Circuit of the Americas Development Updates

[turn1]

Wow. What a great 4 days.

I'm a total zombie right now, but I have about a bazillion photos to sort through from all around the circuit, the paddock, & pit lane. I'll get some up as soon as i can, which probably means sometime tomorrow. Hope you all enjoyed the race. I know I did.

For the time being, here are a handful of phone photos I took in the last few days:

[KevinFromTexas]

Mixed reviews on the economic impact of local businesses.

http://www.statesman.com/news/sports/f1-boon-and-bust-for-businesses/nS9SF/

Updated: 9:35 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012 | Posted: 7:08 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012
F1 boon and bust for businesses

By Mary Ann Roser
American-Statesman Staff

For some downtown bars and restaurants, the Formula One weekend was a boon, giving them their biggest crowds ever. But for others, including clothing boutiques in the thick of the Austin Fan Fest, the weekend was a bust as locals passed on the hubbub.

“For us, it was a very good experience,” said Manuel Dueñas, general manager of Crú: A Wine Bar, at 238 W. 2nd St. “Saturday was the best day we ever had.” He brought in additional staff from Houston to help.

A few doors down, Kyle Burns, general manager of Taverna, was equally enthusiastic. The Italian restaurant had 776 customers on Saturday, its biggest day ever, Burns said.

-

http://www.statesman.com/news/sports/ratings-still-to-come-but-austin-received-internat/nS9QB/

Posted: 5:32 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012
Ratings still to come, but Austin received international exposure

By Gary Dinges
American-Statesman Staff

Hello, world!

Austin was front and center this weekend on TV sets around the globe.

Ratings data for the U.S. Grand Prix won’t be available until at least Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the Speed network, the niche cable channel that has carried Formula One in the United States since 1996, but whatever those numbers turn out to be, the event has no doubt given Central Texas exposure.

“It’ll be enormously beneficial,” Speed host Bob Varsha told the American-Statesman. “F1 is the biggest marketing engine in the world – and now Austin’s going to get a slice of the attention. There are countries that raid their treasuries to bring this circus to town.”

F1 broadcasts air in nearly 200 countries worldwide, according to Formula One Management, including much of Europe and Latin America.

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/s...1/18/star_chef_praises_austin_food.html/

Star chef praises Austin food

By David Doolittle | Sunday, November 18, 2012, 11:33 AM

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay praised Austin’s restaurants while visiting the paddock at Circuit of the Americas for today’s Formula One race.

“I think of Austin, Texas, of not just great hospitality, but phenomenal food as well,” Ramsay said.

Of Circuit of the Americas, Ramsay said he was impressed with the speed at which the 3.4-mile circuit was completed.

“Here you’ve got an amazing work force,” he said.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/s...1/18/star_chef_praises_austin_food.html/

Hey well Gordon Ramsay is not an asshole after all.

[hookem]

Here is a very cool 360 degree view from the tower:

http://360photopro.com/circuit-of-the-americas/tower-view/

[Armybrat]

Reportedly business was slow for a lot of places downtown - particularly "SoCo" and some clothing boutiques.

Maybe because:

1 - Many locals were scared off by all the predicted gridlock mess for central Austin and stayed home or in the 'burbs.
2 - The international F1 crowd probably buys their clothes in Paris (the real one).

Of course Allen's Boots on South Congress got a lot of TV coverage with the foreign tourists flockingg there. Guess they weren't interested in "vintage" clothing or tie-dyed shirts.

[migol24]

What is it with Allen Boots? I don't get it. I never ever shopped there!

[priller]

Originally Posted by hookem

Here is a great article from one of the early skeptics of the race in Austin. He describes the facility well, like I experienced it. If you recall, Autoweek even published an "open letter" warning Austin that getting in bed with F1 was certain failure. That tune has changed:

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121118/F1/121119829

Great link! The writer was impressed. Here's a quote:

Unlike many road courses, it features excellent sightlines and multiple viewing areas with great views of more than a single corner or straightaway. As a complete, modern facility, it stands absolutely unrivaled by any racing venue on this continent. Period.

And it's true. I got to go on Saturday (last-minute invitation from friends) and after walking around for hours we finally settled on the hill at turn 19, where you have great view of 19 and 20, and can see turn 1 on the big hill in the distance. A great spot.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by Armybrat

Reportedly business was slow for a lot of places downtown - particularly "SoCo" and some clothing boutiques.

Maybe because:

1 - Many locals were scared off by all the predicted gridlock mess for central Austin and stayed home or in the 'burbs.
2 - The international F1 crowd probably buys their clothes in Paris (the real one).

Of course Allen's Boots on South Congress got a lot of TV coverage with the foreign tourists flockingg there. Guess they weren't interested in "vintage" clothing or tie-dyed shirts.

Agreed by the local reaction to F1 which was not really needed. First off yes it was an unknown about how the city would handle an event like this but I think the local news media and to a greater extent the Austin American Statesman really over hyped the possible gridlock problems and hassle getting around the city. Not once did I have any problems getting around Austin nor had any problems finding parking Downtown. It freaked the locals out over nothing especially in a city that is used to holding all sorts of events and festivals.

Second it wasn't so much that international travelers would rather buy clothing in Paris. It was that local businesses did not take advantage of promoting themselves or hold any F1 related events. Did it not occur to people that most of these visitors have never even been to Austin before now. How do they know where Rainey Street is or how cool SoCo is? Only general information is found but nobody bothered to make a point about promoting.

3rd Overall I heard visitors loved the city and the hospitality here which is great but there are a lot of locals who would rather give these people a cold shoulder than to be friendly. That is the wrong impression people should be giving and gives Austin a bad image. I was at Rain on Thursday night and was offended by how the announcer was referring to F1 saying F as in the word F*C)( and putting up his middle finger for 1. That is offensive especially to visitors who love the race and spend lots of money to come here and again sends out a really bad image. These places want more business maybe try creating special events during F1 weekend instead of the same old routine and promote better than just putting up posters that were handed out by Cota and the city. You can't expect these people to know where all these businesses are and there were no websites other than the couple that mostly advertised specific race events and a few other things. I already know exactly what needs to be done for next year and hopefully business leaders have figured it out as well.

[MightyYoda]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Agreed by the local reaction to F1 which was not really needed. First off yes it was an unknown about how the city would handle an event like this but I think the local news media and to a greater extent the Austin American Statesman really over hyped the possible gridlock problems and hassle getting around the city. Not once did I have any problems getting around Austin nor had any problems finding parking Downtown. It freaked the locals out over nothing especially in a city that is used to holding all sorts of events and festivals.

Second it wasn't so much that international travelers would rather buy clothing in Paris. It was that local businesses did not take advantage of promoting themselves or hold any F1 related events. Did it not occur to people that most of these visitors have never even been to Austin before now. How do they know where Rainey Street is or how cool SoCo is? Only general information is found but nobody bothered to make a point about promoting.

3rd Overall I heard visitors loved the city and the hospitality here which is great but there are a lot of locals who would rather give these people a cold shoulder than to be friendly. That is the wrong impression people should be giving and gives Austin a bad image. I was at Rain on Thursday night and was offended by how the announcer was referring to F1 saying F as in the word F*C)( and putting up his middle finger for 1. That is offensive especially to visitors who love the race and spend lots of money to come here and again sends out a really bad image. These places want more business maybe try creating special events during F1 weekend instead of the same old routine and promote better than just putting up posters that were handed out by Cota and the city. You can't expect these people to know where all these businesses are and there were no websites other than the couple that mostly advertised specific race events and a few other things. I already know exactly what needs to be done for next year and hopefully business leaders have figured it out as well.

Summed up well. The traffic was really over hyped though I am glad I took the metrorail and didn't worry about parking downtown. I think it's for all the reasons you mentioned. People aren't going to just come in and buy everything at a glance. There are a million things vying for attention downtown, you gotta promote yourself to stand out from the pack. I think businesses will better learn how to attract the crowds and get their products out there.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by hookem

Here is a very cool 360 degree view from the tower:

http://360photopro.com/circuit-of-the-americas/tower-view/

That 360 is beautiful. Really shows that first hill and cool design of the stands.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Agreed by the local reaction to F1 which was not really needed. First off yes it was an unknown about how the city would handle an event like this but I think the local news media and to a greater extent the Austin American Statesman really over hyped the possible gridlock problems and hassle getting around the city. Not once did I have any problems getting around Austin nor had any problems finding parking Downtown. It freaked the locals out over nothing especially in a city that is used to holding all sorts of events and festivals.

Second it wasn't so much that international travelers would rather buy clothing in Paris. It was that local businesses did not take advantage of promoting themselves or hold any F1 related events. Did it not occur to people that most of these visitors have never even been to Austin before now. How do they know where Rainey Street is or how cool SoCo is? Only general information is found but nobody bothered to make a point about promoting.

3rd Overall I heard visitors loved the city and the hospitality here which is great but there are a lot of locals who would rather give these people a cold shoulder than to be friendly. That is the wrong impression people should be giving and gives Austin a bad image. I was at Rain on Thursday night and was offended by how the announcer was referring to F1 saying F as in the word F*C)( and putting up his middle finger for 1. That is offensive especially to visitors who love the race and spend lots of money to come here and again sends out a really bad image. These places want more business maybe try creating special events during F1 weekend instead of the same old routine and promote better than just putting up posters that were handed out by Cota and the city. You can't expect these people to know where all these businesses are and there were no websites other than the couple that mostly advertised specific race events and a few other things. I already know exactly what needs to be done for next year and hopefully business leaders have figured it out as well.

Well said. The businesses, newspaper, and city leaders hopefully took home a lesson. Although the race itself was a huge success, as was the downtown Fan Fest, I suspect that many visitors (at least the new ones) had no idea what to do or see in whatever spare time they had. I couldn't find anything directed at the visitors that mentioned or showed photos of Barton Springs, Mt. Bonnell, Lake Travis, the scenery in west Austin, etc. But there was prominent and repeated mention of cowboy boots in our media. I thought that Austin was a modern, bustling, scenic, high tech city of the 21st century. A lot of this is the fault of the Statesman, but also the city itself. One council member told me today that he agrees that the city needs to do a much better job of promoting itself. I sent a email to the Statesman's editor, but she responded in a very defensive manner. She did say she would look into the photo mixup in the glossy insert to the paper where Detroit was identified as Dallas.

The consolation, though, is that almost all coverage was positive in spite of the poor promotion of the city itself. Visitors did overwhelmingly love the race, COTA, and at least downtown Austin.

Edit: Just thought of something else. I noticed that while our visitors were in town, the Statesman published letters to the editor from people who were unhappy about F1 being in the city. I'm sure at least some of the visitors saw the letters. I really think the Statesman should have at least waited until our visitors left before publishing insulting letters to the editor.

[austin242]

Traffic was even better than normal for me. 30min drives only took me 15. Guerros was more empty than normal all of soco infact. We need to get out there and teach these foreigners the real AUSTIN. Hippies, Tech, Cool, Chic, Awesome, With a laidback flare. Basically SXSW.

[BevoLJ]

Well we went to the race and as skeptical as I was I had a blast. I still don't care about racing, but it was fun to care about that one. I like that it was a somewhat important race. That it meant something.

Some tips for those like me who don't follow racing... The first 15 laps or so are the most fun! So don't miss them. At the start the cars are still fighting each other. After that the leaders seemed to have already won. So the next 40 or so laps can be a bit boring. For those laps experience the atmosphere. The atmosphere at the race before the race is electric. It is fun. And for the 40 somewhat boring last laps there is still lots of fun stuff going on.

Regarding Austin over the weekend, it seemed slower than normal weekends. Like there was lots to do, but not as many people as our average weekends. It was weird. I blame the state and the COTA people. If they wanted as more Ft Worth type Texan atmosphere they should have built COTA in Arlington. There was way too much trying to pass Austin off as Cowtown full of cowboys and cowgirls. Austin isn't Ft Worth. If the organizers are going to try to make Austin into Ft Worth for a weekend then Austinites are going to stay home. It just didn't seem to work for Austin businesses because it isn't our style.

Regardless of the efforts of the organizers to make Austin into Ft Worth everyone I know that came to town LOVED it! They loved everything about their trip. They loved the people, the race, the city and the track. All the rest of the stuff like trying to promote Austin as Ft Worth can be easily fixed. The important things about having good people, city and track that all of which blew the visitors away are in places. I think COTA has a great future.

Edit: another tip... Take ear plugs! It is super loud!

[austlar1]

Historically the weekend before Thanksgiving in Austin is very slow. The hotels are usually empty and things just start to die down and don't perk up until after Thanksgiving Day. The bar and restaurant business usually stays in the dumps for about a ten day period leading up to Thanksgiving. That has been my observation for many years now. Factor that in with the incredible hype that was put out in the media about traffic and crowds here for F1, and I think you have a pretty good explanation for why things were less congested and hectic than expected. Personally, I think it was a good thing. It gave the F1 event some breathing room and allowed the F1 attendees to move about and experience things in Austin in a more leisurely way. it also let me make my north/south freeway commutes without any real hassles. I am sure other locals not particulary engaged with the F1 experience also breathed a sigh of relief. I'd say it was a "win/win" outcome for everybody.

[the Genral]

Great job COTA, great job Austin, I'm planning on attending next year in addition to MotoGP and V8 supercars. What an awesome weekend.

[Spaceman]

Originally Posted by the Genral

Great job COTA, great job Austin, I'm planning on attending next year in addition to MotoGP and V8 supercars. What an awesome weekend.

May have to compete against the Ok.St. football game next year...This is not good. Not that the events draw from the same population pool, there are not enough hotel rooms..

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

Well we went to the race and as skeptical as I was I had a blast. I still don't care about racing, but it was fun to care about that one. I like that it was a somewhat important race. That it meant something.

Some tips for those like me who don't follow racing... The first 15 laps or so are the most fun! So don't miss them. At the start the cars are still fighting each other. After that the leaders seemed to have already won. So the next 40 or so laps can be a bit boring. For those laps experience the atmosphere. The atmosphere at the race before the race is electric. It is fun. And for the 40 somewhat boring last laps there is still lots of fun stuff going on.

Regarding Austin over the weekend, it seemed slower than normal weekends. Like there was lots to do, but not as many people as our average weekends. It was weird. I blame the state and the COTA people. If they wanted as more Ft Worth type Texan atmosphere they should have built COTA in Arlington. There was way too much trying to pass Austin off as Cowtown full of cowboys and cowgirls. Austin isn't Ft Worth. If the organizers are going to try to make Austin into Ft Worth for a weekend then Austinites are going to stay home. It just didn't seem to work for Austin businesses because it isn't our style.

Regardless of the efforts of the organizers to make Austin into Ft Worth everyone I know that came to town LOVED it! They loved everything about their trip. They loved the people, the race, the city and the track. All the rest of the stuff like trying to promote Austin as Ft Worth can be easily fixed. The important things about having good people, city and track that all of which blew the visitors away are in places. I think COTA has a great future.

Edit: another tip... Take ear plugs! It is super loud!

Even Ft. Worth isn't what the promoters tried to make Austin out to be (except for the Ft. Worth stockyards area, which is largely staged stereotypes to thrill the tourists who expect that sort of thing).

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/opini...-austin-can-do-great-things-it-no/nTBm6/

Posted: 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012
F1’s success shows Austin can do great things; it now should do big things for Austin residents

By Alberta Phillips (Brooks)
American-Statesman Staff

By many measures, Austin’s Formula One debut was a big success. More than 117,000 fans showed up Sunday to watch Lewis Hamilton drive to victory, winning the U.S. Grand Prix.

The nearly two years of planning and prepping paid off: Circuit of the America’s state-of-the-art track and facility in Elroy won widespread praise from drivers and fans, many of whom said they would be returning for next year’s race. Despite some long shuttle lines and bottlenecks, Capital Metro efficiently moved thousands of fans to the event without the expected hours-long traffic jams; many downtown businesses benefited from larger crowds, with some busier than ever; and the city of Austin came across as welcoming and charming on an international stage, which could boost tourism in the future.

But it would be premature to declare the event a winner without a final analysis of the costs and benefits. Also, there were some financial disappointments and rough patches that should serve as lessons for next year, when Formula One’s U.S. Grand Prix again is staged in Austin.

[KevinFromTexas]

This also says there will be a hotel room shortage that weekend of course with the possibility of having 165,000+ people in town for the two events on the same day. Man, the Fairmont Hotel and all the other hotels can't come soon enough!

http://www.statesman.com/news/sports/col...ll-f1-on-collision-course-in-2013/nTB4G/

Updated: 9:04 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012 | Posted: 7:39 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012
UT football, F1 on collision course in 2013

By John Maher
American-Statesman Staff

Austin is growing, but is it big enough for both University of Texas football and Formula One racing?

Not on the same weekend, both parties say.

But the two mega-events are now on a collision course for the weekend of Nov. 15-17, 2013. Texas’ schedule, which was released Tuesday by the Big 12, has the Longhorns hosting Oklahoma State on Nov. 16 at Royal-Memorial Stadium. That conference showdown should draw more than 100,000 fans.

Austin’s second U.S. Grand Prix race, however, has been scheduled by F1 for Nov. 15-17. The three-day race weekend this year drew about 265,000 fans, including more than 117,000 on Sunday for the actual race, which means that was the biggest sporting event in the city’s history.