With how much the track cost, and the price to rent it, combined with their arrogance when it was first built With trying to be exclusive. Its not surprising at all honestly...:down:
So really, what's the issue? Is this place as desolate and isolated as Miller? Does it run no other events for the main draw other then Moto GP and F1? Just trying to understand how so much gets invested, yet nobody involved has enough common sense to not drop the ball.
While I don't normally like to see a track fail, due to COTA's arrogance in the beginning it is hard for me to feel sorry for them.
They were greedy as shit. They expected f1 to cover everything, they pushed the original people involved to the side when they could and now it's biting them in the ass. Mainly because like everything else the newness of f1 went away and people decided to go to the Mexico gp, or back to Canada, it's the same thing that happens with every new track. They were just to arrogant to think it would happen to them..
Indy has been talking about F1 coming back ever since they left a few years ago. I think the new track layout would be much better for the cars, plus there's an American team and an American driver in the series now. The first F1 race there had the largest crowd of any F1 race ever…..bring it back.
Regardless of greed or other less than appropriate initial actions, it appears that COTA's economic model is based upon a variable over which they have no control: public funding. While that might be fine for start-up, as demonstrated by the vagaries of the Texas Legislature, it is not a viable long term solution. I'm curious what, if any, plan in the financial model existed to move away from such substantial reliance on public funding? If there was none, then it was potentially doomed, or at a minimum, substantially threatened, from the start. The CEO's statement,"We're screwed," is inappropriate. It suggests that someone is failing to uphold a fundamental obligation,i.e., breaching their contract. But, with public funding, there are no unequivocal guarantees; even bonds have limitations. I suspect it is less of a "we've been screwed"scenario and more of a "we're in a bad position because we have failed to timely find a substitute for public funding." I hate to see it, and I suspect the economic impact COTA has had to the area would be sorely missed, making continued funding a practical solution for the state. But, funding a race track is most likely a hot topic when welfare and entitlement programs are being cut . . . . Cheers, Dave
Sad, but I'm not surprised. It cost $400,000,000 by some estimates to build the track. I never understood how on earth that investment could be recouped, even with some level of public subsidization.
Bummer. I think money can be found south of the border, but it will be difficult with the Mexican GP being back on the schedule. I can understand taking start-up money from the public because it does bring revenue to the state, but eventually you have to stand on your own feet. Seems like the people in charge instead are sitting and waiting for their check? We need to get some struggling racers in charge; they know how to beg.
Also, I was hoping that the Watkins Glen repaving project would address its serious runoff issues and that bikes and F1 might return. But that does not appear to be the case.
