US GP in Austin Discussion and Speculation...

no drugs? count me out.

 

Have you ever seen Formula1 on weed man?!

 

Sorry Jerry I got turned around.

 

LMAO!!!

 

I was WONDERING how my PMs exploded over the weekend, while I was drinking at Gruene Hall.....and the Continental Club.

Helicopters???

Okay!!!

 

It's a one newspaper town, unless you count the free weekely that focuses on entertainment.

Construction there on other large works is not great (speculative downtown residential has completed) but there is a new highrise hotel going up in the heart of downtown.

 

It does RP, Traffic Management will maximize the flow in and out, from what I have read.

 

He means on HIS bus....I think Saint Arnolds kegs will be piped in, on the other ones....

 

...we just a bunch of hicks, so don't blame our newspaper for putting purdy pictures (most "readers" can't read)...even the local college football team makes front page occasionally so imaging how dumb the locals are!!

 

Maybe its not because Austin is a small time city, it's because the track is that big of a deal.......

 

mmm, santo and their regular root beer is classic.

 

The track has hired a 3rd party that specializes in the sale of PSL's, premium seating and suites to sell for them.. Although this is proven to work with fan bases that are passionate and willing to pay( NFL, college football, etc), I see a limited at best potential of this to raise income that would affect the bottom line... There isnt the fan and corporate infrastructure to make this formula work.. Look at TV and the airing of F1 races in the US, limited to Speed TV, that says it all.. Oh well... Wish them luck...


http://circuitoftheamericas.teamworkonline.com/teamwork/jobs/jobs.cfm/Sales-and-Marketing?supcat=1891

 

Hmm no fan base?? If I am not mistaken the USGP was a sellout for a few years until all the inner bickering started in the George family. We have so many historical F1 tracks here in the US but the problem is the owners are not willing to lube up for BE and his butt games.

Lacking corporate infrastructure????


Only time will tell and I hope we are surprised in a good way and not by all the "I told you so's". The US needs a damn GP and that is the bottom line yet the NYC/NJ venue is the only one other than Austin with a chance and that is only because of Bernies festering greed, he once loved F1 but now it's just a joke to him imho and he should be ashamed of himself.

 

I put together a group that bought 6 PSL's at the Texas Motor Speedway back in 1996. After 6 years of yearly price increases, and having to buy all the racing events put on
there each year, we bailed. They sold somewhere above 50,000 to that venue that can hold as many as 220,000. We got nothing for the PSL's, as many people had not renewed at some point, and many of those were back for sale by the track. We did have 6 years of Nascar, Trucks and Indycars, and the time together made it worth it, but I won't be buying again. I would rather take pot luck buying tickets direct, or from a scalper who has the best seats. It's more about the quality of the experience now than the quantity.

That being said, I expect they will sell 20-30,000 of them to fans, speculators, corporations for entertaining, and scalpers. Being at the first NASCAR and Indycar races at Texas Motor Speedway with 220,000 and 100,000 plus attending, I expect F1 to draw
over 100,000 for this event, and possibly many more. Being within 3 hours of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, and those 21million people, there's bound to be a lot of racing fans out there.

 

I am referencing the big picture of the value of F1 in the US, the TV package a sport has is a direction reflection of its value in market.. NASCAR, NFL, College football... These are multibilllion dollar investments that can sell billions of dollars of revenue in advertising, merchandising and related income.. Open wheel in the US is of little value to TV, whether it be Indycar, F1 or even road racing, a direct reflection of the fan base and corporate infrastructure in the sport( sponsors)... Look at the US and world companies in F1 today versus, the late nineties, less marketing and sponsorship dollars today... I'm thinking how many companies will pay for premium suites, not the same market...IMS had a marketing and sales infrastructure that could support and sell, you as a season ticket holder would also have tickets to the Brickyard which was a huge incentive for participation personal or corporate the TV went from ABC to Speed... If you went to the first F1 race and the last one at Indy, you could see not only lower attendance but less corporate presence..I think they will have a decent crowd and attendance at the first event, but they are misreading the market in my opinion to think that this is a long term solution for the fan and companies involved The first year will get a great bump from curiosity seekers and fans that miss F1 in the US but the second, third and fourth years, by then the GP in NJ will enter the market I think it will be tough for Austin.....I am not only a open wheel fan but have worked in the industry for 15 years, not a told you so here. I do want them to succeed.

 

No good answer has come forth, so I'm starting to conclude you're right.

 

It was the tire fiasco that killed F1 Indy, the fans paying full price were not too happy watching eight cars...or was it six???

Then Tony George's overthrow DID kill the chances of a re-up with Bernie....but the fans left with the tire problems.

CEO of Michelin drowned in the ocean not long after.....

 

Yes sir I remember that as I have it on tape and I only mentioned the USGP at Indy because I think attendance had slightly waived but it was still significant enough for the race to continue. My point being is I get very frustrated by US F1 fans on this site constantly downplaying and feeling as if they speak for everyone other US F1 fan when they say there is not enough interest here to support a F1 race when in reality they should be behind ANY EFFORT 110%!

Lets look at the Austin track while excluding F1 from the picture entirely. What other US venue is state of the art, a new challenge, central for basically any US based series/teams and can be a year around circuit. I think too many people who are controlling this track are shortsighted and looking for instant monetary gratification without enough foresight to realize what could be. Just like my investment perception I'm taking a Warren Buffet style approach and thinking about the future so as long as there is quality management in place I do not in the immediate future see why this track and investment into USF1 cannot be sustainable and lucrative.

 

Does being behind the effort mean not talking about certain realities? Anyone who doesn't voice the challenges misses the opportunity to hear concerns that could be worked out ahead of time. For instance, one of the big challenges is location. I don't mean physical, I mean Austin's people. While there is an F1 fan base in the US, Austin just doesn't have many. I'm talking 200 or 300 die hards in a town of 1 million. So somebody at COTA better being talking about that, or face the music down the road.
Another issue is the "world class facility" promotion. Sure COTA intends on that as a long term goal, but we've heard that the facility won't be fully completed until 2013 or 2014. They've openly said for the first race they will have the track and things necessary to hold the race complete by 2012. Promoting yourself as a world class facility and having a 3/4 built facility...well...Korea?
And then there's the zinger...the global economy. I saw on the news today...God forbid...$5 a gallon gas later this year.

So is all that negativity? I don't think so. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

 

I didn't leave...the races themselves are anti climatic anyway. Overall the event was great all four days. As they were for the seven I attended. I continued to attend even though Michelin screwed the sport. George stood up to Eckelstone, Indy going away had nothing tho do with George leaving, albeit maybe the other way around.

 

WOW ... I certainly hope the race happens here in The Good Ole USofA (Korea comparison...really?) Oh forget it ... I think I'm gonna dig a hole and crawl in. Well, I will DVR it I guess!

 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.363953903619161.102825.157330087614878&type=3
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Thats pretty sexy imho.

 

Has anyone booked hotels yet in the Austin area?
I went online to try to book a room for the race weekend and everything is sold out.

 

I have