I keep hearing people blame low turn out on the weather. What percentage of tickets are presold as opposed to at the gate? I don't know anyone who didn't buy the tickets so far in advance there was no way weather was known. Weather may have effected the number at the gate but I can't see how it effected ticket sales which is what they count. As for food quality I think it was as good as any motorsports event I have been to but $14 was about the minimum cost for any food or drink that I saw. As for bathrooms, all I saw were clusters of porta potties cleverly located in the middle of various mud bogs. I was told the tolerable ones were deepest in the bog because no one wanted to wade in that far. For a venue of that nature not having permanent, reasonable quality facilities is just stupidity and reflects on the overall mismanagement. Sure, the rain was bad and maybe even unusual but it is not like the area isn't known for heavy rain, flooding etc and it is as though the entire design team and construction operation thought they were building in Phoenix on high ground. Too many inexcusable design problems. I think the most profitable operation all race week were the guys towing cars and busses out of the mud. There must have been 100 of them in the lot I was in alone.
BigTex would get these important issues resolved ie the ones that should have been resolved during construction.
Heaven forbid I drop my Chicken Fingers........it would have left a GREASE mark, on the Main Straight!! Thankfully my awesome Crew Jacket had big pockets!! My visitors from Cali laughed their ass off, as I I stuffed them in there, to warm up later! Bachelors don't waste food......
Dude, The Rules at COTA are fairly straight forward (and published) but sadly, as we saw Saturday with the tweets to ticket holders ("The Track is closed until Noon, don't come out" while they ran CARS on it!) while I was zooming in, on a commandeered Golf Cart (wrapped totally in Saran Wrap for a windshield)...there is just a disjointedness, to the Management. It sounds a lot like: "Let them eat cake, then !!" And we know how THAT worked out... They would not let us walk in, with coffee purchased outside the Property... No Smoking either!
The architect, Tilke is German.. But, they officed in downtown for the entire design and construction phase. Some of that $400 million was I'm sure some nice dinners! The tunnel flooding (the following weekend) is really troubling, to me, as that means a major malfunction of the civil design, of course if no one is watching during construction, these lines will fill with sand, and plug solid.... People don't do what you expect, people do what you INSPECT!
Here you see the dependence on "rentals' in lieu of the permanent facilities, for The Big Show. Your point is well made though, if these were permanent, it would be a one time cost, instead of the expense item yearly. That part was a poor decision, to keep the initial cost down, everyone has forgotten the "on/off" problems that occurred while the Power Struggle and final franchise agreements were forged. I am sure all the PSL holders I was with, (or using their tickets) will send an earfull about the mud, it was so bad the 20' from the tent to the cans in Turn 15 ruined your shoes EVERY time!!!
Thanks, Gregg.....but I found they would not even loan me a tractor and a chain, from the Grounds Department. I tried!
I have not forgotten about the problems but you know the old saying "You only have once to make a first impression". The first impression wasn't great for many and when it went into a second year that most gave them they kind of blew their chance. Everyone was forgiving the first year, the second not so much and most of the West Coast fans I know skipped it this year and will not be back. People who fly all over the world to go to F1 and they don't go here anymore. What about the failure of the retaining wall next to it? Seems like it failed it's first test. Good thing it didn't collapse on race weekend. Also in my opinion the infield infrastructure buildings could not have been better designed to block sight lines. Many tracks put a tunnel under the track and use the infield for parking. Parked cars don't block sightlines. With the acreage they have much of that infrastructure could have been where parking is and vice versa. I understand when existing facilities have to make use of the room that they have and make tradeoffs as time goes by but Cota seems to have borrowed from the bad design elements of other, older facilities and incorporated them into a scratch built place. Despite complaints of this specific place I really go back to more traditional financial trouble with F1 in the US and just do not think that with the current business plan of F1 Inc that it is financial feasible in the US. What ever happened to New Jersey or NY or wherever it was? Did they sober up and reconsider?
Not to keep the initial cost down ... but rather to spend that money on the $30-40M tower & amphitheater. Aside from the permanent restrooms around the circuit, there were supposed to be 1 or 2 more bridges as well, a bigger main grandstand, permanent team buildings, and more.
OBTW, Bernie's giving them extra time to pay for the GP they already held... Circuit hasn?t paid F1 hosting fees, is given extra time | www.mystatesman.com
We had to cross Lake Travis right across one of the main paved walkways prior to the mud bog. Someone in the design phase did not understand the term "Drainage". Pretty simple really, based on the old Newtonian principle of gravity.
Bernie is just trying to get paid for the 2015 race, and this seems to be the only way that might happen. Notice Epstein talking about how he still can't pay unless the state pays the full $25M? Also, Adler says the City can't help COTA. Mayor: F1 can't look to Austin for US Grand Prix bailout Mayor: F1 can't look to Austin for US Grand Prix bailout | SunHerald According to that article, there's a document that says the state isn't obligated to pay the full amount and it's on the track to make up the rest in that case.
Well I'm not going next year now...depressing, but appreciate the info gentlemen. Now to hit the Indy races that interest me...
Im not going back next year unless there are some changes... Do I think the race will happen, yes. The state is still kicking in $19.5 million coming up with the other $5.5 should not be hard.
There was no actual contract according to COTA's spokesperson, quoted in this Austin American Statesman Editorial Board piece that came out yesterday. They make some good points. Especially interesting since the paper does business with COTA, owning the naming rights of the Austin 360 Amphitheater. http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/opinion/circuit-of-the-americas-with-no-contract-f1-is-a-r/npR66/ No contract steers Austin?s F1 off track | www.mystatesman.com
Anyone who thinks ... or ever thought ... that there was a "contract" or a "promise" to pay COTA $25 Million from the Texas METF, every year, completely independent of yearly attendance at F1 ... is smoking some serious crack. Who in their right mind thinks that METF would still pay $25 Million every year, if F1 attendance dropped to five or ten thousand people after a few years? Even a third grader would know that there's no such "contract". METF funding was always understood to be based on "economic impact" to the area ... which is directly tied to event attendance. Someone is getting irrationally desperate ...
I PAID $2,500.00 EACH FOR 2 OWNERS CLUB TICKETS ($5,000.00 TOTAL). SUPPOSED TO BE THREE DAYS OF FOOD, OPEN BAR, DRIVER APPEARANCES ETC. FOOD WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BY AN ACCOMPLISHED CHEF, BUT WAS MARGINAL AT BEST. COLD FOOD ALSO. WE WERE COMPLETELY LOCKED OUT ON SATURDAY. COULD HAVE AT LEAST ATE AND DRANK EVEN IF THERE WAS NO TRACK ACTION. SAT IN THE CAR WATCHING IT RAIN AND WAITING FOR THE COTA AP BUT NO OFFICIAL NEWS ALL DAY. NOT SURE IF I WILL DO THIS AGAIN.
Pretty much my reaction as well. I guess the Statesman is taking pains to make it clear to the unitiated that there was no solid 10 year/$250m deal that the State is "renegging" on.
F-1 in the USA is under the continual threat of cancellation becuase of FOM - that is what caused it to stop in 81 at the Glen, and same everywhere. $$$$ F-1 is a popular sport in the USA compared by the number of fans here vs. other countries, but it is tiny compared to NFL etc.. COTA is a great track, but all the $$$ goes to FOM so there is nothing left to improve infrastructure. F-1's business model is about TV revenue and advertizing for small 3rd world countries. they promise to the country to bring in the uber rich with the hopes of spurring investment and local revenues for a long weekend. that is about it. while the ad space is sold to multipule countries over a F-1 weekend for local sponsors. Actuall fans attending the race have not mattered since about 1989 or so. with today's digital tv even if nobody showed up they can digitally insert a full house to make it up if it was so desired. As long as the coffers keep getting full - Berine et al, will never pander to Americans. ... and by pandering that means trying to grow in the USA. sad but true. if you get to the Paddock Club - that is what F-1 is all about. sadly. even there you are kept at an arms length from the "action" .... LMS is where true racing fans live.
Except in the U.S., the State of Texas has been paying the full FOM fee up until now. So it's a wash then. The track hasn't been losing profits to the sanctioning fee. These tracks know the terms of the deal going in. Bernie doesn't put a gun to their heads. They're just as motivated by greed, power, fame, etc as Bernie is. Then when they can't make the payment they cry foul. Agree re: Paddock Club. A Paddock Pass is the only way to enjoy the paddock properly, and who can afford that for F1? Even if you can afford it, it doesn't mean you can get the pass, either. It's probably the toughest pass in all of sport.
