Anyone who knows anything about construction knows that there are innumerable ways in which costs can spiral out of control. There are countless news stories everywhere every year, which debunks the idea that there aren't many ways costs can go way out of budget. As for the roads - it doesn't matter who the administrative authority is. What does matter is that they are insufficient to handle race day traffic, and no agreement has been made on the upgrades.
On that note: What ever happened to those two (?) gas pipes going through the property? Did they ever get rerouted? I'm sure one of the locals answered this in here 53 pages ago, but I'm too lazy to dig.
Is anyone related to COTA even knowledgeable about race fans? Sure seems like a bunch of amatuers running this. As for General Admission, how many of you will pay $300-$500, to sit your own lawn chairs, assuming they let you bring them with you. Wait, could there be a lawn chair fee in addition to GA?? Is anyone here still trying to defend this crap?
I gave up on defending this project after i realized that those here who are criticizing it, are never going to change their opinions.... As for the ruxpin (who I don't have read me bedtime stories) either a lucky guess, or i really need to check out my facebook privacy settings....LOL
I will sit on the grass if I need yo take a load off, I'm at one with Mother Nature like that, and GA will hopefully be the best way to take alot of pics from various angles and corners. Of course that all depends upon the access for GA ticket holders. I'm just patiently waiting until we have a race confirmation and ticket prices are confirmed.
I'm sure it will be great fun sitting on the grass and staring at the back of someone's head for two hours. It's just amazing that they've managed to get so many clownshoes running this thing all at once.
Yes. That was part of the early delays and cost over-run. Tavo even claims in his lawsuit that he was lied to by Epstein about how many there were and that they wouldn't have to be moved. so yeah, they moved a 3 inch volitile liquid line and a 20 inch natural gas line. They were re-routed around the track layout, still inside the property lines. The new lines they laid are state of the art. Still wonderin about the 40 year old lines they attached to near the property boundary.
I am not sure, but, I think it's part of Tavo's lawsuit, isn't it? Something about the scope of that part of the project being far in excess of what was originally stated but not being disclosed to the other party. Maybe I am thinking of something else. I hope Tavo's case does get tried in court so that the details will come out. EDIT: Thanks Ernie for answering that above
Well, that's one way to phrase it. Another would be that you gave up when there were facts presented that were so indisputable that even one of your traditional implausible arguments were not enough to mitigate them. I mean, it's kinda hard to paint a picture of no funding problems with Tavo says it, the gov't says it, Bernie says it, the lawsuit says it, and the actions of COTA say it.
the lawsuit alleges that the other partners withheld funding on purpose to cause tavo to default on his contract with Bernie......makes sense. if you're trying to collaterialize a race track, that you should have the contracts in place for the races. Not wanting to pay, and not being able to pay are two different things entirely.
It made it 3 if I remember right. Got cancelled after word got around that more people went to some ostrich festival than the Grand Prix. Seems absolutely nutty to me that we had the likes of Prost and Senna battling it out in some parking lot in the Phoenix heat. The drivers must have cursed coming to race there.
This is where it seems to me there is some info missing in the media. I agree, the non-Tavo parties have the money to pull this off... but I don't believe Tavo's characterization in his lawsuit. I think it was a very one-sided take and a fishing expedition (really, any good lawsuit should be this). I wondered a bit about Tavo with his press conferences, especially the last one where he seemed to want sympathy or vindication or something. He struck me as someone who believed he had absolutely no responsibility for what transpired. And as any good man knows, this is never the case. You are always responsible for the decisions you make. Own up to it. I think Tavo wanted to have his cake and eat it too. Yes, he was the idea man and he had the relationship with Bernie. But he had no money. So he gets these investors to sign up to build the track for him... but he won't let them have the contracts for the very events that will make it successful. He wants to keep those with Full Throttle, which the other partners don't have a share of. Perhaps they go for this at first, but when Tavo couldn't close the deal on the METF... he goes to CotA and tells them you guys have to pay for my contracts. Oh and by CotA, I mean you other guys, I've got no money. No wonder they didn't want to pay! So it was buyout city for Tavo. He started making the noises he was moving on, planning to get a big payday for his contracts (that he couldn't have fulfilled without the investors). Only they called his bluff. What did he really have? In the end, he'll make some money as any "idea man" would. But it will not be the windfall he expected. He just didn't have the skin in the game like the others.
I'm not, I just think the wind is good for a race to happen, and I am going to be in town that weekend! I'll probably hide in a catering truck in a fake uniform, and find Bernie's daughter and pinch her azz!!!
I like that as it explains alot for me personaly as I prefer the "sidelines". Thats my boy, stealth attack!!!
There have been many, many, many sources to either infer or outright know there have been funding issues. 1) The lawsuit 2) Statements by gov't people 3) The fact that the project has been scaled down in scope and cost numerous times 4) Work stoppages 5) Statements from Bernie 6) Statements from Tavo 7) Common sense (i.e. things that have not been paid for that must be - like roads) 8) The funding proposal that went unfilled (aka they couldn't sell it) To look at all of the data points and conclude that there are no funding issues is beyond naive and solidly into the realm or Iraqi Information Minister level denial.
To answer my own question, maybe 1000 will be stupid enough to pay $300+ to sit in the grass, but that will not be enough to make the event continue one more year. The worst enemy of COTA, is COTA. Honestly, with this kind of approach, they deserve failure. I find this to be be very sad. I would really like to see another USGP, location not important.
Just as a comparison: I just got notification for the Singapore GP tickets. The BEST seats (3 day pass) is $869 USD on the pit grandstand (it goes up about 100 if you buy later). But, if you buy 4 or more, it's cheaper.... The CHEAPEST seats (again, 3 day pass) is $198 USD. This is without any "season pass" mumbo jumbo and any tricks. Just buy a ticket and see a race. Simple. And, they throw in a Concert with Maroon 5 and Katy Perry, along with support races including GP2 and Asia Porsche Cup. So, I have no idea what the heck the COTA is up too but the pricing so far seems far too unreasonable, as do the hotel accommodations and pricing. I can get a 4 star hotel in Singapore in walking distance of the track for under $400 USD a night. The track is right next to a large shopping mall and you can eat cheap fast food if you are on a budget. So far, I'm deeply disappointed. F1 is not the Super Bowl. It's just another race of 18. Trying to treat Austin like it was the Dallas Cowboys is doing nothing but turning people off.
This is Texas - And the economy here is booming.... I guess that is one reason COTA can get away with all the high pricing...
Hopefully see you there! Was in Singapore last year in February. Swiss Hotel(formerly Westin Stamford). Love it! Austin is in no way competitive with this race at all. I dont get it. Frankly its not competitive with anything yet. More to follow I suppose.
The question is, will the USA support F1? If the race is a continued success, $300 for the cheap seats will be a bargain.
No. 1, maybe 2 and done I still say for this. There's no more reason to travel there than there was for Indy, their number tailed off pretty quick even without Michelin's help. A first event will always draw the numbers, but when they consider the cost against the entertainment, most people will be out of there.
