F1 Teams Question High Ticket Prices

Formula 1 teams question high ticket prices - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com



I really doubt at his age and wealth Bernie really gives a s**t if any venue failed, or even if F1 failed all together. Big reason for high ticket prices is the fee he charges promoters to hold a Grand Prix. Would he lower that cost?

Doubtful.

Talk about teams controlling costs, how about Bernie controlling costs on his side?

I had Start/Finish line seats at Indianapolis for the USGP every year, $150 USD was the most expensive seat. Austin? Likely I will never go there, and likely another 3 years COTA will not be able to afford to run the race as attendance will go down every year. Ticket prices there are just way too high.

Planning on Mexico in 2015.

 

Agree on the first part; Seems he's got plenty more lining up after all......

Disagree on the second; Common wisdom is that F1 is the *only* thing he cares about! Deeply and intently!..... Prof Sid had some interesting comments about this in his book. I don't recall any quotes now, but he certainly cares! And, not just from the money perspective either; he genuinely cares about the sport and it's participants.

A long as they're lining up to host, why should he? Further, the vast majority of his income is from TV, and other than empty stands looking bad, he doesn't give a **** how many bums are in the seats.

Sucks for the promoters, as their *only* income is from ticket sales - I'd like him to share, eg, trackside advertising revenue and maybe even give up the Paddock Club to the promoters - as you say, how much money does he need!?

However, that the teams are even willing to put it on the table with him is something of a step in the right direction...... Would never have happened a few years back.

Cheers,
Ian

 

IMO Bernie would lower it, but CVC and it's investors will not.

Bernie loves this sport, he's worked way to hard to see it all goes to **** if it can be prevented by lowering hosting fees by a few mil.

CVC and especially it's investors on the other hand, see this purely as money.

Bernie isn't as evil as people think he is IMO, nor does he have all the power in the sport they say either. He was very much against the new engines but him and Ferrari alone couldn't get it changed.

 

Like you said as long as new venues are lining up to host, why should he? The reason he should is after a while, as promoters give up, there will be less and less lining up. So if he really does care about F1, which I do not agree with you, he will take steps to protect the investment of the existing promoters.

Less ticket income, potentially less TV income if interest wanes, promoters will drop out. Unless their government subsidizes them. And with government austerity programs on the increase, watch as they start cutting sporting contributions.

IMO, F1 costs all around need to be reduced. Teams, promoters, and Bernie.

The USGP at Indianapolis is a good example. Tony told Bernie to take his fee and stuff it.

 

TV interest going down is only linked to how good the racing is.

We have 20 races next year...Indianapolis has no F1 race. Didn't indy used to have the biggest attendance? Memory fades but IIRC it used to be between 220-250K people there. I think ticket prices where more or less the same as any other race, so Tony did quite well out of it. I don't think F1 is hurting because he threw a hissy fit and the tiny Englishman refused to bow down to the American and let him pay a smaller fee (and why should he? By my quick calculations Tony made more money than other promoters, especially European ones who are dealing with fewer places to put people and many more races to compete with).

F1 is back in the States, and it's pretty successful at a much better track imo.

 

We'll beg to differ on if he cares or not....

Why should he care about the promotors investment? As long as they're silly enough to keep throwing money at him, and seems they are, it's not his problem.

I can agree with that!.... But, as I've said before, he continues to negotiate larger & larger tv deals, and they keep on coming! We could argue that moving it to pay per view is a bad thing, but he's not alone in doing that either.

I also believe the best 'chance' the promoters have to stand up to him is by joining together; the Aussie guy tried a few years back with the 'F1 Promoters Association', but got nowhere unfortunately. It appears the only egos bigger than the teams are the promoters! "Just because Australia and many others are losing money doesn't mean *I* will" seems to be their mantra!

Also worth noting again that the imminent death of F1 has been predicted since pretty much day one!.... Yet the calendar & grids remain stubbornly full!

And along came COTA!..... How long will that last? I have no idea, and the Texas special events fund is looking a little "dodgy", but I believe they're signed for another 5-6 years yet(?). Will they renew when the time comes? Maybe not, but he survived no US presence before, and I'm sure will again if it comes to it.

As I said, I too would like to see him treating them a little more 'fairly', but as Bas noted, he has a fiduciary responsibility to his shareholders, just like any other company. As long as they keep paying, he'll keep taking, and I see no reason why he shouldn't........

Cheers,
Ian

 

Maximum ticket prices at all 5 or 6 times F1 was at IMS, was the same, $150 USD for the very best front stretch, pit action, starting grid. Covered, no sun no rain. Easy access bathrooms, concessions, multiple Jumbotrons.

Compare that price to Austin for a S/F line seat. Compare that to any other GP at that time. That was a bargain.

First year IMS got nearly 240,000 for F1, but each year it dropped as the curiosity went away. There are just not enough US F1 fans to keep that number every year. The drop was down to 90,000+ the last year. That tire issue did not help, but IMS refunded everyone 100% plus gave two tickets additional free for the following year. Still it left a sour taste for many who might have become F1 fans, so they never returned. The subsequent drops were enough that IMS either had to raise ticket prices, or Bernie had to lighten up. IMS did not want to raise ticket prices.

Imagine the growing interest for F1 today, if we never lost F1 at Indianapolis. For me, that weekend was more enjoyable than even all my years at The Glen.

My seats at IMS for the 500, the very best possible, have been at $150 USD for the last 20 years. This year, new State tax, they went up to $180 USD, still a bargain for a great show.

My point is still that cost cuts have to come from all sides of F1, for F1 to have a healthy future.

 

let the market speak for itself, if people and promoters are willing to pay more then what is the issue?
are ticket prices really that high compared to other big sporting events? big champions league match, or big college football game, or even a dallas cowboys game.

 

A good question indeed!.....

There are some that are claiming F1 is dying. But then they've been claiming that ever since Bernie took over at least!

Seems to me, it's a perfect example of market forces & supply & demand working as advertised.

Personally, I'd like to see him give the "smaller" venues that struggle a break somehow; As I said, maybe give them the trackside advertising revenue or the Paddock Club revenue so they can make ends meet? OTOH, just like every other business, he has a fiduciary responsibility to his shareholders - if they're willing to pay, why should he leave it on the table?

It's a tough comparison. Here's the list of ticket prices for Austin: Formula 1® - The Official F1®Ticket Store - United States

Firstly, note that the only ones thus far sold out are the most expensive!.... Beyond that, they're all 3 day passes, so it's hard to compare to a football game for example. I just checked the 49ers site, and outside of *ludicrous* prices for boxes ($44k + ), seems tickets are mostly in the $150-$500 range...... And that's for a 1 hour game of course!.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Also just occurred to me that you also have at least 8 chances to go to a game every year.

F1's starting to look like good value given it's a one time thing.

Cheers,
Ian

 

The length of the average NFL game is about as long as a F1 race. I think F1 tickets are priced too high but then again I feel the same way about all sports. It's insane anymore the costs a fan has to incur just to take in one race/game. Utterly insane.

Which is why, of course, if I'm there I want a spectacle, which is where the good ole engine sound issue crops up again

 

F1 races are destination events for most spectators, so most of the costs associated with attending a grand prix are associated with travel, hotel, ect.

 

Bernie does not care about the "fans", he has washed his hands of them, and deals only with promotors... which mostly are some kind of government agency. he does not want to meet with promoters but the Prime ministers of countries.

TV is where the cash comes from, so until somebody gathers control of all the TV air - Bernie will pit each other against themselves and stand there for the winner to come out.

is Bernie evil - not exactly but he aint no saint!

 

I had four 50 yard line, club seats, on the isle, just in front of the owner's box of the Miami Dolphins. Five years. At the end, it calculated to be $600 per seat, per game.

For a team that has not made it to the playoffs in the last 100 years.

I do not have those tickets anymore. But I regret giving up the four seats I had in the fourth row, just behind the basket, and close to the Heat's bench. The fowl language you could hear made those seats great. And to watch Jimmy Buffet two rows down getting thrown out of game..........priceless.

 

It helps when your infrastructure was bought and paid for decades ago.

 

Exactly.. the market will sent the price/attendance level. If the promoter choses to pay Bernie his astronomical fee, its not his fault. He needs to turn a profit.

Car manufacturers don't care if the dealers make money, as long as they do, so they keep choking the dealers in everyway they can. Dealers can sell their franchise anytime they want, and promoters can walk away from F1.

My Kings tickets for last seasons Stanley cup finals had a face value of $375, I could have sold them multiple times over for 10x that....market has a way of finding its own level.