Circuit of the Americas Development Updates

[hookem]

Originally Posted by Schertz1

F1 will have an impact on San Antonio too, so this is not a SA v. Austin thing.
Yes, the fund is for this type of event, but it is all State money. The budget should be fixed and priorities identified. F1 is not a priority, education is.

The thing is, the F1 track is employing people NOW. Something on the order of 300 or so paychecks are currently going to (mostly) local families... putting food on the table. Obviously, the senators voting to deny Austin the Special Events Trust fund (the same fund that spent $31M on the Superbowl for DFW in an EVEN WORSE economy) have no idea of the existing jobs they are potentially killing.

I think they will find that out soon. Huge contracts are already in place; companies like Austin Construction, Ranger Excavating... these are big corporations that have a load of employees and some political influence. We're talking about over $200 million being spent with these companies over just 18 months! Then there are smaller companies, like the media company that has built the very extensive sites for Formula 1 United States and now CircuitoftheAmericas.com ... I believe this is a Dallas company.

Bottom line, some idiot senators have put in jeopardy the livelihood of hundreds of local and state-based folks working for this track -- and with any luck, these job-killers will be called out for what they are really doing. Basically, just trying to slap Austin in the face, as the state legislature always does... with absolutely no care for the consequences. These slimebags don't dare touch any real wasteful spending. Just the stuff that they can grandstand about, and say they "put Austin in it's place".

[Spaceman]

It's Dan"Sonogram"Patrick who is behind this dumb move....This guy hates Austin and will do anything to hurt the city

[Schertz1]

Originally Posted by hookem

The thing is, the F1 track is employing people NOW. Something on the order of 300 or so paychecks are currently going to (mostly) local families... putting food on the table. Obviously, the senators voting to deny Austin the Special Events Trust fund (the same fund that spent $31M on the Superbowl for DFW in an EVEN WORSE economy) have no idea of the existing jobs they are potentially killing.

I think they will find that out soon. Huge contracts are already in place; companies like Austin Construction, Ranger Excavating... these are big corporations that have a load of employees and some political influence. We're talking about over $200 million being spent with these companies over just 18 months! Then there are smaller companies, like the media company that has built the very extensive sites for Formula 1 United States and now CircuitoftheAmericas.com ... I believe this is a Dallas company.

Bottom line, some idiot senators have put in jeopardy the livelihood of hundreds of local and state-based folks working for this track -- and with any luck, these job-killers will be called out for what they are really doing. Basically, just trying to slap Austin in the face, as the state legislature always does... with absolutely no care for the consequences. These slimebags don't dare touch any real wasteful spending. Just the stuff that they can grandstand about, and say they "put Austin in it's place".

And AISD has a budget shortfall over 100 million jeopardizing more than 1K jobs. There are many more government workers in the Austin area facing the same situation, but 300 people makes up for that. I would have my tax money going to employ teachers, support education, and other civil considerations rather than propping up fat cats. They, “big corporations that have a load of employees and some political influence,” will collectively spend millions lobbying for this handout. Why not just use it to support this private venture and allow the limited State money to support public sector workers? Better yet, sell bonds or equity to support it. Who cares what Dallas or Houston got? Should we just continue the irresponsible spending or correct our course?

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by Schertz1

Really....do you actually believe F1 has a greater economic impact than the Super Bowl? The All-Star is debatable. The point is the State is laying-off teachers and other workers due to budget shortages, yet there is 25 million to support this venture. The public is growing tired of hand-outs to the rich....stadiums, tax breaks....etc. If this is viable the financial markets can and will support it. The reality is this race did not provide the anticipated impact in Indy.

F1 will have an impact on San Antonio too, so this is not a SA v. Austin thing.
Yes, the fund is for this type of event, but it is all State money. The budget should be fixed and priorities identified. F1 is not a priority, education is.

Let them use their tax breaks, that is why they got them!

You say it is "State money" and for people all over the State. I would disagree that in how it is being used. To me it looks like it is money for DFW, SA, and Houston only. Austin received $3 million from my quick count. There are many event on there that got over $3 million on their own. San Antonio got over $45 million, DFW hell of a lot more than that, and I didn't bother counting Houston but it looks to have had a lot too.

I even see that one of the 4 types of fund on there is for purely motor sports. How does the F1 Grand Prix not fall under that? For that matter shouldn't it be even broadened to include the MotoGP as well as that is why the fund exist? The Motor Sports Racing Trust Fund says it is there for automobile racing events sanctioned by the US Automobile Competition Committee. Does the world championships for exactly that not count?

If this was to have been proposed anywhere other than Austin there would be no question that the fund would be used.

Anyway, I saw in the House bill that they plan on enlarging the bill to include not only this but more events in Austin. So I'm sure when they combine the two bills it will survive and it should be interesting to see what of the rest of the proposed Austin events survive. If for some reason it doesn't survive then they just need to get rid of this fund entirely. Just trash it, because it would be clear it is there for no other reason than for politicians to get their pockets filled.

[KevinFromTexas]

Actually, the F1 track will employ more than 300. The construction of it alone will take 1,100, and in that video that was posted earlier, the number is much higher than that. Besides, it's not just the track itself that is bringing jobs. This thing will require a huge amount of hotel rooms and new development around it to support it. The job number is likely going to be many times higher than the 1,100 number when all is said and done.

I think the state funds for F1 in Austin, even at $25 million, even out when you look at the list and see Dallas and San Antonio dominating it with event after event and Austin with only a few. Texas spent nearly $27 million on the superbowl in Arlington alone, and Arlington chipped in more than $4 million more. The most expensive events on the list were football related and most were in the millions. I think even with F1 in Austin the State probably still spends more on the events in those other cities.

[Schertz1]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

You say it is "State money" and for people all over the State. I would disagree that in how it is being used. To me it looks like it is money for DFW, SA, and Houston only. Austin received $3 million from my quick count. There are many event on there that got over $3 million on their own. San Antonio got over $45 million, DFW hell of a lot more than that, and I didn't bother counting Houston but it looks to have had a lot too.

If this was to have been proposed anywhere other than Austin there would be no question that the fund would be used.

I just think when so many are losing jobs there are more appropriate uses for the money.

In addition, if equity is required of State expenditures the UT system should invest equally in all campuses. Austin benefits greatly from the UT system and to the detriment of the other cities/campuses. No one sits around ho-humming about how unfair it is either.


I hate very large crowds, but I do plan on attending at least one of the Austin races. I think the event will happen even without State money.

[Owlhorn]

all racing organizations (most) don't charge fees to race at your venue. Many end up paying a sanctioning fee.

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by Schertz1

I just think when so many are losing jobs there are more appropriate uses for the money.

In addition, if equity is required of State expenditures the UT system should invest equally in all campuses. Austin benefits greatly from the UT system and to the detriment of the other cities/campuses. No one sits around ho-humming about how unfair it is either.


I hate very large crowds, but I do plan on attending at least one of the Austin races. I think the event will happen even without State money.

Not really though. UT Austin is the flagship campus but it does not get the most money. The Med Schools in Dallas and both in Houston get more money than the UT Austin Campus gets. M.D. Anderson gets over twice what UT Austin gets and UT Med Center in Houston gets more than UT Austin as does Southwest in Dallas. UT spends more in all 3 Dallas, Houston, and SA (if you combine the Med school and the university) than it does Austin so I am not sure that UT would be a valid argument to only allow Austin to have 1/60th of the funds this trust fund provides to the other cities.

The money from this fund is going to be spent regardless, they just don't want it in Austin. They spent it last year, they are spending it this year, they will spend it next year. There are very valid things to spend it on, and most of the things I saw on that list seem like valid things to spend it on. This race will bring in more tax revenue just off the sales tax alone than they will be spending each year. Add in to that the thousands of jobs and all the other growth that comes with it I think using a fund like this for something that is going to be permanent and create permanent jobs is a much more valid reason to spend the money than on something that will be coming to Dallas or Houston once every 10 years.

[hookem]

Originally Posted by Schertz1

I just think when so many are losing jobs there are more appropriate uses for the money.

But the money WON'T be used for anything else. It's going to stay right there in the Texas Special Events Trust Fund, to be spent on special events; just not this one in Austin maybe.

It's a total scam, just political grandstanding; a complete lie by Dan Patrick (as a radio talk show host and politician, it's something he's good at). He's counting on people like you who don't know and won't spend the time to understand the way the Texas budget works. People who will just assume that the money might be spent elsewhere, might save a teacher's job or somehow help the education crisis... when EVEN HE doesn't say that.

Make no mistake, NO TEACHER JOBS will be saved by Patrick's scam. In fact, if anything he's killing teacher jobs too. Just think of the poor Del Valle ISD, who would have a windfall in property taxes (ISD's are over half the total property taxes that the F1 track and other related developments would have to pay, starting in just over a year). Certainly those millions would have paid for new teachers, facilities, and other education-related things the kids in Del Valle could really benefit from.

Bottom line, Patrick's scam saves NO money. It kills current jobs, and it kills teacher jobs. It hurts education. It's done simply for appearances.

[Schertz1]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

Not really though. UT Austin is the flagship campus but it does not get the most money. The Med Schools in Dallas and both in Houston get more money than the UT Austin Campus gets. M.D. Anderson gets over twice what UT Austin gets and UT Med Center in Houston gets more than UT Austin as does Southwest in Dallas. UT spends more in all 3 Dallas, Houston, and SA (if you combine the Med school and the university) than it does Austin so I am not sure that UT would be a valid argument to only allow Austin to have 1/15th of the funds this trust fund provides to the other cities.

Please provide your source. The general perception is UT Austin and T A&M, but mainly UT, historically receives the lion’s share of the funds’ support. It was widely reported by many media outlets as the reason for Texas only having two public tier 1 universities prior to 2011. I know for a fact the OB of UTSA and UTHSCSA combined is less than that of UT Austin. What I do not know is how much is from the fund or how many research dollars actually come from the State.

The point is public money is not always distributed equally.

[Jdawgboy]

The fact is, this senator did this on purpose, he never said a WORD before, and he waited till AFTER the announcement of MotoGP. He waited all this time to all of a sudden pull this move, its purely political and if this race track was being built in Houston, he would support it. HOW DARE HE CLAIM THIS MONEY WILL SAVE TEACHERS JOBS WHEN THE REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT SLASH CUTTERS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION!!! Its pure hate toward Austin plain and simple. Fact is the Comptroller as well as the Governor support Formula 1 coming and Fact is he wont get very far with this move. They mentioned on KXAN that it is expected most if not all of the incentive money will be returned once they have a final meeting on it next week.

[LoneStarMike]

Here's a recent article on the track's construction and its' expected economic impact from Racin' Today.com

It's a fairly extensive article, but here's an excerpt:

Tough Times Ahead For Texas Rattlesnakes

“It’s been a whirlwind for the last 10 months,” said Hellmund, 40. “A lot of attention has been brought onto Austin with us being awarded the U.S. Grand Prix. It’s a huge honor for us. But at the same time, it’s really about what does that represent?

“Do we know that hundreds of thousands of people will come here? Absolutely. Do we know from statistics from global events around the world, whether it be Formula One or whether it be the Olympics or FIFA (world soccer), that 60 percent of people will travel from outside the state? We’re positive of that.

“And do we know also that of those people that visit here that the average spend for a major global event for a person visiting a host region is between $1,400 and $1,600 a day? And that’s all for our local businesses and merchants. Not to mention the fact that Austin and Texas will be seen by some 600 million people around the world in over 180 countries. And those are great numbers, but we kind of want to improve on them.”

[BevoLJ]

Here is a little about Tavo Hallmund and F1 in Austin. This is his talk at TEDxAustin back in Feb.

• Video Link

[paulsjv]

Originally Posted by Schertz1

And AISD has a budget shortfall over 100 million jeopardizing more than 1K jobs. There are many more government workers in the Austin area facing the same situation, but 300 people makes up for that. I would have my tax money going to employ teachers, support education, and other civil considerations rather than propping up fat cats. They, “big corporations that have a load of employees and some political influence,” will collectively spend millions lobbying for this handout. Why not just use it to support this private venture and allow the limited State money to support public sector workers? Better yet, sell bonds or equity to support it. Who cares what Dallas or Houston got? Should we just continue the irresponsible spending or correct our course?

Good thing this is not a political forum...

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by hookem

But the money WON'T be used for anything else. It's going to stay right there in the Texas Special Events Trust Fund, to be spent on special events; just not this one in Austin maybe.

It's a total scam, just political grandstanding; a complete lie by Dan Patrick (as a radio talk show host and politician, it's something he's good at). He's counting on people like you who don't know and won't spend the time to understand the way the Texas budget works. People who will just assume that the money might be spent elsewhere, might save a teacher's job or somehow help the education crisis... when EVEN HE doesn't say that.

Make no mistake, NO TEACHER JOBS will be saved by Patrick's scam. In fact, if anything he's killing teacher jobs too. Just think of the poor Del Valle ISD, who would have a windfall in property taxes (ISD's are over half the total property taxes that the F1 track and other related developments would have to pay, starting in just over a year). Certainly those millions would have paid for new teachers, facilities, and other education-related things the kids in Del Valle could really benefit from.

Bottom line, Patrick's scam saves NO money. It kills current jobs, and it kills teacher jobs. It hurts education. It's done simply for appearances.

Exactly! I think excellent school systems are more important than race tracks. But the money is not going to be redirected to schools. People who continue to complain about the incentives for F1 either don't like govertment tax incentives in general or they dislike Austin. It seems pretty simple to me.

[the Genral]

Two things I'm not crazy about, there is a large structure that looks to be at least two stories high which will block out the view of the rest of the track for the lower level seats on the front straight. Everyone who has been to a big ticket race knows those are the cheapest seats. You're going to have to get your seats months in advance and shell out the big bucks to get a good seat high in the back where you can see beyond that infield structure behind the pits. Second, I don't like the tight turn at the end of the main straight. At the start of the race or during restarts, there's going to be a log jam at turn 1 and a good chance some cars will get knocked out of the race there. Turn 1 needs to be wide and more of a high speed slightly banked turn. By the time the drivers get to the other tight turns, they would be more single file and stretched out. If they go ahead with plans to make the track wet, turn 1 will be even worse. Oh, ya'll can now resume the bickering over money and politics. If anyone is interested in discussing racing, track layout, and potential use of the facilities, please chime in. Hey I got a great idea...let's start a thread about the new F1 track they are building! We'll rename this one, "how we can take a cool thing and poop on it".

[JoninATX]

So I take it F1 is Cancalled? or what.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by JoninATX

So I take it F1 is Cancalled but wait Slick Rick sign a 3.1 Billion rainey day fund to make sure no jobs would be lost this year or how about the extra $10 billion for school money where that at.

No, F1 is NOT canceled. Why in the world would you say that? This comment totally pissed me off. Don't comment if you don't know what you're saying.


All that happened was that the relevant committee voted to rescind the funding from the sports fund. The funding will probably be reinstated by the committee of the whole. Even if it isn't reinstated, the track will probably go ahead. Also, the money CAN'T be transferred over to schools.

[JoninATX]

wwmiv mybad I got over excited when I saw that F1 was in "trouble" someone was telling me that it was cancalled. I'm a little flustrated so my apologies.

[JoninATX]

New Renderings...









http://f1newsaustin.com/category/track-news/