS STORY

Richard Cregan has confirmed he is under pressure to make money on the most expensive circuit in Formula One history.

The CEO of Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management believes the inaugural grand prix was a success.

The Yas Marina venue, an oil-funded £800million jewel, certainly provided a stunning backdrop to the season-ending grand prix.

The sport's first day-night race itself, though, won by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, arguably did not do the setting justice until a dramatic ending provided by Mark Webber and Jenson Button.

Although the event was a 50,000 sell-out, it is hard to imagine how money can be made, particularly as the entire island project is due to cost a jaw-dropping £22billion.

The Ferrari World theme park, Warner Bros theme park, Yas Mall and world championship golf course are all due to be completed by the middle of next year, ensuring it becomes a year-round attraction.

As for the circuit, calendar dates are already being filled with other motorsport events and, unlike other tracks such as Turkey and Shanghai, it should retain its popularity.

As for eventually making a profit, that is hard to imagine but, like any business, Cregan maintains it is the bottom line that matters.

"My brief is to make money and that's come from our chairman, His Excellency. He has made that very clear," said Cregan on what is being demanded from Abu Dhabi's ruler, Khaldoon Khalifa al Mubarak.

"What's expected is we make money, we make this place pay, that Yas Marina becomes a successful project in terms of financial issues as well as everything else.

"So far he's been pleased. He's had a lot of positive feedback. In general, we're in a very positive place and we're very happy with that.

"But we're at a time where we need to deliver. Formula One is a tough business.

"We've invested a lot of time and effort in making this a good circuit and we want to maintain that but we've a lot of work to do."

Cregan is convinced Abu Dhabi will continue to succeed where other new circuits are now struggling to attract the fans.

"A lot of new grands prix tend to fall off after the first year," remarked Cregan.

"But we will have even more to offer, in terms of the facilities and the other attractions, that will compensate for that.

"The opening of Ferrari World and the like won't necessarily increase the demand but it will ensure there is a constant demand.

"We've already got people looking to book tickets and hotels for next year, so we believe we'll be able to provide an equally successful event.

"This year we've had a great response from everybody - the teams, the fans, the officials. Everybody has given us a big thumbs-up.

"We know very clearly we have things to work on as it's our first event but it's been a great success.

"We've worked very hard to deliver a quality event that will keep people happy for many years to come.

"We've already got a good infrastructure and we've got a lot of plans for the future to keep upgrading this facility and making sure we focus on customer care, customer attention.

"In return we're going to help move Formula One forward, so it's a two-way thing, a joint venture between ourselves and (F1 supremo) Bernie Ecclestone. That's what we want to build on."

 

I googled and found this:

Annual berthing fees can range from AED15,000 to AED 25,000 ! (based on Dubai prices where many berths are available). Plus leaving your boat in the water results in hull marine growths, so you will need to have it cleaned/scraped monthly. You can also charge your battery at the villa, otherwise you will need a berth with an electric supply. In some areas, small boats are simply moored to a weight and float system (much cheaper) but no electric supply.

based on today's exchange, AED 15,000 = USD 4,083.91; AED 25,000 = USD 6,080.15

in this forum they also referenced the rates being skyrocketed for the F1 race - unless I dreamed this, it seems that Monaco is some gawdawful 10K per day or more for your little dock space

here's something else I found while searching - take a look at this PDF - hey...a Looney Tunes Park is coming ! ! ! ! ! (on a side note, look at one of the "characters" in this URL ! ! ! "$" To say this place ooozes $ is an understatement.

http://www.yasisland.ae/$Common/Doc/YasIslandFactSheet_en_gb.pdf