Saturday was the hottest day; saw Danica on her scooter & Helio talking with the army guys. Paul Tracey is looking scruffier each year, & got a distant picture of Tag suiting up before getting into his car for the qualifying run. Heading off to catch the shuttle bus now; see you at the races!
IndyCar's future in Edmonton? Promising
Staged closure of City Centre Airport may lead to 'semi-permanent' site that could save millions of dollars
John Korobanik
Edmonton Journal
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Take a deep breath, auto-racing fans. Although the Edmonton City Centre Airport is slated for closure, it may not spell the end of IndyCar racing in the city.
In fact, it may ultimately lead to a more "semi-permanent" site that would save Northlands, owners of the event, millions of dollars every year.
After an early Saturday morning meeting between Northlands and the Indy Racing League, both sides said they were pleased with the discussion and optimistic about the event's future, despite city council's decision to close the airport in the future and develop the site.
Terry Angstadt, IRL commercial division president, said they "couldn't be more pleased" with the meeting, the weekend and the future possibilities. The meeting discussed Northlands' proposal for a two-year extension to their contract, a new date for next year and the possibility of a more permanent-type site for the event.
"What I think is still a bit of an unknown is the destiny of this specific venue," he said. "They(Northlands) seem reasonably optimistic with the information they've been given so far that we'll be able to find more of a permanent venue here. It would need to be tweaked a bit, but not only remain here, but put in certain aspects of permanently that would allow us to put a stake in the ground and be here for a long time."
Northlands major event co-ordinator Mike Burton said Northlands is hoping that the city's future development of the site will include a "semi-permanent" home for the race that would see the grandstands remain intact. The construction and dismantling of the grandstands are a major expense costing Northlands millions of dollars each year.
"That would be our preference," said Burton, "But it obviously will involve a lot of discussion with the city."
Angstadt said having a site to hold the race on a long-term basis would allow the city and the IRL to "really build on that sense of tradition."
Speaking as he wandered the site Saturday, Burton said Northlands has proposed the 2010 IndyCar schedule, to be released Aug. 1, include July 23-25 dates for the Rexall Edmonton Indy. That would move it to the front end of the 10-day Capital Ex Festival and avoid the Aug. 1 long weekend when fans are more likely to be out of town. It would also avoid clashing with Heritage Days festival and the Big Valley Jamboree.
The races in Toronto and Edmonton would then be back-to-back weekends. This year there was a two-week break between the events.
Northlands, which took over the race last year, has asked IRL for a two-year extension to the contract that expires after next year's race. Angstadt said the IRL is receptive to the extension.
"We were very clear with them, we want to do what fits their business model. If two years is good for them, that's great, if it's three years that's great."
That decision won't be made until after Northlands has done its post-race analysis and the 2010 schedule is finalized, "then we'll look to forming something longer term."
This is Indycar's second year in Edmonton--Champ Car was here the first three years--and Angstadt said the IRL is more than pleased with what they've seen so far.
"The promoters think their ticket sales are pretty strong and hospitality is a little soft, that's not unique," he said. "We're clearly focused on doing as much as we can to ensure it is financially successful. If it's not, long term it won't work. We run a business, Northlands runs a business, the City of Edmonton runs a business and if it's not successful it won't run."
But he said the $5-million deficit encounter last year should be looked at in the context of the benefits to the city.
"When you have people involved who also benefit from the economic impact I think people can get pretty comfortable at some level, and we don't want any deficits, no one does, but I think there is an acceptable deficit when you take a step back and say, $80-million economic impact. OK, was there a $5-million investment to create that? In a lot of businesss you might say that's pretty acceptable.
"But I think we can get better every year."
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© The Edmonton Journal 2009
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CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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