Circuit of the Americas Formula 1 Race Track

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by turn1

2 months before USGP, COTA outsources F1 Fan Fest:

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...s.html?ana=twt

I would say this is welcome news. Two months should be long enough for Transmission Events (Fun Fun Fun Fest) and ACL Live to book the event.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

I would say this is welcome news. Two months should be long enough for Transmission Events (Fun Fun Fun Fest) and ACL Live to book the event.

Maybe, but Fan Fest was one of the things I & most people thought they got right, at least superficially. A lot of people have left recently and now they've changed their food vendor and outsourced Fan Fest. Major moves, just before what's by far their biggest event.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by turn1

Maybe, but Fan Fest was one of the things I & most people thought they got right, at least superficially. A lot of people have left recently and now they've changed their food vendor and outsourced Fan Fest. Major moves, just before what's by far their biggest event.

I had mostly heard the opposite, especially from Austinites who are used to a good festival -- the FanFest disappointed many folks that I spoke with. If this bumps it up a level, then great for everybody.

What I consider CoTA has done "right" is --

1) The shuttles for F1 (at least the downtown one). My personal experiences with the shuttles have been great.
2) The track design itself, esp. WRT spectator viewing.

I am a bit worried about #1, since they haven't mentioned shuttles this year. Maybe it's buried in the info on their site, but questions on facebook about the shuttle have gone unanswered.

Speaking of Facebook, I guess the person posting must have been Julie Loignon herself, because after she left there is a definitely a different person responding as CoTA on social media. The new person is quite a bit more "cheeky"... which is making the page a bit more entertaining.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by hookem

I had mostly heard the opposite, especially from Austinites who are used to a good festival -- the FanFest disappointed many folks that I spoke with. If this bumps it up a level, then great for everybody.

I agree, I wasn't to impressed with this last years Fan Fest especially. Sure there was a good amount of attendees, though first year seemed more crowded, but was embarrassed by the music lineup when you consider the artists that perform at other F1 events around the
world, I definitely agree with their wording of past their prime acts Lol.

This is Austin, home of SXSW, we know how to throw a huge party DT and have the biggest names in the music industry perform. It shouldn't be that difficult to have the same vibe for Fan Fest.

I really hope they step up their game for the family and kids areas too. It looked more like a family birthday party for a kid at Republic square rather than a big event. Mostly blow up stuff and a few things thrown together. Just seemed cheap and even embarrassing.

[turn1]

Oh, I didn't think it was perfect by any means. I just think they have bigger motives for outsourcing such a big event, like....they don't have the money or personnel left to even pull it off. And remember, this is yet another COTA "partnership". Partner beware.

[turn1]

SpeedCafe: V8 Supercars Confirms COTA Contract Termination:

http://www.speedcafe.com/2014/08/28/...t-termination/

V8 Supercars has officially confirmed that it will not be returning to the Circuit of the Americas in 2015.
The event’s fate has been widely known for some months, leaving New Zealand to remain as V8 Supercars’ only international race.
Having visited the Austin, Texas, venue for the first time in 2013, the COTA requested a pausing of its five-year contract for this season.
V8 Supercars spent the intervening time attempting to find a second event in the United States in which the COTA could share the championship’s transport costs.
The inaugural Austin event’s air freight is understood to have been V8 Supercars’ most expensive offshore trip to date, with the promoter needing to foot the near $2.5 million freight bill in addition to the category’s sanctioning fee.
“We had an existing contract with Circuit of the Americas, we’ve terminated that contract, so that’s off the table,” CEO James Warburton confirmed on the V8 Supercars website.
“We would’ve got a twin up, (but) we both looked at the economics and agreed it was better just to terminate.”
The 2013 Austin 400 was dominated by Jamie Whincup, who took three of the four race wins across the weekend.
The success extended Whincup’s extraordinary record at international events, with the Triple Eight star having won 14 of the last 16 races held outside Australasia, stretching back to Bahrain, 2008.
As previously reported, V8 Supercars is now focussed on a push into the Asian market for its 2016 calendar.

[turn1]

nyone want cheap Friday & Saturday USGP Grandstand Tickets? Groupon: T15 and Main GS, $50-$119:

http://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-us-grand-prix

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by turn1

nyone want cheap Friday & Saturday USGP Grandstand Tickets? Groupon: T15 and Main GS, $50-$119:

http://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-us-grand-prix

That's a pretty good deal.

[hookem]

In many ways Fri & Sat are better days to enjoy the F1 spectacle than the actual race day. More activities, less crowds, less traffic, and cheaper. I highly recommend going to one of those days if you are at all hesitant about the hassles and price of the actual race.

It's a good deal for T15 (I would skip Main GS), but you can still get a better deal from craigslist or ticket brokers at the last minute. That's what I've done the past two years.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by hookem

In many ways Fri & Sat are better days to enjoy the F1 spectacle than the actual race day. More activities, less crowds, less traffic, and cheaper. I highly recommend going to one of those days if you are at all hesitant about the hassles and price of the actual race.

It's a good deal for T15 (I would skip Main GS), but you can still get a better deal from craigslist or ticket brokers at the last minute. That's what I've done the past two years.

Yep. Fri & Sat are much better bang for the buck & hassle, esp given the lack of actual hot-track time on Sunday. I'll probably watch the actual GP from home this year.

[turn1]

Trouble at COTA? Texas newspaper claims $250 million in state funds may be in jeopardy:
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/tr...be-in-jeopardy

the problem cited in the Express-News story appears to be a technicality-based argument that claims, in essence, that the proper legal application for the money – which includes data supplied to and by Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone – may not have been in compliance with Texas regulations.

The story quotes Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson as saying: “The process was botched from the beginning ... it was clear then and it’s even clearer now, the statute was not complied with.”

An attorney for the state comptroller’s office, which is most directly responsible for administering the funds, said that even if a proper written application was not made, it is possible that “the application to Formula One Management Limited was oral, not written, so that a public information request would not elicit a copy,” which would seem to raise a whole new area of concern, if paperwork is not required for portions of a request that could result in millions of taxpayer dollars spent.

No luck with interview requests

The story said that neither Ecclestone, nor Bobby Epstein, head of COTA, has responded to requests for interviews. The track’s public relations officer resigned in June, and her replacement resigned in September, so Motorsport.com hasn’t been able to contact the track for a statement. Motorsport.com did contact Tavo Hellmund, who created and developed the project until he departed following disagreements with Epstein and other investors, but he declined to comment.

The $250 million sited in the story’s headlines is what could be paid by the state over a 10-year-period. Reportedly COTA has received at least $60 million from the Special Events Trust Fund, and from a separate fund for smaller events. COTA has the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship and World Endurance Championship races next weekend, SVRA vintage races October 10-12, and Formula One returns on November 2.

Source article in San Antonio Express News: $250M in state funding for F1 track in question:
http://www.expressnews.com/news/loca...98e6da73fef585


Circuit of the Americas could face challenge to Texas state-funding for F1, according to newspaper report :
http://autoweek.com/article/formula-....SToCnsRf.dpuf

[turn1]

Comptroller candidate calls for changes after Express-News Formula One investigation

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/texas-p...investigation/

“The Comptroller’s office should not be on the front-end of deals such as Formula 1. If the watchdog is the dealmaker, he can no longer be impartial. This is a well known business practice,” Collier said, in a statement posted to his website.

In a written statement, state Sen. Glenn Hegar, the Republican and front-runner in the Comptroller’s race, said: “If the state is going to operate these types of programs they must be transparent and provide accountability to the taxpayers” and pointed to his support of a bill last session which made some reforms to the program. He did not comment on the specifics of the paper’s investigation or state he would seek any further changes to the METF program.

Through a complicated formula, Texas taxpayers are expected to provide up to $250 million over 10 years to help support bringing Formula One races to the Circuit of the Americas racetrack in Austin, which amounts to about $25 million per race. Most of the money goes to pay the sanctioning fee for the race, the investigation found. The state has provided about $50 million for the two races that have been run so far. The next race is scheduled for November.

The money is paid to the Circuit Events Local Organizing Committee, a non-profit that essentially acts as the city of Austin’s agent in the Major Events Trust Fund process: It is supposed to apply to the site selection committee (in this case, Formula One), making a bid to bring the event to Austin as part of a competitive process. If CELOC’s bid wins the event, the non-profit then applies to the Comptroller’s Office for funding.

However, an affidavit signed by a former CELOC board member, obtained by the Express-News, states that CELOC never made the required application to Formula One, even though it claimed it had in its application to the Comptroller’s Office. That statement was buttressed by other documents obtained by the paper, which showed that the CELOC board never voted to submit an application to Formula One and that the board never discussed submitting an application. Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled in 2012 that the application was an essential part of the process and that if it is not completed, the event would be ineligible for funding from the METF.

The Express-News investigation found that both Comptroller Susan Combs and Abbott’s offices were aware of the affidavit’s contents: but money has continued to flow to CELOC; and an assistant attorney general wrote in a letter that the Comptroller’s office had little responsibility to investigate the affidavit’s statements.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/texas-p...investigation/

In statements provided to the newspaper, the comptroller’s office said it followed the law when considering CELOC’s application for Formula One funding and declined to comment on the affidavit. The Attorney General’s office it was simply representing the Comptroller’s office in litigation related to the Formula One race track when that letter was written.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by turn1

Comptroller candidate calls for changes after Express-News Formula One investigation

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/texas-p...investigation/

" Texas taxpayers are expected to provide up to $250 million"

Absolutely false. The money comes from the increment in taxes that _would not exist_ without the event. No money comes from the taxpayers.

[jngreenlee]

Originally Posted by Novacek

" Texas taxpayers are expected to provide up to $250 million"

Absolutely false. The money comes from the increment in taxes that _would not exist_ without the event. No money comes from the taxpayers.

Novacek, question on that, if you happen to know. So does the property taxes paid by the site get cancelled or refunded back to the track, in the amount mentioned?

Or does it come out of a general account somewhere where it might have 'co-mingled' with 'taxpayer' money?

[hookem]

Originally Posted by jngreenlee

Novacek, question on that, if you happen to know. So does the property taxes paid by the site get cancelled or refunded back to the track, in the amount mentioned?

Or does it come out of a general account somewhere where it might have 'co-mingled' with 'taxpayer' money?

It comes from the state funds, which are generated through sales taxes. Property taxes are local (city, county, ISD, etc) so are not involved here. Although COTA has sought every break they can from their property taxes, like most businesses. But that's not related to the METF or the $25M per year that comes from it.

BTW, I think this is about the governor's race. It's setting the stage for upcoming attacks on Greg Abbott and republicans for their crony capitalism, but first they have to get it into the public eye. The story exists to elicit responses from the politicians, hopefully snowballing in the run-up to the USGP. Then the attack ads will run.

I doubt it will work, but if it does, more power to them.

[jngreenlee]

Originally Posted by hookem

It comes from the state funds, which are generated through sales taxes. Property taxes are local (city, county, ISD, etc) so are not involved here. Although COTA has sought every break they can from their property taxes, like most businesses. But that's not related to the METF or the $25M per year that comes from it.

Agree that this smells mostly political.

In your comment above, it sounds like you're saying that the ~$50MM/yr comes from a general sales tax receipts fund, where it may in fact be co-mingled with all other sales tax.

In other words, it's not coming from an account of receipts solely collected at COTA?

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by jngreenlee

Agree that this smells mostly political.

In your comment above, it sounds like you're saying that the ~$50MM/yr comes from a general sales tax receipts fund, where it may in fact be co-mingled with all other sales tax.

In other words, it's not coming from an account of receipts solely collected at COTA?

What $50M /year? It's 25M /year.

It's from the additional sales taxes attributed to the event. So it's not site specific, but it is time-specific. So all the sales taxes at the site weekends when there isn't a METF event go to the general funds (state and local).

[jngreenlee]

Originally Posted by Novacek

It's 25M /year.

Got it, sorry about that.

Originally Posted by Novacek

It's from the additional sales taxes attributed to the event. So it's not site specific, but it is time-specific. So all the sales taxes at the site weekends when there isn't a METF event go to the general funds (state and local).

So the vendors at COTA, including COTA, still collect and mail in sales tax, but then it sits in a special accounting code and they later do an annual draw against it?

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by jngreenlee

Got it, sorry about that.



So the vendors at COTA, including COTA, still collect and mail in sales tax, but then it sits in a special accounting code and they later do an annual draw against it?

It's the state that does the calculation, to ensure the event actually generated the additional sales tax revenue. And again, it's the event, not just the venue. Sales taxes in downtown Austin count as well, once the state figures out whatever the incremental additional amount is (above and beyond what would have been collected that weekend).

[turn1]

KXAN: Formula One funding called into question:

http://kxan.com/2014/09/15/formula-o...into-question/

AUSTIN (KXAN) – There’s renewed controversy about the state funding used to help pay to put on the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.

“I feel confident I have complied with the law,” Comptroller Susan Combs said two years ago, as we launched our investigation into the state funding of F1.

Now, with two races down, and million dollars of your taxpayer money already paid to the massive racing event – questions still linger about the legality of the process.

To keep this latest controversy simple: Should F1 be eligible for the funding since it might never have submitted a written application?

The state has previously said the racing event is eligible for up to $250 million over a decade, part of a select incentive from a fund used to attract major economic boosting events like the Final Four and the Super Bowl.

LIST: Major Events Trust Fund Awards
There are new reports of allegations that the application for F1 was only verbal, not written and that might not have been in compliance with the law.

KXAN Investigator Brian Collister pointed that allegation out to head of COTA – Bobby Epstein – who helped bring the race to Austin.

“The statute was created to attract new dollars to Texas, and there is no better example of that working than in Formula One. The United States Grand Prix has brought hundreds of millions to the state and local economies, created thousands of service industry and construction jobs and helped attract other events to Texas, including ESPN’s X Games. A verbal application was made to Formula One Management to host a grand prix,” Epstein said. “Dominos doesn’t just send a pizza to your home unless you call them to say you’re interested having one delivered -neither does a Grand Prix just show up.”

We checked records at the Comptroller’s office, so far, F1 has received about $50 million from the state and about $10 million from local incentives – all through this controversial process.

This issue has raised big questions for a less-talked about race in November. The comptroller oversees Texas finances. Current Comptroller Susan Combs plans to retire at the end of her term. Two men are running to fill that position: Democrat Mike Collier and Republican State Senator Glenn Hegar.

We reached out to both candidates.

Soon after, Collier said he would try to move the fund outside the Comptroller’s office, so he could be more of a watch dog.

“We know in business you want complete separation from the people who authorize payments from people who sign checks,” he said.

Glenn Hegar said he would properly administer the Major Events Trust fund, noting he voted for a bill last summer to eliminate pre-funding of events.

He says, “If the state is going to operate these types of programs they must be transparent and provide accountability to the taxpayers.”