An article from Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/is-america-s-only-formula-one-track-in-trouble shows that CotA’s claimed attendance numbers just don’t jive with the facts. Funny, I think I said this a while back. I really would like auto racing to succeed here in Austin, and the facility is beautiful. I hope that they can get things turned around, but I worry that with an F1 race in Mexico starting next year, if there is a real call for attendance accountability, the METF money is not going to be enough to pay the sanctioning fee. Time for CotA to change it’s strategy and how they attract people to the races and other events.
Circuit of the Americas in financial trouble?
Comments
5 responses to “Circuit of the Americas in financial trouble?”
-
Agreed….wish they worked with local business.
-
Ideas they should think of: Drag races on the long straight before turn #15; Amateur races; NASCAR road races; more bicycle road races; more motorcycle races (add a permanent MotoX track); Extreme go-cart races; more concerts and non-racing events; SoapBox derby (down the hillclimb on turn #1); more SXSW and ACL-Festival events; IndyCar non-oval races; Monster truck races/rallies (in the dirt parking lots?)
-
I realize that revenue is the problem, so they need to attract More people not gouge the people that already attend events there. Use the McDonald’s model not the Ruth’s Chris model.
The prices for concessions (food et al) is ridiculous, esp. for the quality that is offered. And they should lower vendor fees so more vendors can provide more variety and are not forced to race their prices in order to pay their vendor fees.
Lower ticket prices, lower food fees, much lower parking fees, lower vendor fees.-
I agree that they need to attract more people, and at least for me, although the gouging is part of the problem, it is also the “nickle and diming” effect. I would more easily pay more to have a comprehensive ticket then to have to keep opening my wallet at every turn- literally and figuratively. I think my biggest pet peeve is the parking- I can go to a concert downtown at the Erwin Center and park only a block away in a lit, covered garage for less than it costs me to park on the grass(or mud) a 1/4 mile away from the track, which is in the middle of nowhere. Psychologically, I would rather have them build parking into the price of the ticket and pay more than know that I am paying a lot of money for nothing. All they are doing with their high parking fees is making money for their neighbors. As Races2U has been a vendor at the track, I completely agree with lower vendor fees. If they lowered the fees substantially, they could attract a lot more vendors, and make up in volume what they lose in margin. It would also add to the attraction and atmosphere if there were lots of vendors with many different products rather than just a few tents set up in the grand plaza. Just my 2 cent’s worth.
-
-
CotA’s problems are multifold. For starters, they try to use the f1/European style of marketing and pricing for everything. They neglect the fact that much of the f1 crowd is composed of “jet setters” and/or well off, Eurocentric Americans. Those two groups are the small minority of the overall American racing fan base. that might do well for those two particular group of fans, FOR an f1 race, but for everyone else and every other type of race, it doesn’t and judging from the fact that the track is facing financial trouble, for f1 race either.
This track really screwed up, when it decided to host the x-games, instead of bringing back the Australian Super Car Series. That race was VERY successful, given they advertised a gate estimate of 92 to 93 thousand fans! Though again, they tried to use the f1/Euro style marketing and pricing. That will always hurt them for ANY event that they try to run! Not bringing that race and series back was a very bad decision!
They NEED to recognize that Americans are not like fans from the rest of the world! First, auto racing is a niche sport. It is not now, or has it ever been mainstream. It is a huge niche, but none the less, still a niche. In America, this niche is divided into numerous sub-niches, These sub-niches are populated by the different fans of the different forms of racing. Most American fans are fans of one form of racing, exclusively. They may venture outside of their particular niche, to watch a race of a different niche, but that if rare and when it happens, it is normally a form of racing that shares things in common to the niche that they are in. I will use myself as an example of this. I am a diehard, life-long, hardcore stock car racing fan. I will occasionally watch a drag race, but outside of that, I have zero interest in other forms of racing and literally do not like some forms of racing in other niches. I do not like formula cars, f1 or Indianapolis type racing. I’ve no interest in sport car racing or road-racing. I am strictly an oval track, stock car racing fan! The so called, crossover, fans, the ones that like all forms of racing, “I don’t care what it is, as long as it races on 4 wheels, in a small minority, compared to the one form exclusive fans. There are not enough of them to make a difference.
In closing, my advise to CotA, as well as any other racing facility, would be to do your research into the American fans, with regards to the different niches. Use your heads, do not waste time trying to promote to fans of a niche that doesn’t care for the type of racing that you put on at your track, Zero in on the niche(s) that show interest in the forms of races that you track runs and heavily promote to them! The only other advise that I could give CotA would be to do away with the F1/European model of promotion and pricing and adopt a more American type of approach, after all, you are a track located in America, not in Europe, so it stand to reason that the majority of the customer base that you are seeking to attract is American Finally, bear this in mind, auto racing is changing and unfortunately, not for the good. The problem is the generationally shift. The younger generations of today do not share the love of the automobile, the old “car culture”, that generations of us, in the past grew up with, had ingrained into us. Many in these younger generations have no interest in the car, no desire to own a car, not even a desire to have a drivers license! Without any of those interests, they have zero interest in auto racing. This, down the road a few years from now, could well spell the end of auto racing. Unfortunately, but true. Taking into account this, the niche that is auto racing, will be growing smaller in the coming years. Therefore all forms of racing need to be aware of this and be especially smart on how and who they promote to.
Leave a Reply