AUSTIN | Projects & Construction III

[KevinFromTexas]

I read an article yesterday that said there are no hotel rooms available in Austin for November 16-18 during the race. Austin has 30K hotel rooms, San Antonio has 40K and Waco about 4K I believe. They said those other two cities will likely have bookings those days from F1 race visitors. They said the hotel room inquiries in Austin have outnumbered those that they had in Dallas when the Super Bowl was there by 33 times. Homeaway Inc. also said their inquiries to their website have been 25 times higher than normal. I'm not exactly a "sports guy" - but I think we've grabbed onto a rocket here.

Here's the link.
http://www.statesman.com/business/ho...d-2407797.html

[N90]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I read an article yesterday that said there are no hotel rooms available in Austin for November 16-18 during the race. Austin has 30K hotel rooms, San Antonio has 40K and Waco about 4K I believe. They said those other two cities will likely have bookings those days from F1 race visitors. They said the hotel room inquiries in Austin have outnumbered those that they had in Dallas when the Super Bowl was there by 33 times. Homeaway Inc. also said their inquiries to their website have been 25 times higher than normal. I'm not exactly a "sports guy" - but I think we've grabbed onto a rocket here.

Here's the link.
http://www.statesman.com/business/ho...d-2407797.html

Kevin, your information is just as I suspected it to be. I've been saying this for years on other forums and as long as I've been a member on this one that Formula One (F1) is the most upscale and most prestigious you can go to hosting any event in the world except the Olympics or FIFA soccer.

Austin being the premier F1 destination in the U.S. is just phenomenal. Tourism is going to skyrocket and so will Austin's global portfolio whether it catches on or not (domestically), Austin will get its name around the world. F1 has a dedicated global fanbase, multi-millionaire/multi-billionaires use a sport as upscale as this to meet with new clients or do transactions.

The superbowl in DFW was one of the most highest attended superbowls (and viewed) of all time in America and the fact that this ALREADY has it beat by bookings by over 33 times is on a godly level. I love my city (well all 3 of them)!

Kudos Austin on this win. As far as name recognition for metros under 2 million goes, Austin is becoming the new Las Vegas (in terms of name recognition globally).

[migol24]

Originally Posted by N90

Kevin, your information is just as I suspected it to be. I've been saying this for years on other forums and as long as I've been a member on this one that Formula One (F1) is the most upscale and most prestigious you can go to hosting any event in the world except the Olympics or FIFA soccer.

Austin being the premier F1 destination in the U.S. is just phenomenal. Tourism is going to skyrocket and so will Austin's global portfolio whether it catches on or not (domestically), Austin will get its name around the world. F1 has a dedicated global fanbase, multi-millionaire/multi-billionaires use a sport as upscale as this to meet with new clients or do transactions.

The superbowl in DFW was one of the most highest attended superbowls (and viewed) of all time in America and the fact that this ALREADY has it beat by bookings by over 33 times is on a godly level. I love my city (well all 3 of them)!

Kudos Austin on this win. As far as name recognition for metros under 2 million goes, Austin is becoming the new Las Vegas (in terms of name recognition globally).

I'm holding out a bit to give in to all this hype. I know its a benefit and I am excited for this city. I also think that this is one of those "good" problems for Austin to have in some sense. And I do believe that Austin's recognition will continue to gain momentum as it already has but I think it's still too soon to name it the new Las Vegas, let alone in global recognition.

[N90]

Originally Posted by migol24

I'm holding out a bit to give in to all this hype. I know its a benefit and I am excited for this city. I also think that this is one of those "good" problems for Austin to have in some sense. And I do believe that Austin's recognition will continue to gain momentum as it already has but I think it's still too soon to name it the new Las Vegas, let alone in global recognition.

I can understand your point but realistically it all adds up. As far as tourism goes, San Antonio has always been tops over Austin on that and while SXSW, ACL, and Austin's nightlife are tourist draws they aren't to the point of where all the hotel construction is coming from.

Anyone else find it particularly odd that a slew of hotel proposals all over Austin came about directly after the announcement of F1? Kevin's article also however states that those hotel rooms are not "expected" to be booked that week but ARE booked (wow this early) for then. Whatever attention Austin gets out of this, its going to be huge. What do you guys think will be the main story on the news that week? Tropical storms in the Atlantic? LOL. No way. Its going to be about America's first F1 games in well over a decade now. One of the top most prestigious sports in the world and also one of the most prestigious and honorable events to host.

Win & win. But I concede the Vegas part was a little too dramatic (for now) but everything else. I'm sticking with it.

30,000 hotel rooms absorbed in the Austin metro. WOW! Even more bookings to be had in Waco & San Antonio because of this. WOW!!

[KevinFromTexas]

Yeah, we do have F1 to think in part for the new hotels. SXSW and to a lesser extent, ACL are good for Austin of course, but they're just not the juggernaut that is F1. We haven't really had any major hotel construction directly linked to SXSW, at least it hasn't been advertised that way. Plus, the music festivals are just different creatures from the F1 race. Whereas the F1 race will boost hotel room stays, SXSW and ACL mostly contributed to people crashing on a friend's couch.

[migol24]

Now, just a thought, I don't think a pro-sports team has been supported much by many on skyscraperpage but if F1 turns out to be very successful there in Austin, do you guys think that it could contribute in attracting a major sports team eventually in the coming years?

[N90]

Originally Posted by migol24

Now, just a thought, I don't think a pro-sports team has been supported much by many on skyscraperpage but if F1 turns out to be very successful there in Austin, do you guys think that it could contribute in attracting a major sports team eventually in the coming years?

Nahh not likely anytime soon. They're two types of sports made of two different cloths.

National sports like NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, & MLS depend largely on the home crowd to be there and support them. F1 is for everyone (truly international), literally people from Austin straight to people living in flats in London. The issue with NFL coming to Austin is the college football scene. MLB or NBA may be possible one day. NHL, ehh its to the back of the line back looks like Houston & San Antonio are closer to that reality than Austin. MLS, definitely possible and the one with the largest possibility.

[JoninATX]

Originally Posted by migol24

Now, just a thought, I don't think a pro-sports team has been supported much by many on skyscraperpage but if F1 turns out to be very successful there in Austin, do you guys think that it could contribute in attracting a major sports team eventually in the coming years?

Well lets see, F1 will be playing a big role here in Central Texas not just Austin but will be definitely impacting hotels in cities like San Antonio, Temple, & Waco. Also we have to remember F1 is just the beginning we also have V8 supercars, Le Mans, and maybe WSBK... as far as major league teams I don't see it happening aleast not anytime soon.

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Yeah, we do have F1 to think in part for the new hotels. SXSW and to a lesser extent, ACL are good for Austin of course, but they're just not the juggernaut that is F1. We haven't really had any major hotel construction directly linked to SXSW, at least it hasn't been advertised that way. Plus, the music festivals are just different creatures from the F1 race. Whereas the F1 race will boost hotel room stays, SXSW and ACL mostly contributed to people crashing on a friend's couch.

I do think the SXSW has a lot more to do with the hotels than many think. SXSW has become a monster. It is the biggest event of its kind in the world, and I really can't tell you how many people I meet all over the world would would kill to experience SXSW. It is everyone! lol.

If you look at where in downtown the hotels are being built, near the convention center rather than 6th or Red River area, and the type of hotels all with large conference space, I think that speaks a lot to why they are drawn to Austin.

And it isn't just SXSW directly, but many of the other things that SXSW has helped foster and grow during the rest of the year.

I'm not suggesting F1 and the other races aren't huge for Austin. Or that F1 hasn't helped get these hotels across the financing finish line (sorry. ). But we've all seen what has been happening to the city the past 5 years every March. These hotels were coming regardless of F1. I still believe SXSW has a lot more to do with it than F1.

[N90]

^^ You bring up good points Bevo.

Honestly though, at this point I don't think any of us even care anymore. It's may be just F1 or it may be things much beyond just that. I mean lets look at Austin's accomplishments just in the post-recession era. Many new "talls" proposed for the city. The city crowns itself as one of America's top film destinations and has one of the greatest film industries in the country (ESPECIALLY for its size). Its music scene is known for being the "live music capital of the world", whether that holds true on the world stage, doesn't matter because it does exist in Austin and it takes credit for it. Then the music scene expands from that and becomes a huge rock and roll, indierock, pop scene with many talented bands and acts. Let's face it, it has one of the best and most stunning topographies in the country and the lakes and rivers in the area so helps.

Let's move beyond that (the obvious) now. It's not only F1 but MotoGP (world championships), V8 Supercars, American Le Mans Series (US & Canada event), and one more type of racing will all be held in the circuit along with F1. That's just phenomenal! Just over night (the night the circuit opens) it will change and add to Austin's reputation both nationally and internationally. V8 Supercars is hugely followed around the world particularly Australia. MotoGP is like the F1 for the bike world (on an international scale), and American Le Mans should get our Cannuck brothers up north viewing.

Lets move EVEN beyond that. Austin gets no attention for this at all but it just made its GLOBAL debut as a global fashion center (along with San Francisco, both making their first debuts). They're joined in North America by only New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago, Toronto, Mexico City, Dallas, San Francisco, & Atlanta. http://www.languagemonitor.com/fashi...shion-capital/

Stuff like this happening for the city often now: http://www.languagemonitor.com/fashi...shion-capital/

I lived in Asia before and am willing to say that UT is one of the most recognizable schools from the US. Lots of people wear the orange longhorn clothes even though they have no idea what it means, its a cultural thing that's gone way passed just Texas & the US. Not to mention UT is one of the best schools in the country and especially for a public university, awesome.

Tech is a given. Diverse economy is a given. Austin is becoming Texas's creative capital, music capital, & film capital. It's name is growing abroad, Las Vegas had the same exposure happen because of gambling and the strip, its suffered for it during the recession but it goes to show you that all you need is one high profile event to catapult you up there. Just ask Atlanta about the Olympics. The difference is, Austin's getting way more than "just one" event/sport and its growing in many other things very fast (fashion, music, film, culture, even politics).

[KevinFromTexas]

I suppose I should retract my statement about SXSW. It is big for sure. On average there are bands in town for SXSW from 40 to 50 countries. And it does get a lot of tv exposure. I was just noting that the ratio of domestic visitors for SXSW vs F1 is probably higher. I'd be interested in seeing some official data on that.

[Jdawgboy]

SXSW is the largest conference/festival of its kind in the world that is not being debated, but on an economic level it will not compare to F1. The money flowing into our region will be like nothing we have ever seen. That is the point that's being made. Nobody is questioning the sucess and the influence of SXSW and fact is in several ways that has put Austin on the world map. F1 however will be like a giant flood light shining down on the city. SXSW has TV exposure but F1's TV audience is much, much larger.(the largest annual sport in TV coverage in the world) Hotels have been in the works for awhile but F1 really was the lighter fluid that hit the spark to get it jump started.



Speaking of Fashion. There will be huge fashion events including runway shows during the week of F1. Not surprised at all about Austin's influence in fashion. Even SXSW has seen huge potential with Style X which had its second year and already saw major growth from 2011 to 2012.

[N90]

Well gentlemen, to recap on Austin's direction:

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX MSA: +3.92% growth from 2010 to 2011.

That rate is only surpassed by one other metro in the United States and that metro is (see below).

Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA MSA: +4.26% growth.

This is explosive growth.

[WestAustinite]

Just an fyi regarding population. The of Austin may be the 13th largest incorporated city in the US now, but it is not really even close to being in the top 25 when you look at metropolitan areas which are a better indication of city size. Example: Minneapolis and Miami are less than half the size of Austin in population. And San Francisco smaller than Austin? True when you look at raw numbers but not when you look at the true measure of the size of a city. In fact, Austin ranks #34. The reason Austin is #13 is because the city itself is quite large in area and has few incorporated suburbs aside from RR, Leander and Cedar Park. Most cities have a dozen or more incorporated cities attached to them. See this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_o...tistical_Areas

Still, the growth is remarkable how fast Austin is growing and it looks likely that within 5 years Austin will surpass Cleveland, Las Vegas, Columbus and Cincinnati.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by N90

Well gentlemen, to recap on Austin's direction:

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX MSA: +3.92% growth from 2010 to 2011.

That rate is only surpassed by one other metro in the United States and that metro is (see below).

Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA MSA: +4.26% growth.

This is explosive growth.

The fact that Austin's growth rate is so high in relation to the relatively small population of the other cities with a similar growth rate is amazing.

[Jdawgboy]

It's what it is, a fun fact and agreed Metro pop gives a better idea about the overall area. Austin is close to breaking 2 million mark so that will be an exciting moment when it does.

[AusTxDevelopment]

I posted this on the Skyscraper City page as well. Endeavor just announced their new project - Domain 7 - which is an office building adjacent to the Domain Gateway office building in the Domain. Endeavor sent the below announcement email out to all the commercial real estate brokerage firms today. The flyer and site plan for the project is posted on Endeavor's website, if you are interested: http://www.endeavor-re.com/property/office/domain-7/

[nixcity]

yawn, only six stories!!! Wasn't this supposed to be our second downtown???Here we are years later and have only managed to get an 8 story building which probably isnt even tall enough to be a highrise....how lame.

[Austin1971]

I can't believe the city council nixed the temporary international arrivals hall for the airport. What a huge mistake. That set international traffic at the airport back 5 years. As for TV exposure in the states for F1 I predict it to be minimal to none. They have to compete with NFL and NCAA football.....

[JoninATX]

Btw, dirt is moving for a new project called Eleven.


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