It's easy enough - free gate for everyone including spectators and add another 50-60 per rider on the first entry... But then they'd freak even more. We've done something like that in the past when the track wouldn't or couldn't sell wristbands for us. Sure enough one of the first five riders who got the $40 (two wristbands) upcharge bitched about was that he was by himself and shouldn't have to pay for everyone else. You can't win.
Not sure how you got that...it's no different than what the power company has to do. Their production is based on peak use. Sam for Barber. They have infrastructure to provide for major events. That costs $$$ even when is isn't used.
Used to be $10/day at Blackhawk Farms and you could get a one day pass on a Saturday. Some people would stay the night, which the track didn't mind but then you have to go back to the guard shack and pay for sunday. Problem was people were abusing that and not paying on sunday. Track said enough and went to the pay for the weekend on sat and sunday was single day. Hell we had people bitch when entry fees went up $5. Wasn't too long ago we were threatened with a $5 gate fee increase to pay for a sheriff deputy to babysit Saturday nights because some assholes were going on track after hours with atvs/utv/pitbikes and nearly hit a few people. Personally I wouldn't have a problem outing the guilty party(s) and hitting them up with massive fines.
In the UK the gate fee is rolled into the entry, each rider then gets 2-3 passes to get them and a couple of others in, everyone else who turns up pays. Then again there is no post entry either. Unless things have changed camping is free at most tracks, electricity is not.
When is the last time you were at Barber? There are like 50 poles and unlike Road Atlanta they actually have outlets - 2 @30amp, 2@50amp, 2 or 4@20amp. Your fee pays for one side of the pole, use it as you will.
I think that's how SCCA does it too. We could do something like that easier if we hired more people and did all registration outside the track before people came in but then you have to raise fees to cover the expense.
I hate to side with the evil racing org., but ^^^this right here. I have looked into the economics of racetracks and race orgs, and I feel we are lucky to even be able to race at all these days. Top notch facilities like Barber, Road America, VIR, etc. have tens of millions invested, it takes thousands of weekends to get close to making it back. Not to mention the poor race organization or tire vendor that is scraping by. I would love to (and HAVE, in the past) bitch about gate fees, but let me ask you, WHO exactly is getting rich off of racing and or racers??
I think that is probably the biggest hangup for people. The fact that we are paying entry fees to race, and we are the reason the people are coming to spectate, but yet we also have to pay the same gate fees as the spectators. It isn't something ive really thought about, but I get it. The only problem is that it would be very hard to determine who is actually racing and who isn't. Or more realistically, how to determine who is lying about being a racer just to keep from paying gate fees. I reckon a solution would be to have people show their race license and ID to get in, or something like that.
Yea...but you pulled tons of poon...Theres no groupies in club road racing..God,I wish I had taken up Bulls..they never have expensive faster lighter moo cows every year to compete with.Cowboys are bad ass!! Boots,wimmens,booze,all the things that make life good!