AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[The ATX]

F1 has the potential to create a [insert cliche here] vibe that is an impetus for companies moving/expanding here much in the way that SxSW has.

I don't think companies like Facebook would have moved/expanded here if it weren't for the creative vibe that events like SxSW create.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

F1 has the potential to create a [insert cliche here] vibe that is an impetus for companies moving/expanding here much in the way that SxSW has.

I don't think companies like Facebook would have moved/expanded here if it weren't for the creative vibe that events like SxSW create.

Expand and move here are two completely different things. For what its worth, Facebook expanded here because Austin has an incredible foundation of knowledgable tech workers, not because of SXSW. In fact, I'd posit that SXSW (at least the interactive portion) is symptomatic of that as well. I.E. Both Facebook and SXSW are results of the same thing: our wonderful university which churns out tech workers like nobody's business.

[MightyYoda]

WWMIV hits the nail on the head. UT is priceless to Austin's well being. It is the foundation of our city that makes it successful in so many areas.

[hookem]

I wouldn't say SXSW's existence owes anything to UT Austin. Maybe it's expansion does, but when it started it was specifically scheduled during Spring Break when all the students were gone... it was supposed to be about the musicians.

And personally, I think F1 could bring a headquarters or two to Austin. It puts Austin on an international map, and gives it world class legitimacy -- it wouldn't be the primary reason for a move (US companies are indeed mostly moving HQs just for tax breaks these days) but it could definitely be a factor that puts Austin into contention for a company that might not have even considered it before.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by hookem

I wouldn't say SXSW's existence owes anything to UT Austin. Maybe it's expansion does, but when it started it was specifically scheduled during Spring Break when all the students were gone... it was supposed to be about the musicians.

And personally, I think F1 could bring a headquarters or two to Austin. It puts Austin on an international map, and gives it world class legitimacy -- it wouldn't be the primary reason for a move (US companies are indeed mostly moving HQs just for tax breaks these days) but it could definitely be a factor that puts Austin into contention for a company that might not have even considered it before.

I thought I was pretty clear that I wasn't talking about SXSW writ large, but simply the Interactive portion.

[Jdawgboy]

For the record, F1 alone is an added bonus, it is not the only reason so let me re-word what many of you feel that I am saying F1 is the ONLY REASON why new companies will move. It is a BONUS and a major one at that. Austin is now on the map and people that did not know anything about Austin before, know about it now. I say lets see what happens in the next 5 years before coming to conclusions now.

[BevoLJ]

F1 is nice for the city, but its most important factor being that it provides excitement and a sense of security. It is another example of how Austin is doing well and that the city is a safe place to invest. And it is a big one that lots of people notice on a global stage. But itself I don't think is going to bring any big companies here. I can't imagine why any large company would move here because of a race. I could see companies or start ups that would like to use the track as a controlled environment or some such place to test designs or whatever moving her for that. Or it being a plus for movie studios to film in a safer environment.

But UT will always be the biggest driver in town. It is why IBM, 3m, TI, Motorola and all those other companies moved here and Austin became a tech city. It is where the first game and software developers studied and started their own business, where Dell dropped out when his business took off. The professors at UT do play a huge roll in all of the parts of South By, not just the interactive part but also the Music, Film, Fashion and Eco parts too. They lead the talks, and help organize the events. UT does more for the city that the State Government does IMO. The city helps itself out by being the kind of city people don't want to leave once their studies are over.

It is really to bad that the Republicans at the capitol don't understand how important education is to our economies of our cities. How they don't understand what UT means to Austin or what TMC means to Houston and such. What Harvard/MIT/BU and such mean to Boston or Cal/Stanford mean to SF-SJ. At least the talk is getting serious about the new Med school for Austin. If the do build a top level med school at UT that med school will do more for this city's economy and more to bring in big companies than any F1 track or race ever will. That isn't to say that the race and track don't help build that excitement about a city that Austin is so good at doing for itself, but it will never have the direct effect on companies, growth and local recruitable talent that the Med school would and nothing close to the effect UT does.

Edit: Hell it could even be argued that UT's football program alone brings in more and has a larger impact on the city than F1 would. It is the largest most profitable college program in the nation.

[N90]

Formula One is one of the top most prestigious sports in the world. The brands and people it attracts are pure elegance, sophistication, wealthy, and powerful. Brands like Ferrari, McLaren, and the like flock to be apart of and compete in Formula One. It's probably the next biggest sporting event a city can play host to outside of the Olympics and FIFA World Cup but more prestigious than FIFA.

F1 is exclusive, prosperous, and sought after dearly. It doesn't necessarily mean corporate headquarters move to the city that plays host but what it does mean is that the city gains monumental exposure. The exposure and image of the city can lead to foreign investments and since Texas is a pro-business state the image of Austin as a hip, growing, educated, talented, pro-business city can give word to companies to check the city out. As Austin's name gets larger so does its corporate pool. F1 may physically not deliver companies and it doesn't need to, F1 needs to serve its purpose to get Austin's name out on the map like never before and to get tourism numbers up and foreign investors lined up for the lodging (hotels, residential units), dining (high profile), and tourism (more tourists from the country and world) and the the rest will be taken care of by Austin's business climate.

I don't agree with those saying F1 will rake in companies but I don't agree with those saying it will have no impact in many ways of Austin's international exposure which can thus lead it to attract jobs and companies. Anything is possible. The Olympics set Atlanta up, it wasn't the actual event per se but the exposure Atlanta got around the world. It got a lot of foreign investors and domestic developers that noticed the city for the first time after the Olympics.

This is beyond any of us, we're not professionals to forecast such things and these arguments are as silly as predicting weather conditions for the next 30 years right now. Lets just watch and see what happens, Austin has a great future with the way things are going right now.

[migol24]

I don't see why any of you guys are arguing over it.... its silly. It's starting to sound like city-data in here. Sorry, kevin, just had to say.

[ahealy]

I agree...it's kind of a win win situation (I know very little about f1).

[Dale]

Originally Posted by ahealy

I agree...it's kind of a win win situation (I know very little about f1).

It's an outrageously popular brand of auto racing in which the driver who wins the pole almost always wins the race. Oh, the drama!

[N90]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

Edit: Hell it could even be argued that UT's football program alone brings in more and has a larger impact on the city than F1 would. It is the largest most profitable college program in the nation.

Well I agree to an extent but I also disagree. It solely depends if Austin does F1 properly enough to reek the benefits of it.

UT's sports program is great and creates a sense of community but does little to get Austin a larger economic impact. Because of it Austin will likely never see an NFL or NBA team because of how drawing UT's sports are. It pulls in people from all across the state to get involved but very rarely does it draw national or international tourists. Professional sports lead to more investments in hotels, retail, and restaurants because they draw big name athletes and crowds of people who come to sporting events like the Superbowl and what not.

Now the F1 has the potential to be far more beneficial. It will draw in more domestic and international crowds, if Austin does it right that is. This will lead Austin's airport to eventually get a massive expansion, will add far more destinations to Bergstrom both domestic and international. It will create more logisics jobs. It will create more construction jobs. It will create more hotels setting up shop near the airport. It will create more of a need for infrastructure projects like widening roads or improving transit to relieve traffic. UT sports normally draws for the most part Texans or Oklahomans not Russians, Chinese, French, Italians, or even Californians, New Yorkers, Michiganders, Floridans, and the like the way F1 may when it kicks off.

UT is a huge driving force for Austin and its noticeable because Austin is a smaller market right now. Austin if it ever becomes a metro of 5 or 6 million will be much beyond UT and this F1 will help it be so.

🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 and whatever else Vegas specializes in is what led top chefs, hotel developers, and entertainment crowds to invest in Las Vegas. It was a tourism purpose. UT will never have that type of impact while the F1 and other races at the track may. Austin's film industry is growing, its tech industry is growing, its housing industry is growing, its healthcare industry is growing, its retail industry is growing, its hotel market is growing, and its tourism industry is surely surging. The city's on the right track but its not ALL thanks to UT. I agree that UT and education are a huge driver for Austin but the city is beginning to branch out and that's a great thing. UT gives Austin many advantages, especially with drawing educated talent but it doesn't give Austin everything where other things like Austin City Limits, SXSW, F1, whatever will.

By the way Austin now has one of the top 8 fashion scenes in the United States. It's ranked right behind Chicago, San Francisco, and Dallas. http://www.languagemonitor.com/category/fashion-capitals/

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by N90

I don't agree with those saying F1 will rake in companies but I don't agree with those saying it will have no impact in many ways of Austin's international exposure which can thus lead it to attract jobs and companies.

... Who among us is saying that it won't have any impact? We all know that F1 is a huge deal. This argument is not between your two categories, but between those who think it alone will lead to companies relocating here and those who do not think that by virtue of F1 locating here alone that companies will relocate to Austin.

In fact, if you go back through my posts I've said many times that I think F1 represents a huge opportunity with regards to cash flow, tourism, the hotel industry, foreign direct investment, and the like, but that is a whole separate ballgame from whether or not a company like Siemens is gonna up and move from Germany to here because of a little F1 race! F1 isn't that big ya'll. It's economic impact won't represent more than 2% of Austin's GMP, if that. Do you think that a company is going to relocate here because of that? No.

On the flip side is the idea that companies that currently do not have branch offices here might be enticed to slide their way into our market, but that is a whole separate deal from what was being discussed. Opening a branch or a side office or whatever is not the same thing as a wholesale corporate move, which is what the progenitor of this discussion stated would be caused by F1. Do not backslide or minimize the argument for the sake of being right. That position was wrong.

However, I'm completely open to entertaining the idea that F1 could contribute to a company's decision to open a side branch of a small size in this city. However, notice that I couch my language with the word "contribute". Their decision is going to hinge on a variety of factors; things like local economic fundamentals, education of the workforce, government regulations and incentives, all of which are probably going to be weighted more heavily in the eyes of any company considering an office here than the F1 race.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by N90

Now the F1 has the potential to be far more beneficial. It will draw in more domestic and international crowds, if Austin does it right that is. This will lead Austin's airport to eventually get a massive expansion, will add far more destinations to Bergstrom both domestic and international. It will create more logisics jobs. It will create more construction jobs. It will create more hotels setting up shop near the airport. It will create more of a need for infrastructure projects like widening roads or improving transit to relieve traffic. UT sports normally draws for the most part Texans or Oklahomans not Russians, Chinese, French, Italians, or even Californians, New Yorkers, Michiganders, Floridans, and the like the way F1 may when it kicks off.

I definitely agree with this. Completely. I just don't think that F1 will make a company relocate their headquarters here on the basis of it alone.

[N90]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

... Who among us is saying that it won't have any impact?

It definitely wasn't you but someone else I think. Whoever it was that said its going to simply become another "SXSW type of thing.

SXSW is regional. A hyped regional event, it doesn't have the credentials to draw internationals crowds. I agree F1 WILL definitely have an impact but its up to Austin and Austin's assertive nature to what extent it reeks the benefits from the event. F1 does and it will (attract international crowds), even if Austin doesn't do a good job hosting it.

Originally Posted by wwmiv

This argument is not between your two categories, but between those who think it alone will lead to companies relocating here and those who do not think that by virtue of F1 locating here alone that companies will relocate to Austin.

I personally don't agree entirely with Jdawg either but I'm not calling his theory "laughable" because its certainly plausible. I mean it happened to Atlanta with the Olympics although the Olympics are a whole different level than the F1, some companies did consider and actually did relocate to Atlanta after the city got international exposure and reeked the benefits of being a pro-business environment. People can only consider places they've heard of, and F1 will get Austin's name out more and indirectly it may or may not lead to relocations. Who knows!

Originally Posted by wwmiv

In fact, if you go back through my posts I've said many times that I think F1 represents a huge opportunity with regards to cash flow, tourism, the hotel industry, foreign direct investment, and the like, but that is a whole separate ballgame from whether or not a company like Siemens is gonna up and move from Germany to here because of a little F1 race! F1 isn't that big ya'll. It's economic impact won't represent more than 2% of Austin's GMP, if that. Do you think that a company is going to relocate here because of that? No.

Oh for sure. I agree with you on this, and if this is what you're ultimately trying to say then of course I agree with it.

I can see a point though. A company in need of a better place to relocate to, say a tech company in France. F1 gets Austin's name on the table, some business executive visits Austin from France. Goes back home, tells his buddies and they look Austin up and see how its tax structure is, its opportunities, its surging population, its surging popularity, then they may "consider" or actually go through with a corporate relocation. That's an impact but its not a guarantee.

Originally Posted by wwmiv

However, I'm completely open to entertaining the idea that F1 could contribute to a company's decision to open a side branch of a small size in this city. However, notice that I couch my language with the word "contribute". Their decision is going to hinge on a variety of factors; things like local economic fundamentals, education of the workforce, government regulations and incentives, all of which are probably going to be weighted more heavily in the eyes of any company considering an office here than the F1 race.

We're in agreement then.

Austin's a fast growing metro. The next 30 years people who live in or near Austin are going to see it become a much larger place and it will be little of what it was in 1980. I like the direction Austin is heading in, its a more popular road than the ones Dallas and Houston took. Dallas and Houston are becoming huge corporate and economic destinations and in their own way are very successful and will continue to be but Austin's headed down a more tourist like, popularity like, glamorous like route. It's offering something different for Texas's plate and that's pretty awesome.

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by N90

UT gives Austin many advantages, especially with drawing educated talent but it doesn't give Austin everything where other things like Austin City Limits, SXSW, F1, whatever will.

I don't understand how you can say this when UT is a big reason all three of those exist at all. Until this year where was ACL filmed? Who filmed it and where is that network out of? It was filmed at UT by KLRU which is housed at UT. South By was founding by the founders of the Chronicle and UT Film students. Additionally like I mentioned above UT and its professors play a huge role in helping organize SXSW and give many of the best talks in the all of the different parts of South By. CotA and the F1 race is being funded and built by the guy that the UT Business School is named after (McCombs) as well the other investor, Epstein, who also is from UT.

Originally Posted by N90

SXSW is regional. A hyped regional event, it doesn't have the credentials to draw internationals crowds. I agree F1 WILL definitely have an impact but its up to Austin and Austin's assertive nature to what extent it reeks the benefits from the event. F1 does and it will (attract international crowds), even if Austin doesn't do a good job hosting it.

South By is not a regional event. It has been an international event pretty much right from the start. It started out and about indie music and the music part is still focused on that. South By alums have always had more success in Europe than the US. I went to a SXSW event this summer in Barcelona, Spain. They have them all over the world. Of the ~2,000 bands that play South By every year over 700 of them are international bands. South By's largest sponsor is and has been for some time Asian. South By has the largest music, film and tech fest in the world. It is not a regional event and never was.

And the huge parties that happen in Austin involving huge international companies, celebrities and such during South By are some of the biggest parties outside of NY, Miami or Vegas. And that is a big reason why I think that F1 will do well in Austin.

But one thing that should be worth mentioning is that all of this tourism and hospitality growth is great but not as important as tech. Tourism has been the bulk of our growth since this recession hit. But those jobs don't pay much. They certainly don't pay near as much as a software or chip engineer or other such talent that UT helps drive more directly.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by Dale

It's an outrageously popular brand of auto racing in which the driver who wins the pole almost always wins the race. Oh, the drama!

Thanks for the run down man!...I was referring to the benefits of F1 coming to Austin though.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by ahealy

Thanks for the run down man!...I was referring to the benefits of F1 coming to Austin though.

Yes, yes, I know. I'm a multi-tasker.

[NYC_Longhorn]

So frustrating to see JDawg thrown under the bus... Bullies, bullies, bullies... quit defending your petty snarky arguments and apologize to the dude... there is no need to be so arrogant with the way you talk to each other... lately the forum feels snarky and from the fifth grade... I'm out.... have fun being douchebags.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by NYC_Longhorn

So frustrating to see JDawg thrown under the bus... Bullies, bullies, bullies... quit defending your petty snarky arguments and apologize to the dude... there is no need to be so arrogant with the way you talk to each other... lately the forum feels snarky and from the fifth grade... I'm out.... have fun being douchebags.

I've been too busy to log in lately and as I am catching up, funny but the word 'snarky' came to my mind before I got to NYC Longhorn's comments. I think this forum tends to overthink the subjects a bit and gets too personal. But I have to admit, it lends to good reads what with all the drama. I accept everyone's opinions as is, and as they are mostly opinions, you are all correct, at least in your own minds...nothing wrong with that. For a city the size of Austin, there are many big city events that are and will continue to happen here. We will continue to grow. Being from the NYC area, I'm used to big, I can understand how many of you can act like you never been in the end zone before. Really, we are just beginning to act our size. Feel free to be snarky on me now