In countries with better fan support than the USA and probably places with much lower operational costs.. Economic impact to the community for sports complexes are always grossly overestimated. Being pretty libertarian I believe if it makes good economic sense, private money will pay and if not the tax payers should not be on the hook. I now live in the area but did not when it was built. Had I been I would not have supported it and having been there and been to this years race I see it no differently. I see no way for it to survive without large infusions of tax dollars, all poured down a big black unfillable hole. I cannot understand how anyone considered this a good financial deal. I hope the fleamarket organizers are willing to pay big bucks for use of the quagmire like parking lots.
Car racing is like hunting. Few have the passion for it anymore. I'll bet you dinner a 15y/o male today would rather sit in the back seat playing his phone riding at 25mph in a google driverless car than lust after spirited ownership of a 488GTB.
Some sports Americans just have no great interest in and some they cannot spend enough money on. Soccer and most forms of motor racing just are of no big interest here, it really is that simple. Europeans do not share our passion for our version of football. That simple. Even with our national interest in football we need massive tax dollars to build stadiums that make team owners happy and all we are really doing is transferring money from the tax payers to the owners, players etc. I don't watch football games, why should I pay? Want a fancy stadium with 60,000 + seats, great, knock yourself out but plan on paying $500 for a ticket. Just don't try selling that tired crap that a few temporary low wage jobs in the form of hot dog sellers is going to compensate the community for the tax money spent. A racing complex is that x10, especially when Bernie is in the equation. Many tracks here built for far less money would be better in every way for the fans but do not meet Bernies needs. I'd rather see a race at Laguna Seca or Thunder Hill than Cota any day. Except for the track itself I think the place is a disaster. Some of it is already falling apart and it isn't even finished yet. If building and operating a Cota is what it takes it is not a sustainable sport.
You are right; the taxpayers money often goes to subsidise facilities only enjoyed by a few. Football stadiums, velodromes, concert hall, theatres, etc... For example, only a limited elite is interested in ballet, opera, plays or classical music, but their entertainment is largely subsidised.
You won't!! Each era has its interests, and they all have a limited lifespan. Sport has become an entertainment industry during the 20th century, but it will not last for ever.
Laguna Seca would get my vote any day. I never understood the reasoning behind COTA, when there are so many tracks in the US. Before it was off the ground, I suspected it would become a white elephant.
Blame your American decency Laws for that! - Without those Laws you could have "Hooters" all uncovered!
My answer is different. Ian asks get it back? It was never here. The first 2 years at Cota and Indy both reflected a temporary curiosity. It was satisfied in the first 2 years and is going down every year. At it's heyday F1 at Watkins Glen did not attract a huge number of Americans. It was less costly to attend and a far less costly venue to support so it had some viability. What we are really talking about is creating a demand where there never really was one. If you want to increase interest get Ford and Chevy to field entries and get Bob and Jim to drive them. Not sure that is in the cards however. Like it or not we are interested in American sports and American competitors. F1 does not represent that. Bernie has created a business plan that does not work in the good old USA and we need to accept that. The pouring of large quantities of money into his pocket can over come that so the USA needs a sugar daddy to make it happen. The tax payers are not inclined to be that sugar daddy.
Im in Germany My comment was that would be an additional place or thing to go to at COTA along with the other items listed in that photo. Hooters is popular in the US!
Don't paint with such a broad brush...we have no decency in Oregon and have many uncovered hooters as a result.
In that case, F1 is of no interest to the US. F1 is a global championship that visits the world, it's not a national series. We are talking chalk and cheese here. F1 has (so far) no US car, no US team, and no US driver, so I can understand the problem. Beside, it would visit the USA only once a year, and not always. Haas and Rossi may slightly change that in future, but COTA may go under with a replacement. NASCAR is a far better proposition for the US public: they can see 20 or 30 races per season at home, with US-made cars, run by US-based teams and mostly pedaled by US drivers, with easy-to-understand regulations.
Regardless of how badly Bernie says they need F1 in America, they don't, they went without for a long, long time and few really cared. Yeah, some did, but that number adds up to nothing, really, in the true grand scheme of things. And Long Beach, and Watkins Glen, and Detroit, and Phoenix, and Las Vegas, and Dallas, and Indy. Face it: if F1 WANTED to be here, they would, but they quite obviously don't, they don't NEED the USA and the USA does not 'really' need F1. Let's be honest and not dreaming. If F1 WANTED to be here they could MAKE it work and one of several facilities that have been around for a long, long time. 100% totally agreed. I'm not negative, just stating the facts. I don't like 'em anymore than any of you do, but (F1) it's all about the $$$ and NOTHING else. He pulled Canada until the gov't kicked in, he's done it elsewhere, he's GOOD at it.
Agree. I tried to go a few times. Aside from the strategic-level issues of money, F1, Bernie, US fans, etc, they helped kill themselves. From a fan's perspective - no programs on Sunday the first year, no information sent to ticket holders, never answering phones, useless website, no shade, no water fountains, no proper bathrooms, charging FedEx for tickets that come by USPS, PSL promises not met, dropping ticket prices just before the race, constant changing parking plans, no project management, the whole Kevin Schwantz PR nightmare, tickets arriving AFTER the race purchased 6 months beforehand, etc. As the simple guy on the ground; that's what matters to me. That's my value for money, my reasons to not return. All that big stuff is irrelevant to the guy who just wants to go watch a car or motorcycle race, and you can't even host an event like a proper venue. Our Saturday Flea Market is managed far better.
The reason Bernie keeps coming back to the US are: - to be a FIA World championship, F1 must hold events on every continent. Mexico or Canada will do. - some teams have reported in the past that their sponsors would like a GP in the US. The US are a big market, where sponsors would like exposure.
Yep. I've said it before. Ask a millennial what would they rather have; a Porsche Boxster or next years Apple iPhone and you'll get the wrong answer every time. Sad.
Not sad, it's just a sign of the time. A new generation don't forcibly accept the taste of the previous one.
I'm 99.9% sure there's nothing in the rules that states there must be events on every continent. They simply go where the money is, whether that's 2 or 3 races in North America or none at all it's still the FIA WCC. Sure. Merc in particular have been particularly vociferous here. BMW before them. And a long list of other sponsors who I'm sure appreciate a US race. But it's not mandatory that there's a race in North America.
Maybe for the second reason I gave: " - some teams have reported in the past that their sponsors would like a GP in the US. The US are a big market, where sponsors would like exposure. " Anyway, I mentioned that a series should have events on every continent to be called a World Championship, but that doesn't mean it's restricted to one event only: Europe has several, so has Asia, etc...
I think it's the intention of the FIA that a series must have events held on every continent to be called a world championship. That's applicable to F1, WEC, WRC, rallycross, etc... There may be exception (Africa comes to mind), but that's the broad intention. Bernie is trying to go back to South Africa.
It's supposed to be TAX revenues on area sales related to the event, hotel, transportation, purchases, and booze. it sounds like our new Auditor has revised the way it is calculated. This is by no means REAL money, it's all theoretical calculations on paper! I bring my own booze, stay free, and get the free F1 insert from the Statesman! Going by that, they would have never made Year 2! Recall also that Tavo's sanctioning fee was $20M to Uncle Bernie. Ironic that, isn't it??? Epstein's fee, after firing Tavo, went to the current $25M.
If Mercedes-Benz is so proud of their F1 accomplishments, how come they never mention them in any of their U.S. advertising??
