US GP in Austin Discussion and Speculation...

COTA should put up a big top and be done with it. Their effort thus far has been a complete circus act, so why not have some shelter?

 

FIFY

 

So now we're paying for the privilege of just seeing the facility? I better start saving so I can be graced with the honor of watching F1 in Austin. Come on, really?


Mark

 

I just checked out the proposed track for the New Jersey GP and I think it has the potential to be an amazing venue. I was originally planning on going to Austin first, but this may be the new goal for me.
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No, you get to see an F1 race and practice days on it too. So you are paying to see F1 in the USA on a new $300M track. That is what the ticket for admission constitutes.

And if you have to "start saving now" to afford a $250-300 ticket, then attending an F1 race may not be the best use of your funds, wouldn't you say?

 

I wonder when we'll see a web site or some updated close-up renderings for the NJ GP. The race is supposed to be next June, right?

 

Yep. Hookem is predicting a $300 3-day GA ticket and in the surveys so far we're seeing 3-Day GA ticket prices ranging from $150 to $600.

To gain a little perspective on those numbers, I did a bit of research, too (thanks for yours, btw!).

Of the 18 GPs I found with 3-day ticket prices, 13 of those were priced between $117 and $189. The avg price of those was $153. The outliers were GPs with 3-day GA prices of $21 & $60 on the low end and $283, $295, & $360 on the high end.

In the above set of prices, $300 would be an outlier and would be the 2nd most expensive 3-day GA ticket on the F1 calendar.

 

Quote: "And if you have to "start saving now" to afford a $250-300 ticket, then attending an F1 race may not be the best use of your funds, wouldn't you say?"

That is such a snobbish comment; I hope it was meant in jest......

 

That is true, it's just a guess on my part based on costs for other Austin events. GA tickets could be more, could be less. The folks at the Speed City Podcast quote CoTA sources as saying $150-200. So it might well be $200. Doubt it will be any lower than that.

It was a facetious response to a sarcastic post.

 

5 drivers in a position to win the WDC in Austin. Yeah, I'll be there.

 

Yes. The $150-200 figure is nothing new. Geoff Moore and the Sales VP have been pretty loose with it. Let's see if they stand by it.

...and that would still make COTA's 3-day GA the 4th most expensive on the F1 calendar.

 

I just added 32 new COTA construction photos to the 21 my buddy added earlier today.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=458698920811325&set=a.458598007488083.118648.157330087614878&type=1&theater


Samples:

 

Looking good. At the rate the construction appears to be progressing, they should have no problem in getting the track ready by November 2012.

 

It appears to be a true statement to me.

 

My post was meant to be sarcastic. Hookem seems to be plugging Austin relentlessly like he has a personal stake in the outcome of the race and seems to get personally offended when anyone talks negatively about the track or its management. That I don't get. People can have differing opinions. Hookem, save the personal jabs for other kids who may wish to engage you in an argument.

I will not be attending and the ticket price is but one reason. Assuming general admission tickets are $300 a piece for 3 days, that's $600 for the wife and I. Then you have to figure in flights, hotel, food, transportation, parking/shuttle, and many other smaller expenses. CAN I afford it without blinking an eye, yes. WILL I spend that much to see F1 in Austin this year, no. It's not worth it to me. The return of F1 to the US is not that significant to me. I love F1, I am a real fan, but I will not be raped to see it in person. I suspect a large number of "fans" agree with me as well.

If I have to spend that much to see an F1 race, I'm much more likely to go to NJ.

Mark

 

I don't think it's a true statement. A person can choose to do things that lie outside their 'normal' budgetary range to add spice to their life. That doesn't mean they don't belong there. In fact, it is a staple of my own life. I don't have to save to go to a G.P. but I do have to account for it my budget, so I'm somewhere between the two extremes. If I had to eat beans and hamburger six times a month to afford lobster once a month (if that was my thing) I would do it. I wouldn't remember the times I ate beans and hamburger, but I would certainly remember the times I ate lobster. There are advantages to not having a whole lot of money. You don't have to work as hard to have a good time.

 

After weeks of delays, the Travis County Commissioners Court is set to talk about COTA roads, their Trafic and Public Safety plans, and more:

http://kutnews.org/post/am-update-round-rock-soldier-death-austin-musician-passes-away-travis-county-talks-f1#.T7JtD8-ZvfA.twitter

 

Looking good indeed. These are the best photos I have seen to date, I especially like ground level photos showing the different elevations.

 

I am a sinner too....but has it finally killed itself??? Like almost a day without a post. Guys (gals are guys too on the Chat), maybe its time to just see what happens with the build and let it ride for now....

 

Well, when they get started up again I'll let you know how it's going. Lost a lot of time lately due to rain. Most of last week. All day yesterday, and all day today.

Here's a shot of the only action from yesterday. One guy trying to assist the pump out between turns 10 & 11, where a lot of water seems to collect and they've been having problems with it being too wet:

 

They expect to sell 8k PSLs by the race, hope to have 3k by the end of June or July sold.. No way.. Interesting too, want to have on site parking for 17k and shuttle the rest.. You can get a 24 person suite for 250k.. I have been out of the loop following the progress of the Circuit for some time and visiting the website and new feeds, you can tell they are still in chaos mode and cant see anything improving going into the race weekend.. no sponsor announcements, You can bet they have that priced high just like the tickets.. The upside the sponsor with $$$ wouldnt pay a premium. I would love to see there proposals. Anyway... A great article to read.

http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula1/with-six-months-to-go-austin-on-track-2353497.html

 

A friend of mine that just rented a house in Austin for the race told me even La Quintas were charging $500 a night. Apparently everything is big in TX, including rip-offs. Holy crap. I was ready for Montreal, but didn't find anybody to go with. Most hotels honor their regular rates, and ticket prices are fair. Bottom line is no way I'd let myself get raped like that in Austin, as much as I want to go. It's a matter of principle to me, not budget. Same thing with buying tickets from scalpers (most profits seem to be going to Ticketmaster, with all their aliases); I refuse to do that. I might never stop those creeps from existing, but I'm sure as hell not going to contribute keeping them in business. Rant over .

 

If it's such a bargain, you should buy a bunch of tickets and resell them and make a huge profit.

On the other hand, considering Europe has a few orders of magnitude more interest in F1, and even the most amazing tracks like Spa have a hard time selling out for a much lower price than COTA, maybe every other track in the world knows something COTA doesn't?

We shall see how many people are at the race in November, assuming it happens. And we'll see how long F1 remains in Austin.

I was going to say we'll see how long it takes for the lawsuits to start flying, then I realized they already did months ago

 

Statesman, Hellmund seek public access to court records COTA wants kept secret:

http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula1/statesman-seeks-access-to-secret-f1-court-records-2360555.html?cxtype=rss_news&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

It just keeps getting better and better. Austin will be a great track.....COTA not so much. US fans of F1 do not deserve this continuing farce.