lawsuit: http://www.autoweek.com/assets/pdf/CW7848635.PDF PSL info: http://www.snikte.net/COTA%20PSL%20Presentation.pdf
2" or 20"....... it's all the same, pipe is pipe, man.... Who is backing Tavio (financially I mean) in THIS fight???? Sounds like he hit the ground pretty hard, when he was tossed off the bus.....
I can't imagine what COTA is thinking. They have to be either desperate for money and looking to capitalize on future revues today with the whole PSL sham, or they actually think they have something so valuable that justifies selling licenses to buy it, that lock you in for 15 years. If the latter, that level of hubris will be their downfall. If the former, they are in trouble. I personally think Spa is the best track on the circuit from a racing perspective. And Montreal was awesome all around - the hospitality of the city (not to mention the track is right downtown with awesome ingress/egress). Monza and Monaco have tons of history. Silverstone is where it all began. Malaysia, Japan and Brazil have exotic locations and awesome tracks too. And ALL of those tracks struggle to sell enough tickets to make them viable. And you can go to any of their websites, chose which grandstand you want to sit in, and buy tickets. And Austin thinks they are going to get people to lock into a 15 year deal to have the right to buy a ticket? It has to be a hail-Mary money grab - they can't possibly be that naive.
Contact: New Investment Solutions, ltd. Seefeldstrasse 5 CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland and ask, they put up over $60MM Check the link above to the lawsuit above. The jist of it: Tavo alleges that Red and Epstein withheld funding. They needed the rights to the race in hand before the funding could be released. Tavo didn't want to hand that over without being paid... Pretty close to what I've been saying for a while now....
This is very interesting. It seems unbelievably (in the literal sense) coincidental that Bernie would just happen to be thinking of Tavo for the top job @ Autosport, right around the same time he's negotiating a lawsuit against COTA. I wonder if this is a case of Bernie looking to help his friend out by applying a lot of pressure to COTA to settle? Simon had some great points too... they sold a 20% stake in the project to McCombs for $8MM *with* a buy-out option? If true, can you imagine being an investor asked to pony up an order of magnitude more for a fractionally smaller share? Tough sell. And what if Tavo does get the job @ Autosport? That's going to be an interesting negotiation, when Epstein sits across the table from him in a submissive role looking to renegotiate or extend the Austin F1 contract. At least, it's clear where Bernie's loyalties lie and what he's willing to do in order to protect those loyalties.
if Tavo goes to Autosport the worst he could do is write a bad story about them, not cancel their contract...
Just got the following email. Seems a bit steep to me, but I've never been to an F1 race. Not for me at those prices.... *************************************************************** UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX Austin, Circuit of the Americas November 16 to 18, 2012 PACKAGE INCLUDES: · Grandstand tickets for the 3 days event (based on a value of $600 per ticket) · Accommodation in one of our selected hotel(s) · Track transfers for the 3 days event · Cocktail night · FCA dinner (From the Westin Riverwalk) · Formula Tours representative · Formula Tours lanyard · Taxes and service charges HOTEL: The Westin Riverwalk 3 nights $1759 USD per person** 4 nights $1919 USD per person** Barton Creek Resort & Spa 4 nights $2894 USD per person** Omni Austin Hotel Downtown 5 nights $3599 USD per person** Prices are double occupancy. For single occupancy, please add $240 USD. As we know, the tickets are not available to the public. In order to confirm the hotel, a 25% deposit is mandatory. As soon as the ticket prices are available, a 25% deposit will be required. If the ticket is lower than $600, the difference will be reimbursed. If the price is higher than $600, you will be required to pay the difference. The 50% balance will be due June
DAMN!!! Another reason I will be going 'general admission' if I make the race, I wonder what those suckers will cost?
COTA needs to tread carefully, IMO. I've always bought the "best" tickets (short of paddock club) and Monza, Montreal, Silverstone and Spa were all $550-650 per ticket for 3 days. Trying to bundle stuff together at a higher price the way online retailers do when new video game systems come out is, IMO, a huge mistake. No other F1 venue does this. Many of said F1 venues have a really hard time selling their tickets, and COTA most definitely does not need to add additional burdens onto their value proposition when soliciting the traveling F1 fan.
Too late for treading carefully,... Based on the fee to get it line,... to be allowed to buy a PSL,... to then be required to buy tickets for 10 years ... Luckily they are in Texas,... Boots are appropriate for navigating the turds COTA keeps laying.
http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula1/f1-builder-says-austin-track-will-be-ready-2223750.html Tilke seems to think it will be done on time
Well... I am not sure they can pull it off this year. I hope they do as I would love to go the 1st race! The PSL + seat prices though are ridiculous though. This is truly a Millionaire boy's club and a Billionaire men's club.
Tilke said the same thing over the summer/early fall while the whole project was in the ditch... That said,... they're progressing. Not sure if was posted, but there is a report where Epstein mentions they're considering going to 24 hr/day work schedule. That's both good and bad...
