COTA Austin - construction and infrastructure

[thearmofbarlow]

It made sense. With an absolute top quality facility you are guaranteeing yourself not only F1 but any number of racing series. MotoGP, ALMS, NASCAR, Indy... name it. The real issue is going into this without the money in hand. If you can't afford to do something on your own... don't goddamn do it with someone else's money.

[hairy_scotsman]

Germans and many foreigners would be prone to that spelling mistake because the pronunciation is the same and their spell checker will not show it up. That chart came from Tilke and it explains why you do get those typos.

I agree, you very often see that particular miss-spelling from Swedes as well, including myself.

Anyway, the Flat-12 link confirms my suspicions of a poorly planned event, notably the access roads and parking lots,
but I believe the real killer is the bizarre PSL-ticket system, a commitment for 15 years as if it was the Dallas Cowboys?

But Strad, it's not like I will celebrate when they run out of cash with a with nothing but a dirt-track to show for,
just that I didn't think building a 350 MUSD Formula One road track from scratch made any sense to begin with.

Yeah, I just thought it was funny. It's a common mistake for Americans as well.

Re: PSLs, the 15-year commitment and the extreme cost are especially bizarre considering the lack of committed content. The Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams can offer a minimum of 8 major events per football season. What does COTA have lined up? Sports teams can also tell you what seat you're buying, where it will be located, what the view will be like and how that section of stadium will be configured.

I have nothing against the basic concept of PSLs for the best seats, but this scheme looks like an extreme, poorly executed application of the concept at best, and really a desperate money grab at worst.

[hairy_scotsman]

It made sense. With an absolute top quality facility you are guaranteeing yourself not only F1 but any number of racing series. MotoGP, ALMS, NASCAR, Indy... name it. The real issue is going into this without the money in hand. If you can't afford to do something on your own... don't goddamn do it with someone else's money.

How long is F1 guaranteed? MotoGP? No go.

ALMS, NASCAR, Indy? Maybe, but where are they? We've been hearing literally for several months that series contract announcements were imminent in "a couple of weeks".

Right now there are an undetermined number of F1 races and 5 Supercar races starting next year without a set date. That's it.

As for the "top quality" facility, the track will be fantastic, and I believe Austin Commercial and its subcontractors will build with the greatest of care whatever they're told to build. Just be aware that this project is a mere shell of what it once was. After those race-essential basics get built, don't expect too much growth as long as the current "regime" is in place.

We'll likely see a couple of smaller series signed sometime, but don't expect much else.

[Pup]

It made sense. With an absolute top quality facility you are guaranteeing yourself not only F1 but any number of racing series. MotoGP, ALMS, NASCAR, Indy... name it.

If it's a good facility, the other series will sign up. Maybe not this year, but eventually they all will. The location, the track, the facilities will all be top notch. From what I see, they'll be better than any other course in the US. The other series aren't just going to ignore that. I think what people forget is that there's a lot of money backing this project that isn't on the books. McCombs and Epstein funded the first six months of construction out of their own pocket after all. So they have the luxury of time and can wait for people to come to them on their terms.

Their focus, as it should be, is to get the track built. If they can do that, the rest will fall in place.

If you can't afford to do something on your own... don't goddamn do it with someone else's money.

Or without a good attorney.

[hairy_scotsman]

With the arrival yesterday of "the mother of all cranes" as one observer put it, Main Grandstand construction begins in earnest:

[dren]

I'm just waiting for general admission tickets. Hope they aren't ridiculously priced. I read somewhere they may be 300+. Ouch.

[hairy_scotsman]

I'm just waiting for general admission tickets. Hope they aren't ridiculously priced. I read somewhere they may be 300+. Ouch.

I doubt they'll be that much, but if they are, then forget it.

I won't pay flyaway prices for a hometown GP.

[strad]

From the site

Individual tickets to the 2012 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix will be offered for sale in early summer.

Fans interested in buying tickets should sign up using the form below to receive ticket information as it becomes available.

Have been on the list for a loooong time and other than the ridiculous pre PSL or whatever they called it I ain't heard squat.
At this point even if they pull it off I don't know if I'll bother.

[hairy_scotsman]

From the site

Individual tickets to the 2012 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix will be offered for sale in early summer.

Fans interested in buying tickets should sign up using the form below to receive ticket information as it becomes available.

Have been on the list for a loooong time and other than the ridiculous pre PSL or whatever they called it I ain't heard squat.
At this point even if they pull it off I don't know if I'll bother.

Been hearing this a lot.

[xpensive]

I'm afraid that spending any money on tickets to an F1 race at Cota in November will prove to be a rather poor investment.

[Pup]

From the site

Individual tickets to the 2012 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix will be offered for sale in early summer.

Fans interested in buying tickets should sign up using the form below to receive ticket information as it becomes available.

Have been on the list for a loooong time and other than the ridiculous pre PSL or whatever they called it I ain't heard squat.
At this point even if they pull it off I don't know if I'll bother.

Been hearing this a lot.

From people who are unfamiliar with the dates of the seasons, I assume. Early summer is, well, early summer. My calendar says its not even spring yet, though maybe in Texas it's different.

[strad]

I have no doubt the track will be pretty darn decent..maybe a little busy in places but good.
It's everything else that has me concerned. The track will be done but the race will be, dare I say it? Half Assed and poorly xecuted.

[WhiteBlue]

If you can't afford to do something on your own... don't goddamn do it with someone else's money.

Or without a good attorney.

That may be something Tavo initially lacked, but seems to have now. I wonder how he came by the new firm.
Another impression I have is that he was pushed going public by Ecclestone at a time when he wasn't really ready for it. Hence the detailed business plan, organization and all activities around the company were not finalized which may have included some legal issues.
On the other hand practically all start ups begin with bright ideas, hard work and very little if any capital. Despite that many founders keep a substantial share in the business. Not all venture capitalists are vultures.

[hairy_scotsman]

From people who are unfamiliar with the dates of the seasons, I assume. Early summer is, well, early summer. My calendar says its not even spring yet, though maybe in Texas it's different.

No, from people who were told that by now we'd be contacted individually by sales reps with ticket info, and that "individual tickets" would be going on sale in the early summer. Hardly anyone says they've heard anything at all.

[hairy_scotsman]

I have no doubt the track will be pretty darn decent..maybe a little busy in places but good.
It's everything else that has me concerned. The track will be done but the race will be, dare I say it? Half Assed and poorly xecuted.

Yep.