I was only addressing the faulty parallel that the poster drew between Austin and Abu Dahbi and the rest. At this point they're casting a wide net looking for public and quasi-public money. To me this says that they haven't found sufficient private funding.
The School of Business at U of T is named after Red McCombs so he has some pull there too. Red is a sharp cookie. He bought the Minnesota Vikings for $250 million and sold them 7 years later for $600 million. He is old and I'm sure the F1 track is something he believe builds on his legacy in the Austin area. You can't take it with you.
One doesn't have to exclude the other. I'm really torn on this project: To me it is a 50/50 call whether this will happen or not. Very much different from USF1 where it was blatantly obvious that it would never happen. We'll see.
I agree. The key now is funding. Today's show and last week's appeal for grassroots support may get the ball rolling. I hope it happens but it is too early to call it certain. Worst case. Austin will have a track of some sort.
its called Star flight around here. yes, he was sitting quietly, probably got a good laugh when they announced houston-tiltson college of business as an education partner, seeing as how the UT school of business bears his name....... and, if Texas were a country, it'd rank in top 10 in terms of GDP. As for the 20 mill sillyness, i've pointed it out several times. there's more than one corporate entity involved in this project, it's just the only public record they could find to attach a dollar amount to. the land there cost way more than $20 million.....
I can't believe the comments I'm reading. One news event full of puff and very little substance and all of a sudden these clowns are the smartest guys in the room? They said that about Enron too, remember. Get real people! Simon^2 is the only one who still has it right. These guys still don't have the money and today's little performance was nothing more than a desperate attempt to get some dumb guy with a lot of money to invest in a sure-to-fail fiasco. If I had been dumb enough to sign a deal with the devil that required me to be up and running by next March or face not only the loss of my money but (assuming the FIA actually follows its own regulations - that's a BIG IF) also being barred from the 2013 F1 calendar, I'd be working 24/7 to get done instead of doing a PR stunt with everyone patting everyone else on the back and telling each other how great they are. Just because they trot out grandiose plans doesn't change anything. I've been commenting on the Statesman articles for months asking when the press is finally going to ask these guys to "show us the money". You'ld think that with so many fans asking the same questions, someone would figure that until they give an answer, they have zero credibility.
the smart guy with a lot of money, was the old one sitting in a white shirt on the left. It's not a public project, no shareholders to answer to. No reason to talk about financials. Do you really think an 80+ year old billionare is going to lend his name to a project like this, on a whim, hoping the guy gets it together? No, he's not. the money is there, it's gonna happen.
Multi use huh? So where's the doggy park? And those walkers should provide huge financial returns. Tour de Austin bike race, where was LA? He probably wanted upfront $$ to appear. The dignitaries looked very impressed by the jackets.
Just because McCombs lent his name to something doesn't mean anything to me. If the simple ones who believe this nonsense keep saying "the money's there" I have to ask "Have you seen it?" Where is it? Sure they have no obligation to tell anyone where it is. I'll admit that. But if I was the one taking so much heat about no money and having so many doubters out htere, I'd sure as heck get someone with real credibility (maybe the CEO of BoA?) to vouch for them and say "we're holding the money, it's really there". Until someone shows me the money I aint buyin' it. Remember, when this was first announced and no one seemed to know Hellmund from the guy who collects your garbage, a bunch of known racing and exotic car enthusiasts in texas came forward to say "we never heard of this guy" and "no one asked us to invest", Hellmund was saying that he had all the money and didn't need any investors. And he said the deal was $180 million. Then it grew to $250 million. Now it's $400 million. And he's been out there scrambling with a private placement of a meager $12 million. So the money is there? SHOW ME SIMPLE ONE, SHOW ME!
You're right. Tavo formed a different company, and rounded up a few private investors to pay off good ol' Red, so he could use his name. He then made up offerings of Jackets to some politicans to get them on board too. Did you see those jackets?? They're pretty sweet. If you took time to read the whole thread on this forum, you will find out, that there is an alternate plan in place to still hold an F1 race, if he can't sell his song and dance show to any more people........ Image Unavailable, Please Login
So when the hell can we buy the damn tickets??? And is the date set in stone? They can get funding by selling tickets early, no? Much rather buy them early than pay double (or more) from ticket scalpers later on.
And with your attitude, I am certainly glad you missed out on the opportunity. And I am sure Ben is too.
Good... so now you have no reason to post or view this thread anymore. Seriously Simon, why keep posting when you have nothing but negative stuff to say. Didn't anyone ever tell you, "if you don't have anything nice to say..." ahh never mind. I forgot who I was talking to.
No kidding...they are really coming out of the woodwork. There's no money because some guy on the internet says so. I have no idea whether there is funding or not; if there is, I get the benefit of a GP that I can make a weekend out of. If not....well I still enjoy the sport passionately. Why be SO hellbent on trying to yell "the emperor has no clothes"?
Fool me once shame on you. Fol me twice shame on me. USF1 has left a lot of distrust among American F1 fans.
If there is no capital, than why has Tilke designed a facility, why is construction underway, why are so many local businesses preparing for on-site location, and how, if there is no money, do they own this land and manage to get past all the locals and the city counsel who didn't want this thing to happen?
