Circuit of the Americas Development Updates

[priller]

From Greg's pictures earlier this week it looks like we were in a lot of the same spots, so my photos look a lot like his. But here they are anyway:

[migol24]

Originally Posted by priller

It never gets old.
• Video Link

[PartyLine]

What might be cool to have here later on is a Formula 1 Hall Of Fame Museum kinda like the Nascar Hall Of Fame in Charlotte.

[KevinFromTexas]

I could see Austin Powers being an F1 fan. Extreme patriotism towards Great Britain, loves beautiful women and fast cars.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/pr...-to-flock.html

COTA leaders expect industry to flock

Austin Business Journal by Vicky Garza, Staff Writer
Date: Friday, November 23, 2012, 5:00am CST

Vicky Garza
Staff Writer- Austin Business Journal

Austin could see new industries arise and existing ones bloom around the new Circuit of The Americas racetrack and complex — the benefits of being the latest host city of Formula One racing.

Industries that have spun off technology from F1 include consumer automotive, rail, aerospace and defense, all of which could be attracted to Austin as a result of its new status.

-

I can't say I'm surprised. This city just doesn't care about sports. I think where F1 could really market to Austinites is from the technology side of the event and also the advances in the car industry.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/pr...no-reason.html

Hey Austin, there’s no reason to be afraid of Formula 1 week

Austin Business Journal by Colin Pope, Editor
Date: Friday, November 23, 2012, 5:00am CST

Colin Pope
Editor- Austin Business Journal
Email | Twitter

During the weeks before the race, so many Central Texans told me they were getting out of town because of F1— or at the least, they were hunkering down at home to avoid the hoopla.

The visitors came, and track attendance during all three days was stronger than anticipated. But based on my observances, not many of us Austinites showed up. The out-of-towners seemed to far outweigh the locals at the track — and downtown afterward. I’ve seen more Austinites show up to party for Halloween.

[Austin_Expert]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I can't say I'm surprised. This city just doesn't care about sports.

Local television ratings for sporting events, attendance for local sporting events, along with looking around at people wearing sports team garb, etc. says that you're wrong.

The point of the article is that some locals avoided downtown/central Austin out of a fear of overwhelming crowds and traffic. It says nothing about Austinites not caring about sports.

[priller]

Yeah, agreed, we just like certain sports. Longhorns are huge, of course, and that kind of crowds out the desire for anything competing. Also, most pro sports owners expect the city to pony up the venue, which Austin voters have consistently refused to do (wisely, I think). F1, on the other hand, is a completely different animal, it doesn't threaten UT, it's cool and high-tech, an upscale kind of event.

Yeah people stayed away from downtown, it was very quiet that weekend. Just goes to show how much downtown depends on locals.

[ATXboom]

Love the idea of an F1 museum here... Would keep the race in town indefinately and would keep visitors in Austin while nearby for the event.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by PartyLine

What might be cool to have here later on is a Formula 1 Hall Of Fame Museum kinda like the Nascar Hall Of Fame in Charlotte.

There's a reason why Nascar's Hall of Fame is in Charlotte, instead of the other 30 or so tracks around the country. That's where most of the race teams are based.

Looking at where most of the F1 race teams are based, most are based in England. Guess where there are already F1 museums?
http://www.donington-park.co.uk/abou...ix-collection/
http://barbermuseum.org/index.php
A famous race team is based in Italy. They have a museum too.
http://museo.ferrari.com

Are you willing to fly to Europe? Do you really believe Europeans will fly to Austin to visit a museum or hall of fame?

Indianapolis has a great hall of fame at the race track. Are you even willing to go all the way to Indy to visit it? Have you in the past?
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.../35204-Museum/

To be a grand place to hold a F1 hall of fame, don't you think a long history of F1, or just open wheel racing, will be a prime requirement? I don't think hosting one race is sufficient.

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...1-weekend.html

Most readers give Austin’s F1 weekend a thumbs up
Austin Business Journal by Sarah Drake, Web Editor
Date: Monday, November 26, 2012, 1:14pm CST

Sarah Drake
Web Editor- Austin Business Journal

More than half of readers who participated in a recent survey give the Formula 1 experience an “A,” but a quarter of those polled avoided Austin on race weekend.
The scores readers gave F1 weekend go like this:

A: 57 percent
B: 11 percent
C: 4 percent
D: 3 percent

No opinion — avoided it all: 25 percent

[turn1]

Sorry guys. Been slammed ever since about the Wednesday before the race, but here are all of my 2012 USGP photo albums to date. Still working on my Sunday collection:

Wednesday...Fill 'er up, Fernando:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7614878&type=3

Thursday & Friday at COTA:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7614878&type=3

Saturday at COTA:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7614878&type=3

[turn1]

Sooo...I finally got around to posting my Sunday USGP photos. My biggest album ever by far. Hope you see something you like! Pictures are in sequence from pre-race prep to the the podium ceremony and post-race BBQ at Cooper's. Enjoy!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7614878&type=1

Samples:

[Schertz1]

I attended two F1 events: the Formula 1 Texas Hill Country Barbeque Round-Up and the Circuit of the Americas Fan Fest. I most enjoyed the round-up…..beautiful cars and great BBQ. Thanks Southside Market! I visited the fan fest Friday and was not overwhelmed. I am guessing it was geared more to locals. IMHO it was nothing more than a block party, heavy on advertisements. It was like walking through a big commercial. Next year I plan on the round-up, Blu, and the race. I will pass on fan fest.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Schertz1

I attended two F1 events: the Formula 1 Texas Hill Country Barbeque Round-Up and the Circuit of the Americas Fan Fest. I most enjoyed the round-up…..beautiful cars and great BBQ. Thanks Southside Market! I visited the fan fest Friday and was not overwhelmed. I am guessing it was geared more to locals. IMHO it was nothing more than a block party, heavy on advertisements. It was like walking through a big commercial. Next year I plan on the round-up, Blu, and the race. I will pass on fan fest.

Actually Fan Fest wasn't geared enough toward locals. And from what I heard yes, it was too commercial. A lot of people were commenting how few Austinites seemed to be going to Fan Fest. A lot of the downtown businesses had their worst weekends in many years, supposedly because so few Austin regulars went downtown that weekend. I didn't go either, but not because I didn't want to. I had do other things, otherwise I would have. And when it came time for the free concerts, I was too tired to go.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Actually Fan Fest wasn't geared enough toward locals. And from what I heard yes, it was too commercial. A lot of people were commenting how few Austinites seemed to be going to Fan Fest. A lot of the downtown businesses had their worst weekends in many years, supposedly because so few Austin regulars went downtown that weekend. I didn't go either, but not because I didn't want to. I had do other things, otherwise I would have. And when it came time for the free concerts, I was too tired to go.

If the businesses that didn't see the kind of business they had hoped for nlame anybody, blame the locals not coming out like they would normally do and blame the news media for overblowing the worst case scenarios. I did go to Fan Fest and while I agree there was a lot of commercialization which honestly has to happen for an event like that to even take place, there were still large crowds downtown and I have some pictures that I took that show colorado street from 5th to 2nd filled with a mass of people. But as I heard on a radio show, the ammount of visitors that came (and it was a good number) was not enough to sustain the city economy. The local population still has to get out and spend and that is something the city and the media need to address for next year. Though the places that saw business saw a lot of business and no doubt a large ammount of money was spent locally there still needs to be business as usual too.

[LoneStarMike]

I wonder if another reason some of the locals stayed away from downtown was thet they thought maybe the prices of food & drink in the area would be jacked up. I didn't go, so I wouldn't know if they were or not.

When I went back to Dallas on Amtrak's Texas Eagle the Tuesday after the race, my seat-mate was a postal worker from Manchester, England who came to Texas for the race. He's spent the first 4 nights in Dallas, then came to Austin on Thursday, and went back to Dallas on Tuesday after the race. He was staying in Dallas until Friday, when he would then fly out of DFW.

He loved the track, liked the weather, liked Austin, was impressed with the transportation to/from the track and to downtown. (He was staying at a Staybridge Suites on 183 near Hunter's Chase.)

The one thing he mentioned was paying $4.50 for bottled water at the track and $9.00 for a Bud Light. I thought that was outrageous. I can see charging a premium for a special event, but that is just ridiculous.

And remember how expensive the tickets were when they first came out? And then how they dropped in price. My seat-mate had a theory about that. If enough people didn't buy tickets, the race might have been broadcast to the world with partially empty bleachers in the background. Much better to lower the prices in the end and have full grandstands.

[austlar1]

Not every person living in Austin loves to go out to crowded venues or music/street festivals. The people that go to those things go because they enjoy them. Supporting Funfest is not a civic responsibility. That is really a stretch to frame it that way. I stayed away because I am old, don't like crowds, and probably would not have much liked most of the music. I was thrilled to have F1 here in town and thrilled to have the visitors here too. I am glad the roads were not too crowded.

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by Schertz1

I attended two F1 events: the Formula 1 Texas Hill Country Barbeque Round-Up and the Circuit of the Americas Fan Fest. I most enjoyed the round-up…..beautiful cars and great BBQ. Thanks Southside Market! I visited the fan fest Friday and was not overwhelmed. I am guessing it was geared more to locals. IMHO it was nothing more than a block party, heavy on advertisements. It was like walking through a big commercial. Next year I plan on the round-up, Blu, and the race. I will pass on fan fest.

I don't think you went to the Fan Fest if you think it was at all geared to the locals. What in the world was Austin about Fan Fest? There was nothing, absolutely nothing, about it that was geared to the locals. Which is the reason most people think if did so poorly.

Again, Fan Fest was geared to much to the locals? lol.

[wwmiv]

Can we change the title of this thread to just simply "Formula 1" since it is not longer a construction thread, but more akin to the running SXSW thread that we have?

[JoninATX]

Those are some great pictures, also the more I look at the circuit tower the more I like it.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

I don't think you went to the Fan Fest if you think it was at all geared to the locals. What in the world was Austin about Fan Fest? There was nothing, absolutely nothing, about it that was geared to the locals. Which is the reason most people think if did so poorly.

Again, Fan Fest was geared to much to the locals? lol. Only Schertz could make such an absurd comment.

That's why I stayed away. It seemed too touristy from the get go for me.