some interesting quotes... http://www.statesman.com/news/local/circuit-of-the-americas-seeks-assistance-from-travis-2286326.html
Still not sure why they built it in the middle of friggin' nowhere cow pastures. Orlando would have been a much better location. Their airport and infrastructure can easily handle a race weekend in addition to all the other attractions.
Orlando could have been another Malaysia in terms of weather though. That area of Florida has very unpredictable weather. Could be fun I guess.
Building a track in Florida, and particularly in the Orlando area isn't as easy as it would seem. Orlando is sprawling out in all directions. Areas that used to be pristine pasture and orange grove land are now covered in housing or new highways. A colleague in the early FOC Florida Region had plans to build a beautiful facility in a remote area between Ocala and Daytona called Lightning Ridge Motorsports Park a decade ago. This is actually an area of Florida with some topography and that track would have resembled Road Atlanta in many ways. Despite the remote location of the property, the facility was met with one bureaucratic obstacle after another prompted by the 900lb gorilla on the block, Daytona International Speedway, and to a lesser degree Sebring International Raceway both of which which saw Lightning Ridge as a direct threat to their bottom lines, the paranoia of DIS was not to be believed. Despite all this, plans for construction carried on and the pemitting process began. The Lightning Ridge project was doomed however as the uphill fight with local bureaucrats when a noise ordinance was issued and the owners couldn't guarantee they would be within the ordinance despite the fact the nearest domicile was eight miles from the track site and the nearest populated town was fifteen miles away. Any proposed Central Florida track would come under heavy attack by DIS and SIR especially if the notion of hosting F-1 was behind the plan. It's simply not happening. BHW
There's a lot of empty land east of Orlando International around the 528-417 junction next to Lake Nona and just south and west of the power station. Just east of Celebration is a lot of empty land large enough to fit all of Daytona International Speedway's complex.
+ a million Orlando is ideal in terms of infrastructure, family vacation and airline connections to the US, Europe and South America.
As far as hotels and things for tourists to see Austin/west Texas is not that good compared to Orlando as Orlando does have Disney World and all the hotels it requires. As far as airline connections Dallas and Houston have plenty of international and domestic flights but Austin does not compared to Orlando during the winter travel season. The weather in Orlando is good in November. If they moved it to summer it would probably rain. I have been watching this thread and also the NJ GP thread and have to say Austin better really hurry up if they want to run a race this year. It does not look good at all to me at this point.
Tommy answered most of this already. But lets just add this: It would have been a very different ballgame if they had chosen Dallas instead of Austin: Dallas has a LOT more infrastructure to offer including direct international flights from South America and Europe. And plenty of hotels, restaurants, highways and other sight seeing attractions to keep the travellers happy. Or to put it differently: Selecting Austin over Texas is a bit like putting a GP track into Watkins Glen as opposed to NY. It makes for a better track, but is much harder to get to and therefore attracts a lot less people. Similar arguments can be made for other great tracks in the US: Laguna Seca, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring. All great places and all lack the infrastructure to support 100k+ fans.
No. It is not. Orlando has direct flights, and very competitive prices, to all the major cities in Europe, Central and South America. There are constant bargain flights to Orlando being advertised in these areas, prices that are not available to us within the States. It, along with south Florida (3 hours by car) has a huge built-in Spanish speaking South American base, an ethinic group second to only Europeans for their love of motor sports. There is a semi private airport near Orlando, that serves large charter flights from Canada, Europe, and South America. Flights to Houston/Dallas are not usually cheap. United and American control those markets. I fly Houston from south Florida twice per month, not a bargain if I consider when I am Mexico, I can get to Orlando for 60% of what I pay domestically. Orlando area hotels are second in the USA only to Las Vegas, and were able to handle over 50 million tourists in 2011, of which nearly 4 million were international. It has an airport that easily compares to Houston or Dallas, probably more efficient. Road infrastructure in the Orlando area is politically amazing. Can't think of any major city in the USA that has so many interstate type roads and Orlando is not a major city, so somebody's palm got greased. Additionally there is AMTRAK service from Boston/NYC, and Miami. Orlando also has the diversion factor. A trip to a major auto race there with the family, means the kids and the wife will not be pissed that you are spending money to go to a friggin car race without them. A factor also for the families of team members. The Atlantic beach is less than an hour away, the Gulf beach a little more. Cruise ships, NASA facility, so much to do there. Weather is not an issue in Orlando, a road race will happen rain or shine, although a little planning and rain should not be a factor. But then, rain does equalize the field. Land costs are really decent in Orlando, and the only reason that it would trump Miami as the ideal location for an international auto race. Not intending to put down Austin, or Texas, just that when viewed from a business perspective, Orlando would attract more spectators for a much much longer time. They pay the bills that keep a race circuit alive. An Orlando description: "Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States. The Greater Orlando metropolitan area has a population of 2,134,411, making it the 26th largest metro area in the United States, the sixth largest metro area in the Southeastern United States, and the third largest metro area in Florida. Orlando is the fifth largest city in Florida, and the state's largest inland city. Orlando is nicknamed "The City Beautiful" and its symbol is the fountain at Lake Eola. The city is best known for the Walt Disney World Resort (located approximately 21 miles (34 km) southwest of Downtown Orlando in Lake Buena Vista), founded by the Walt Disney Company in 1971, and for the Universal Orlando Resort (which consists of two parks, Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, as well as other attractions, including City Walk). Orlando is also home to the SeaWorld theme park, Gatorland, as well as Wet 'n Wild Water Park. With the exception of Walt Disney World, most major attractions are located along International Drive. The city's famous attractions form the backbone of Orlando's tourism industry, making the city the most visited American city in 2009.[5] The city is also one of the busiest American cities for conferences and conventions. Like other major cities in the Sun Belt, Orlando grew rapidly during the 1980s and well into the first decade of the 21st century. Orlando is also home to the University of Central Florida, which is the second largest university in the United States in terms of enrollment (as of 2011). Orlando attracts over 51 million tourists a year (3.6 million of them are international tourists). Its airport, the Orlando International Airport (MCO), is the thirteenth busiest airport in the United States, and the 29th busiest in the world."
What he said. Plus a racetrack near Orlando could easily offer a lot of year round touristy attractions (like e.g. rent an exotic on a race track) to all car buffs. The difference between Orlando and Austin is while COTA could be used for other racing events year round, the audience would most likely be the locals. That gets old eventually. In Orlando you'd have a fresh set of tourists every week, that never gets old and remains a perpetual seller.
COTA having racing events "year round". Hmmm. I don't think the locals will be coming out during the 100 degree days. Don't know about Orlando, but the Texas summers are brutal. Maybe they should put a large Olympic size pool out there.
Just buy Sebring and you have a track close enough to all the Florida cities. You could add F1 style turns, runoffs, more grandstands and I think it's for sale. Sebring already had a USGP race so it has some history for central Florida. Kind of a cowpoke part of the country other than Orlando and Disney World but it can draw large crowds.
I'm not so hot about Sebring as it too is in the middle of nowhere with no major highways going there. Also there are basically no hotels nearby and the airport is about as small as the one in Austin. Sebring is ok for ALMS but too provincial for F1. Anyhow, our discussion is somewhat academic since the dice have been rolled with Austin and NY. My crystall ball says Austin is a no-go and NY will be it. For how long is another question, but for the foreseeable future this will be it.
That ends up being like the Austin GP...track removed from big cities without major roadways other than the fact Sebring has history behind it. Sebring is not a city with lots of hotels and major highways. You might as well just use Daytona for the USGP or St. Pete's airport for a track like they do in Carts/IRL.
Yes, Andreas is correct. Sebring gets what 50,000 for the 12 hour, but it is a tradition of drinking with a few interested in the race. It is in the middle of nowhere with not very highway access.
from they won't have the money to build it, to they won't have it done in time, to it doesn't matter if they have it built in time, it will be a failure..... this thread has made a lot of progress in almost 2 years
Austin is in Texas, right? Why hasn't some megabillion oil company come along, and invest in this misadventure, probably getting approval from the Feds to write off the investment? The TEXACO International Motor SpeedTaxWriteOffWay. Sounds OK to me as long as they really have an F1 race, and I can sit in the grandstands for under $300 each. Or is Austin as progressive as I have heard, and the rest of Texas (Texans) hates them?
2008 Canadian GP was $400 for ALL 3 DAYS per grandstand seat right at the hairpin. Got to see Robert Kubica get his one and only win in F1. City nightlife was amazing, (WAY better than Indy) getting to and from the track on the subway was super easy. We even were able to fly into Burlington VT for $400 cheaper, rented a car and drove across the border. Didn't have to buy a stupid seat license or anything ridiculous like that. I think that after the first year you'll be able to buy pretty good tickets year by year at COTA without the license crap. Especially once the NJ race is up and running.
A track in Orlando (and stating it again) is so not happening. Local short tracks across Central Florida are being bought up, shut down and tilled under to make room for warehouses. The Central Florida urban sprawl will one day (soon) see to it that the I-4 corridor is one long continuous city from Tampa to Daytona. Daytona International Speedway would block any notions of having a new circuit built in the Orlando area which is the one thing they and Sebring would be united on. The point is moot. Moving forward, with the information received this week from COTA, we're making our plans to attend the USGP at Austin in November. BHW
Oddly enough I got an email from the Ferrari Club of America alerting me that through them (I'm a member) I'll soon have the opportunity to buy tickets for the GP in Austin. Has nobody told FCA that this is not going to happen? Are they that naive? They're gonna end up with a lot of outraged members asking for their money back.
