Quote:
Originally Posted by austlar1
I just gotta ask about this event. This time last year the various Austin media outlets and members of this forum engaged in endless speculation about the scarcity and cost of hotel rooms, the possibility of massive traffic jams, the logistics of transporting thousands of people to the track, the need for helicopter shuttles, the influx of deep pocketed zillionaires who were going to fall in love with Austin and spend mega bucks here during the event and also in the future, etc. This year there is barely a peep in the media (until today) about this event, and there just does not seem to be that much excitement on this forum or elsewhere with regards to this event, which was labeled as a game changer just a year ago. Am I missing something here, or are my perceptions accurate? Why the big change in just one year's time?
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Last year there was more speculative-type media about the track being finished in time, the traffic, METF money, etc. This year, most of that is gone, but the actual media coverage and promotion of the race itself seems higher to me -- more billboards, more TV commercials, nationwide broadcast (NBC instead of Speed), etc.
It feels like a much more normal "big event" this year. Not like we don't know what's coming and are freaking out about it... more like "here we go again, another ACL fest or SXSW type weekend". Frankly, I think it will be better for the visitors -- Austin locals seemed to stay at home last year. This year, especially with the game going on at the same time, people will really get the feel for what Austin is like.
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