Circuit of the Americas Formula 1 Race Track

[turn1]

Originally Posted by F1 Tommy

Indy was selling tickets at $15.00 at the door for general admission on practice and qualifying days to get the total numbers up higher. They also did alot of promotion. There is a reason Indy did not want to renew the F1 contract!!

Yeah, I'm sure Indy did a lot of promotion, and yeah the prices were lower in general. To me this just points out some COTA missteps. Little promotion & too high prices. They also ran cheap ticket deals for months before this race & still had a poor turnout on the t5-11 GSs. They even gave away GA tickets.

[turn1]

I think we talked about this months ago. Back during the week of the race, we were told that the WEC/FIA had called a meeting with COTA people & told them that they wouldn't be returning to COTA under the same management, and that the event was the worst-run event they'd ever seen. Now John Dagys has filed a story about it.

So, apparently even though COTA is still on the calendar, it's still not a done deal.

SPORTSCARS: FUTURE UNCLEAR FOR COTA WEC/TUSC EVENT

http://msn.foxsports.com/speed/sport...wectusc-event/

[turn1]

But hey, we get Foxworthy's Redneck Festival. So you know, it's all good. Right?

http://www.austin360.com/weblogs/aus...eith-larry-ca/

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by turn1

But hey, we get Foxworthy's Redneck Festival. So you know, it's all good. Right?

http://www.austin360.com/weblogs/aus...eith-larry-ca/

That means NASCAR is one step closer to holding an event at COTA.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

That means NASCAR is one step closer to holding an event at COTA.

Like NASCAR without the cars. Yay.

[turn1]

Circuit of the Americas, one year later - Autoweek Racing F1 news - Autoweek

"Circuit of the Americas, one year later
Exclusive conversation with founding partner Bobby Epstein"

The successes are the F1 and MotoGP races. A vintage festival that drew more than 550 cars was a success, he says, “and we can build on that.”

The failures? Harder to categorize. The crowd wasn't bad for the Australian V8 Supercars weekend in May, but the series won't be back in 2014. Packing up all those cars and equipment and air-freighting it to Texas for one weekend made no financial sense to the series' new boss, who says it might be back if V8 Supercars can figure out how to string together two or three race weekends in the U.S.

The Sports Car Club of America brought hundreds of cars to the track for a double Majors weekend last March, but it won't be back; apparently it was too expensive. Grand-Am's Rolex Sports Car Series also raced at COTA in March, but it won't be back in 2014 for obvious reasons: The series no longer exists after merging with the American Le Mans Series for next year. The combined series, the Tudor United SportsCar Championship, will race at COTA Sept. 19 and 20, sharing the weekend with the FIA World Endurance Championship, as the ALMS and WEC did this year. The Pirelli World Challenge Series -- it competed at COTA in May -- won't return in 2014. Would Epstein like to fill those dates with more races? Yes, no and maybe.

...

“I'd like a lot of racing events, but at the same time I'd like the stands to be full for those events,” he says. “And one of my concerns is that if you have too many races and you don't have a local core fan base that wants to come out frequently, you are going to dilute the success of every race. So I think what we'll find is fewer major racing events, but that will allow us to focus on those more thoroughly and allow the fans to experience a super event at each one.”

...

So what is filling up the schedule at COTA? More events, but many are nonracing. “What we are striving to be is a multidimensional company between racing and entertainment,” Epstein continues. “And by definition, 'entertainment' is a pretty broad concept. Our campus is made for big entertainment events.”

It has hosted 20 concerts this year, and one just now taking shape for 2014 is Redfest USA, hosted and organized by comedian Jeff Foxworthy, and tentatively featuring Larry the Cable Guy, Florida-Georgia Line, Rodney Carrington, Colt Ford, Amber Carrington, Gangstagrass, Big & Rich and more. It's “Red,” as in “Redneck,” Foxworthy says, and it will take at least a full weekend.

...


One very recent major change is the departure of COTA CEO Steve Sexton, who came from the horse-racing industry, replaced by Jason Dial, who came from the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, thus continuing the COTA tradition of hiring management that has no motorsports experience, something Epstein defends vigorously and at length.

“Our staff has to handle big crowds, serve a heck of a lot of food and beer, park cars, deal with permitting and managing the facility,” he points out. “I don't know that having knowledge of a particular sport is as important in delivering the success of the product than it is having knowledge of how to deliver that product. And that's where I think we've received some unfair criticism. I don't think the guy who knows how to make movies -- to direct and produce them -- has the same skill set it takes as the guy who builds and operates the movie theater, to give the moviegoer a great movie experience. If anything, that's where I think that criticism has been unfair.”

Epstein also says the criticism regarding tickets to this year's F1 race that were either delivered to buyers late or not at all had to do with an outside vendor, not COTA.

And though Autoweek spoke to several annoyed fans who had to pick up their tickets at will-call windows prior to the race, he is convinced the number of people inconvenienced was “far smaller” than the media suggested -- including Autoweek, which, unfairly he said, called the problem a “fiasco” in a headline published on autoweek.com.

The WEC roundly criticized COTA. WEC management during its race weekend called a meeting with track executives and criticized them for improperly promoting the race -- a one-off in the United States, for which the WEC itself did very little promotion.

“As is sometimes the case,” Epstein says, the WEC may have been looking for someone to blame “for the poor reception their product got here.”

...

[hookem]

...

“I'd like a lot of racing events, but at the same time I'd like the stands to be full for those events,” he says. “And one of my concerns is that if you have too many races and you don't have a local core fan base that wants to come out frequently, you are going to dilute the success of every race. So I think what we'll find is fewer major racing events, but that will allow us to focus on those more thoroughly and allow the fans to experience a super event at each one.”

...

There is a lot of truth to this, I think. It's the challenge of putting a brand new race track in a place with practically zero motorsports fan base (Austin). Most tracks around the country have been around forever, have a storied history, and hence people are used to going there for less popular events like WEC. Other than those places, the only new big tracks that are built are for NASCAR (like TMS or Kentucky). And those tracks bring in the huge numbers because NASCAR promotes itself like crazy around the country, and most of the drivers and cars are American. The tracks themselves don't need to create a fanbase.

That said, it is pretty arrogant to think that you can run a motorsports facility without management who has any experience running that kind of thing. If it were just their money (which I know it technically is for the track), then I'd have no problem with that... they can do whatever they want. But receiving so much state money, it's tougher to swallow the fact that they are basically betting that they know better than everyone else how to run a racetrack. Seems like the state shouldn't be involved in such a gamble. But hey, they didn't start the METF, they just figured out a way to milk it to an extreme.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by hookem

There is a lot of truth to this, I think. It's the challenge of putting a brand new race track in a place with practically zero motorsports fan base (Austin). Most tracks around the country have been around forever, have a storied history, and hence people are used to going there for less popular events like WEC. Other than those places, the only new big tracks that are built are for NASCAR (like TMS or Kentucky). And those tracks bring in the huge numbers because NASCAR promotes itself like crazy around the country, and most of the drivers and cars are American. The tracks themselves don't need to create a fanbase.

That said, it is pretty arrogant to think that you can run a motorsports facility without management who has any experience running that kind of thing. If it were just their money (which I know it technically is for the track), then I'd have no problem with that... they can do whatever they want. But receiving so much state money, it's tougher to swallow the fact that they are basically betting that they know better than everyone else how to run a racetrack. Seems like the state shouldn't be involved in such a gamble. But hey, they didn't start the METF, they just figured out a way to milk it to an extreme.

I agree, mostly, but two things...

- NASCAR promotes NASCAR some, but it doesn't promote the races themselves...and when you see a NASCAR commercial on TV, that's the network promoting its broadcast of NASCAR, not NASCAR promoting itself or the individual race. Same with F1 commercials on NBC. Promoting the individual NASCAR race is up to the promoter, just like everywhere else in racing. TMS promotes even big NASCAR races like crazy, and those storied tracks have to promote every event. The crowds won;t just come on their own. COTA, even though they act as promoter for all of their races, barely promotes at all, hardly any outside of Austin, & none outside Texas that anyone knows of that we talk to.

- Agree they didn't start the METF, & I'm not opposed to it in principal. However, to see how they're milking it annually, as you say, with no checks and balances or independent analysis of their attendance or actual economic impact smells really, really bad.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by turn1

- NASCAR promotes NASCAR some, but it doesn't promote the races themselves...and when you see a NASCAR commercial on TV, that's the network promoting its broadcast of NASCAR, not NASCAR promoting itself or the individual race. Same with F1 commercials on NBC. Promoting the individual NASCAR race is up to the promoter, just like everywhere else in racing. TMS promotes even big NASCAR races like crazy, and those storied tracks have to promote every event. The crowds won;t just come on their own. COTA, even though they act as promoter for all of their races, barely promotes at all, hardly any outside of Austin, & none outside Texas that anyone knows of that we talk to.

Yeah, but those commercials for NASCAR race broadcasts -- airing on major networks -- represent far more money than any track could ever spend on promotion. Add in the cross promotion by the (mostly American) sponsors, the NASCAR web presence, coverage by all the major sports sites and magazines... and the end result is that TMS doesn't have to spend much on promotion themselves. I personally haven't seen any billboards for them in Austin or other TX cities, or TV ads paid for by the track. Their promotion of their NASCAR events is miniscule in comparison to the exposure they get through other means.

I don't think any track would spend the kind of money it would take to achieve even a fraction of the exposure NASCAR gets. It wouldn't make any sense. Other than F1 (and to a lesser extent MotoGP), none of the series at COTA has a huge national following or mainstream media coverage. It's really not economical for a track to try to change that, nor should it be up to them alone. So their best bet is to build a following for the track, so people will come out to races that aren't necessarily plastered all over the media -- like they might do at other more established facilities.

It might very well make sense for COTA to focus all their efforts on attracting either a NASCAR or Indy race, keep F1 and MotoGP, and don't even bother promoting the other series much. Concentrate on those series which get the 1M+ eyeballs on TV for each race. That kind of following can fill the place. If the smaller series want to come, then fine -- they can have a nice track on their calendar. But if those series expect 50K people to come to a race when they are drawing a USA TV audience of only ~100K, that just isn't in the cards.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by hookem

Yeah, but those commercials for NASCAR race broadcasts -- airing on major networks -- represent far more money than any track could ever spend on promotion. Add in the cross promotion by the (mostly American) sponsors, the NASCAR web presence, coverage by all the major sports sites and magazines... and the end result is that TMS doesn't have to spend much on promotion themselves. I personally haven't seen any billboards for them in Austin or other TX cities, or TV ads paid for by the track. Their promotion of their NASCAR events is miniscule in comparison to the exposure they get through other means.

I don't think any track would spend the kind of money it would take to achieve even a fraction of the exposure NASCAR gets. It wouldn't make any sense. Other than F1 (and to a lesser extent MotoGP), none of the series at COTA has a huge national following or mainstream media coverage. It's really not economical for a track to try to change that, nor should it be up to them alone. So their best bet is to build a following for the track, so people will come out to races that aren't necessarily plastered all over the media -- like they might do at other more established facilities.

It might very well make sense for COTA to focus all their efforts on attracting either a NASCAR or Indy race, keep F1 and MotoGP, and don't even bother promoting the other series much. Concentrate on those series which get the 1M+ eyeballs on TV for each race. That kind of following can fill the place. If the smaller series want to come, then fine -- they can have a nice track on their calendar. But if those series expect 50K people to come to a race when they are drawing a USA TV audience of only ~100K, that just isn't in the cards.

It's easy to confuse exposure for the series with exposure for the particular event. NBC runs ads for every upcoming F1 race and there are more American sponsors in F1 than from any other country, so there is cross-promotion there, but that doesn't help the event much. TMS does have all those other things going for them as you say, but they still promote heavily whenever an event is upcoming, because they have to. They air TV ads right here in Austin. I remember a recent one featuring Rutledge Wood. If COTA is behind the 8 ball, then they should be promoting more, not less than TMS.

As the promoter it's not COTA's job to promote the series except to draw fans to their own event...ie to promote. Likewise, it's not the series' job to promote the event. The series don't promote individual events for the tracks. That's why they hook up with the promoter in the first place. The series promotes itself nationally or internationally. The promoter promotes its event wherever needed. WEC and Aussie V8 Supercars were trying to break into our market & needed COTA, the promoter, to promote the race. Hosting smaller series and not promoting them doesn't make sense because that hurts the series and hurts the track too when the event ends up losing money. If you have the event, you need to promote it. These series are supposed to be the ones that actually make money. F1 isn't going to make them much because of the massive expense. As for concentrating on series that get a million viewers per race, no series that races at COTA does that in the U.S., except maybe MotoGP, & I doubt that. F1 doesn't come close. Nothing they're doing suggests they're trying to grow any series' fan base and sow seeds for the future.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by turn1

However, to see how they're milking it annually, as you say, with no checks and balances or independent analysis of their attendance or actual economic impact smells really, really bad.

Well, since that doesn't actually happen, I guess you can stop complaining. The state does the economic impact study.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Well, since that doesn't actually happen, I guess you can stop complaining. The state does the economic impact study.

Yes it does. The analysis relies heavily on numbers provided by the event(s)themselves and on what basically amount to guesstimates of increased tax revenues. No event has ever been told to return any money after failing to meet their projections (which is what the subsidy amounts are determined by), as COTA has failed to do every time. Just like with COTA in 2012 when they were paid right after the race and the economic impact analysis wasn't released until almost a year later and said it was all good despite an attendance shortfall of 10-11%.

In the analysis, the comptroller goes to great lengths to cover her arse and make wiggle room by explaining that it's really very difficult to judge accurately the actual tax revenue increase from the event and to distinguish that increase from increases due to other factors not involved with the event. She also explains that her office really doesn't know how many people come from out of state, how long they stayed, or how much they spent...but that it would be really cool if they did, because that's probably the most important part of the picture.

[turn1]

2014 F1 calendar has been finalized. Halloween in Austin:

March 16 - Australia (Melbourne)
March 30 - Malaysia (Sepang)
April 6 - Bahrain (Sakhir)
April 20 - China (Shanghai)
May 11 - Spain (Barcelona)
May 25 - Monaco
June 8 - Canada (Montreal)
June 22 - Austria (Red Bull Ring)
July 6 - Britain (Silverstone)
July 20 - Germany (Hockenheim)
July 27 - Hungary (Budapest)
August 24 - Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
September 7 - Italy (Monza)
September 21 - Singapore
October 5 - Japan (Suzuka)
October 12 - Russia (Sochi)
November 2 - United States (Austin)
November 9 - Brazil (Interlagos)
November 23 - Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)

[The ATX]

You beat me to it. Here's the Statesman article:

http://www.statesman.com/news/sports...-early-/ncBS3/

[The ATX]

Halloween should be interesting Downtown next year.

[East7thStreet]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

Halloween should be interesting Downtown next year.

And I believe that's the FunFunFun Fest weekend as well.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by East7thStreet

And I believe that's the FunFunFun Fest weekend as well.

You're right. Nov. 1st and 2nd are the tentative dates. I suspect they may change that, but if they don't that will be one weekend to remember (or one giant cluster fuck of traffic.)

[the Genral]

NASCAR has built in self promotion in that most of its drivers are American, racing in America. Fans will follow their favorite drivers from track to track without being reminded there's a race going on. One of the keys to the growth of F1 and MOTOGP at COTA and in the US is to get competitive American racers in both events, and add one or two more races on American soil. Its the difference between attending an event for the spectacle of it vs a following that to some extent determines how much promoting needs to be done and by whom.
IE: COTA needs to promote the spectacle of the event, the facility, and the entertainment value, TV, (NBC), needs to promote that they are televising the event, and F1 needs to promote an exciting series with drivers in the countries they are racing and more parity...F1 in the US was much more popular when Mario Andretti was not only racing for the US, but also competitive.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by the Genral

NASCAR has built in self promotion in that most of its drivers are American, racing in America. Fans will follow their favorite drivers from track to track without being reminded there's a race going on. One of the keys to the growth of F1 and MOTOGP at COTA and in the US is to get competitive American racers in both events, and add one or two more races on American soil. Its the difference between attending an event for the spectacle of it vs a following that to some extent determines how much promoting needs to be done and by whom.
IE: COTA needs to promote the spectacle of the event, the facility, and the entertainment value, TV, (NBC), needs to promote that they are televising the event, and F1 needs to promote an exciting series with drivers in the countries they are racing and more parity...F1 in the US was much more popular when Mario Andretti was not only racing for the US, but also competitive.

Yep. It would be great if an Alexander Rossi or Daly get an F1 seat, but that alone will do nothing to help things here. Remember Scott Speed? They need to last long enough and do well enough to work their way up to a competitive car.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by turn1

It's easy to confuse exposure for the series with exposure for the particular event. NBC runs ads for every upcoming F1 race and there are more American sponsors in F1 than from any other country, so there is cross-promotion there, but that doesn't help the event much. TMS does have all those other things going for them as you say, but they still promote heavily whenever an event is upcoming, because they have to. They air TV ads right here in Austin. I remember a recent one featuring Rutledge Wood. If COTA is behind the 8 ball, then they should be promoting more, not less than TMS.

I've never seen a TMS TV ad or billboard in Austin, but maybe I'm not looking in the right places. Rutledge? Was it an ad on the old Speed network maybe? That's certainly affordable enough, I think.

The other exposure is really the key, however. WEC and V8 Supercars may have been a mistake for COTA to get into. I mean the WEC race at COTA wasn't even televised live. It would be like booking an indie band with little to no air play to perform Madison Square Garden. You could promote the heck out of them, and they could be an awesome band, but you still might not fill the seats because they just don't have the following. Plus the tickets would have to be cheap. The economics just wouldn't work for the venue, I think.

Now I think WEC and other series are important to building the credibility of the track, but I'm not sure how much money can be spent on promotion and what kind of crowds can really be expected. Something obviously has got to change to make these races successful events (if they choose to continue), and part of that is definitely on COTA. But expectations probably need to be lowered, as well... definitely if they are in the "establishment" phase, like V8 Supercars in the USA. It may take some time, and if that's not possible, then they shouldn't be doing it.