Circuit of the Americas Development Updates

[urbancore]

That $25m would have gone a long way to fix this problem.....,

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

I wouldn't be shocked if races start pulling out and COTA is forced (at least financially) to shutter. Actually, I'm a little perplexed that it hasn't happened already.

It's time for new ownership. Someone/some group who is willing to put in real effort in upkeep as well as creating a great experience. Epstein obviously doesn't care to do what is best so it's time for him and his groupies to leave. We deserve better than what they have provided.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

I wouldn't be shocked if races start pulling out and COTA is forced (at least financially) to shutter. Actually, I'm a little perplexed that it hasn't happened already.

Well, the first part has happened. They've lost V8 Supercars, FIA WEC, IMSA, Global Rallycross, & X Games. COTA's still around though because of the money the State gives them for F1 & MotoGP, but I'm not sure how much longer MotoGP is gonna stick. As long as F1 sticks, I think COTA remains open, but wewillsee.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by urbancore

That $25m would have gone a long way to fix this problem.....,

Sure, but they've been getting $30M or so every year from the State all these years, $200M or so so far, and still haven't done a proper fix. I'd already heard long before the State pulled that money that Bobby didn't want to pay for a real fix of the track, & that's why we keep seeing the BS bump grinding that only weakens the track and worsens the problem in the long run.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

It's time for new ownership. Someone/some group who is willing to put in real effort in upkeep as well as creating a great experience. Epstein obviously doesn't care to do what is best so it's time for him and his groupies to leave. We deserve better than what they have provided.

Agree completely. With all the money the State has given COTA, somewhere around $200M by now (think about THAT for a second), it seems like there should be some MFing accountability.

With all that taxpayer money going their way, how is it that they're allowed to never show their books to anyone?


Re: Bobby not caring about the racing, that's absolutely correct. To him, the track is only a means of pushing the 360 Amphitheater and his bullshit soccer ambitions. He doesn't give a shit about the riders, the drivers, the racing series, the fans, or the track - except to the extent that they can get him those big-ass checks from the State of Texas.

I had to LOL leaving COTA after FP2 yesterday, listening to the two COTA trackside announcers/paid COTA spokesmen - Jonathan Greene & that country guy - upset about the riders pointing out the obvious dangers of the excessive COTA bumps. Country Guy literally sounded like he was gonna cry.

The gist was that the riders are just being whiny babies & should just shut up and ride, that 'no track will stay billiard smooth forever', that 'they just have to ride it and figure out the best ways around the bumps' etc. Billiard-smooth forever? LOL. Seriously? It's year 7 of MotoGP at COTA. The riders have already been talking about this for 3 years running now, & F1 started having trouble in 2014 or 2015 iirc.

The best part was when Country Guy said Vinales' Lap 2 fall in 2017 was caused not by the T18 bump, but by Vinales 'taking the wrong angle' approaching the bump. You just can't make this stuff up.

Then later in the evening on the racing facebook page I co-admin, there was a self-described COTA employee saying things like "Ha, they can't deal with it? go away", "the track is too bumpy. waaaa", and "Deal with it. Every other rider/driver has to. That's racing. Go have a few rounds at Sebring. Another reason the 2 wheelers don't do it for me..."

Really? A COTA employee telling the series that runs COTA's 2nd biggest event that they should just 'go away"? Wow.

Seems like I remember Bobby expressing similar sentiments a year or two ago as well. This seems to be the attitude that's trickled down from the top.

[mostly_afk]

Originally Posted by turn1

Re: Bobby not caring about the racing, that's absolutely correct. To him, the track is only a means of pushing the 360 Amphitheater and his bullshit soccer ambitions. He doesn't give a shit about the riders, the drivers, the racing series, the fans, or the track - except to the extent that they can get him those big-ass checks from the State of Texas.

I don't cares much about his "...bullshit soccer ambitions..." either. He skipped out on building permits putting his players, staff and media in lousy conditions. The bold roster is full of old guys way way way past their prime. I doubt they will have the conditioning to get through the summer. I rather get excited about the future of soccer (like FC Dallas starting five teenagers) than to watch some old guy poach a goal like what I saw against SAFC.

As for the track, we should demand that our political heroes demand more accountability, otherwise that place will turn into a wasteland.

[GoldenBoot]

I'm shocked COTA has survived this long after Epstein ran Tavo off.

Tavo would have run a beautiful track. At least he LOVES racing (as a former racecar driver himself).

[turn1]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

I'm shocked COTA has survived this long after Epstein ran Tavo off.

Tavo would have run a beautiful track. At least he LOVES racing (as a former racecar driver himself).

This here. If Tavo weren't kicked out of his own project, the place would still be a pristine racing shrine. So sad ...

I must have overheard people talking 50 times today about how MotoGP needs to leave COTA, and talking about what U.S. track they should go to next. Barber came up over and over. There was Statesman article last year saying this year is the last year of the contract, and iirc they said it was a 7 year contract when they announced it, so maybe those folks were right.

[the Genral]

PETA is calling on the Austin Bold to cancel the promotion to bring animals to tomorrow night's game in return for free admission. Austin Bold is pretty much blowing off their concerns of subjecting the animals to stress and potentially dangerous situations, citing the Bevo, UGA event at the Sugar Bowl, for the sake of free tickets. Being an animal lover, I appreciate PETA for their dedication to an important cause even though I feel they sometimes come across as extremists. That being said, despite the fact that this promotion is rather bazaar and stupid...a food drive or clothing drive for the poor and homeless would garner more local support and positive publicity, I think PETA is overblowing the potential danger to the animals. THAT being said...ANY push back against Epstein and added bad publicity is a good thing imo. MotoGP is also joining the choir regarding issues at the track. While a conceited Epstein is rejoicing the overall outcome of last weekend's event, the riders are voicing their concern's about the condition of the track and the lack of improvement despite repeatedly bringing their concerns to the track management's attention. They are now asking their governing body to look into the track conditions which they are calling the worse in the MotoGP series, for resolution which could include putting COTA forever in their rearview mirrors. I wouldn't blame them if they leave. I'm predicting the Austin FC will be one of many nails in COTA's coffin in the coming years, Epstein's ineptitude driving in most of them by his own hand. Hope I'm wrong.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by the Genral

PETA is calling on the Austin Bold to cancel the promotion to bring animals to tomorrow night's game in return for free admission. Austin Bold is pretty much blowing off their concerns of subjecting the animals to stress and potentially dangerous situations, citing the Bevo, UGA event at the Sugar Bowl, for the sake of free tickets. Being an animal lover, I appreciate PETA for their dedication to an important cause even though I feel they sometimes come across as extremists. That being said, despite the fact that this promotion is rather bazaar and stupid...a food drive or clothing drive for the poor and homeless would garner more local support and positive publicity, I think PETA is overblowing the potential danger to the animals. THAT being said...ANY push back against Epstein and added bad publicity is a good thing imo. MotoGP is also joining the choir regarding issues at the track. While a conceited Epstein is rejoicing the overall outcome of last weekend's event, the riders are voicing their concern's about the condition of the track and the lack of improvement despite repeatedly bringing their concerns to the track management's attention. They are now asking their governing body to look into the track conditions which they are calling the worse in the MotoGP series, for resolution which could include putting COTA forever in their rearview mirrors. I wouldn't blame them if they leave. I'm predicting the Austin FC will be one of many nails in COTA's coffin in the coming years, Epstein's ineptitude driving in most of them by his own hand. Hope I'm wrong.

Yeah I've been predicting that as well re: Austin FC. Epstein just isn't interested in the racing beyond the $ it can bring him from the State. The condition of the track is proof enough of that. Austin FC & the Live Nation/C3/UT downtown arena are going to render his cute little USL team and his Amphitheater obsolete, & then he'll be left with a track he doesn't want, and likely some very disgruntled investors. That's why he's fighting it so hard (and dirty, as per his M.O.)

COTA does have a tendency to half-ass pretty much everything, but with MotoGP this past weekend, and last year too, really, it went beyond that to disrespect imho.

There was a Statesman article last year that said the COTA MotoGP contract is up after this race. I don't know if that's right or not, but I do get the feeling MotoGP is done at COTA. The tone of the riders complaining about the track, the track announcers complaining about the riders complaining about the track, etc ... all just seemed to me as if the breakup is imminent, or has even already happened. What someone described with COTA moving the motorcycle the parking out into the boonies just seems like another F you from COTA to MotoGP on the way out the door. Hopefully I'm wrong, but we've seen this show before with other series or events leaving COTA, even prior to the end of their contracts ...

[turn1]

P!NK, Imagine Dragons named as 2019 F1 Grand Prix concert headliners http://www.kvue.com/article/news/enterta...269-0dd0a180-37f8-4419-94dd-6184723eaacb

Note the days of the concerts ... Friday and Saturday rather than Saturday and Sunday.

Gotta do something to pad those numbers!

[mostly_afk]

His USL team doesn't have much appeal (for me at least). I would rather see talented young players trying to move to the next level than the guys he brought in. It would be interesting to see the attendance for tomorrow's match. They should get good numbers for Sunday's match.

[turn1]

USGP pricing ... looks like they're going up again.

[Jdawgboy]

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/918184/1/my-feet-came-riders-ask-cota-changes


And in regards to the prices above... are you kidding me???!!! I was planning to go buy a ticket and go this year.. Damn, I'm working on saving up for a trip to Japan... I think I will just allocate whatever I was gonna use for the race for that instead..
Way too much for most average people.

[turn1]

Nice crowd tonight at COTA for aggy date night at the Bold's second home game. About 50 people, a horse, and a goat named Mortimer.

[The ATX]

That's sad. There were 5,800 at the opener, But most of those folks probably came from S.A. to watch their team.

[turn1]

Originally Posted by The ATX

That's sad. There were 5,800 at the opener, But most of those folks probably came from S.A. to watch their team.

Yep. Just wait til some Wednesday night in mid-August, when they're mired down in the standings and some equally craptacular team comes to town. That'll show the true level of interest in this team.

[turn1]

Austin: 'My feet came off' - riders ask for COTA changes
https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/918184...X8vFr2FaNy70idm81oXHeppU8ruWyTFdM-jqfIsY

...

World champion Marc Marquez - who didn't blame the bumps for his fall from the lead of the race - outlined the work needed:

"There are three points which are very critical; especially Turn 2, then from 9 to 10, there's a big bump on the kerb, and then the back straight," he said. "These are the most critical points that they need to try to repair for next year."

Of those, it was Turn 2 that gave the biggest problem for debut MotoGP winner Alex Rins.

"I was suffering a lot at Turn 2. Depends on the line. But mostly at the end of the race when I was going through these bumps I was losing a little bit the front tyre. This starts to be dangerous," said the Suzuki rider.

"We already talked on the Safety Commission to do something for next year, because it’s a shame to come here in America on this nice layout and feel all these bumps."

Runner-up Valentino Rossi also praised the layout, but added that it's the worst circuit of the year for bumps.

"Like Alex said it’s a shame because the track is fantastic, the layout is great, but for the bumps is the worst track in all the season. Also today [in the race] is the same as Friday. We speak in the Safety Commission, but is not easy to fix so I think that we have to take the bumps."

Jack Miller, who completed the podium, revealed he suffered a tank-slapping scare in warm-up, similar to those caught on camera for Marquez along the back straight in qualifying.

"I almost killed myself this morning down the back straight. I didn’t really understand how Marc had that headshake yesterday [Saturday], but boy I got it this morning on the first lap," said the Australian.

"I thought it was game over. Just the wind was a little bit in the wrong spot. It started slapping on me and I literally had no idea what was going on. My feet came off. The brake lever was gone to the handlebar. I had to pull it like six times [to get the pads back to the disc].

"Like Alex said, I had the soft front [tyre, for the race] and going into Turn 2 you almost roll off early and have to get back on with the gas to then accelerate over the bumps, otherwise the thing gets all swapped out.

"But doing that you’re going through the most crucial part of the corner with the gas on, taking load away from the front. Towards the end of the race, I had three or four times on my elbow there.

"We were fortunate today. I think also in the race, to be honest, down the back straight I had quite a good opportunity to pass Cal there on the first lap, but I wasn’t going to pull out and try and pass with the wind and everything because the front wheel is bouncing up and down.

"When these bikes come past each other in close quarters, that’s the last thing you want at 340k an hour, 330k an hour. So definitely something needs to be done."

...

[turn1]

So what do you do if you're COTA/Epstein and you screwed the pooch on your application for $25M of free taxpayer subsidy money?

Why of course you just flaunt the law, cry "Unfair!" when it's enforced, and then get a friendly legislator from way out in West Texas to introduce tailor-made stealth legislation, changing the law ... retroactively ... so it's like you never effed up in the first place.

It seems COTA has pushed legislation that would retroactively allow them to collect the ~$25M they lost when they ****ed up their 2018 F1 MERP application. HB 4008 would change the law, effective RETROACTIVELY, to cover COTA's ass on their own failure to comply with the law.

By: Frullo, Moody, Cyrier, Krause, Rodriguez H.B. No. 4008


Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4008:

By: Cyrier C.S.H.B. No. 4008



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT


relating to plans required to be submitted to be eligible to receive
funding through the Major Events Reimbursement Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5A, Chapter 1507 (S.B. 456), Acts of the
76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999 (Article 5190.14, Vernon's
Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subsection (a-1) and
adding Subsection (a-5) to read as follows:
(a-1) An event not listed in Subsection (a)(4) of this
section is ineligible for funding under this section. A listed
event may receive funding through the Major Events Reimbursement
Program under this section only if:
(1) a site selection organization selects a site
located in this state for the event to be held one time or, for an
event scheduled to be held each year for a period of years under an
event contract, or an event support contract, one time each year for
the period of years, after considering, through a highly
competitive selection process, one or more sites that are not
located in this state;
(2) a site selection organization selects a site in
this state as:
(A) the sole site for the event; or
(B) the sole site for the event in a region
composed of this state and one or more adjoining states;
(3) the event is held not more than one time in any
year;
(4) the amount of the incremental increase in tax
receipts determined by the department under Subsection (b) of this
section equals or exceeds $1 million, provided that for an event
scheduled to be held each year for a period of years under an event
contract or event support contract, the incremental increase in tax
receipts shall be calculated as if the event did not occur in the
prior year; and
(5) not later than the 30th day before the first day of
the event, a site selection organization or the organization
hosting the event submits a plan to prevent the trafficking of
persons in connection with the event to the office of the attorney
general, the human trafficking prevention task force established
under Section 402.035, Government Code, and the chief of the Texas
Division of Emergency Management.
(a-5) If the department determines an event is ineligible to
receive funding through the Major Events Reimbursement Program due
solely to a failure to timely submit a plan as required by
Subsection (a-1)(5) of this section, the event may receive funding
through the program if:
(1) the plan required by that subdivision is submitted
to the required entities not later than seven days before the event
begins and is implemented during the event; and
(2) all other requirements for funding under this
section, including those imposed by Subsections (d-1) and (w) of
this section, are satisfied not later than the 60th day after the
last day of the fiscal year in which the event occurs, provided
submission of the plan required by Subsection (a-1)(5) of this
section was not previously required under this section for that
event.
SECTION 2. This Act applies to an event that occurs before,
on, or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect on the 90th day after the last day of the
legislative session.

[kingkirbythe....]

Corrupt