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9 Jul 2011, 16:45 (Ref:2924179) | #976 | ||
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12 Jul 2011, 01:22 (Ref:2925363) | #977 | ||
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This writer make a good argument that it's unlikely that the track will be ready for June and that the race will actually take place in November 2012, as many have already speculated. So why did Bernie set a June date? So he could get his hands on the Texas taxpayer's money sooner, of course! November makes sense from a weather standpoint, but I think the race will find it hard to compete in November with pro and college football (assuming we have an NFL season) for fan and media attention. Will anyone want to watch an F1 race on a peak football weekend in November? Yes, some hardcore fans, but not the casual fans they hope to attract to the sport. Look for very low US TV ratings for a November race.
THINK NOVEMBER 2012 INSTEAD Austin's Formula One plan revs forward with a fake race date? Track expert questions the plan By Jacob Dirr 07.11.11 | 10:03 am But a quiet fact has floated off the radar screen: They have to build the damn track in less than a year in order to make a race date of June 17, 2012 — as announced and reported without a shred of journalistic skepticism by Austin’s local media. Here is one fact staring Austin's F1 builders in the face: Only three of the seven Formula One tracks built since 1998 were completed in under 18 months... The truth is Formula One pushers still don't have permission to start construction on any of the actual buildings needed to house a spectacle such as F1, all they can do is start pouring the track, build a couple of tunnels and keep pushing dirt around. They only received permission to start actual track construction, by the way, at the end of June, despite claiming construction was "under way" long before that. The Achilles' heel, Waters said, will be building and testing the myriad of support facilities that go around the track. The grandstands alone take six to seven months to build — considering design, steel delivery and construction, he said. Why would race promoters aim for a date they probably know they cannot meet? ...By setting a June 2012 date, F1 also legally cleared the way for local lobbyists to trigger the flow of funds from the state. Money from the Texas Major Events Trust Fund cannot be applied for earlier than one year ahead of the race date. It was that faux deadline that sparked the big Austin City Council hearings last month. |
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12 Jul 2011, 02:17 (Ref:2925367) | #978 | ||
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A provisional date of 17th June 2012 was added to the calendar for the US Grand Prix, all dates are subject to change at this point..
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12 Jul 2011, 02:24 (Ref:2925368) | #979 | ||
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Jeremy, we understand that. But the question is, based on what we know today and considering all the factors, what are the chances that the race will take place in June as opposed to November? I say 75% November, 25% June.
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12 Jul 2011, 03:44 (Ref:2925374) | #980 | ||
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It wont, and it will.....
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12 Jul 2011, 15:06 (Ref:2925615) | #981 | ||
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Fans can't get there from here.
http://tinyurl.com/6zc56wqPray that someone has considered the engineering prior to opening the gates for access to Circuit what ever.
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12 Jul 2011, 15:24 (Ref:2925629) | #982 | |||
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Quote:
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12 Jul 2011, 16:07 (Ref:2925650) | #983 | ||
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12 Jul 2011, 16:36 (Ref:2925669) | #984 | ||
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I don't think the track will be ready next year and am still very skeptical that it will get built at all.
1. I'm not convinced they have the $250mil together for the proposed design. 2. I don't think $250mil is enough to build a world class F1 facility. 3. Schedule... no way. Austin Commercial is a pretty good company, but this has to be taking up a huge amount of their resources without a JV partner. 3. As mentioned above, what is the status of the infrastructure? Last I heard, power had not been sorted and the utility was balking. Roads? Water? I hope this happens, but I'm not terribly optimistic. |
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12 Jul 2011, 17:14 (Ref:2925688) | #985 | |||
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The other name mentioned in connection with the financing is Bobby Epstein, who owns what appears to be a very low-profile investment firm in Austin. But there is very little information in the public domain about Epstein--they don't even have a Web site. How much money does he have? What investors has he recruited for the project? One fact that I came across is that he or his firm was the primary owner of Wandering Creek, a piece of land once intended to become a housing development and that now makes up a big chunk of the F1 site. If his housing development plans fell through during the financial crisis, then I guess he would be interested in seeing his land used for another purpose, especially one that was destined to receive a $250M subsidy from the state of Texas. |
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13 Jul 2011, 17:29 (Ref:2926140) | #986 | ||
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The countdown begins...
F1 developers may get OK today to start building By Dave Doolittle AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Tuesday, July 12, 2011 After months of pushing dirt around the site of a planned Formula One racetrack southeast of Austin, developers probably will begin construction of the first buildings soon. Today, Travis County officials are expected to issue permits allowing developers to work on the facility's most complex buildings, a county official said. Circuit officials will meet with the county today to discuss several items related to construction and to get an update on traffic controls on the narrow roads that lead to the track... Today, the county is expected to sign off on paperwork filed at the beginning of the year that will allow developers to lay foundations for the pit buildings, main grandstands, and media and medical buildings. |
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28 Jul 2011, 20:59 (Ref:2932265) | #987 | ||
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As has been speculated, it looks like the Austin F1 race date may get pushed back to November. I see the pros and cons as follows:
Pro
Con
2012 Formula 1 calendar set for major overhaul autosport.com By Jonathan Noble Thursday, July 28th 2011, 17:17 GMT ...Although the FIA published its version of the 2012 schedule at its most recent meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council last month, it is understood that Ecclestone has undertaken a major reshuffle in the plans for next year... ...there was some concern in the United States about the possibility of hosting the new race in Austin in June – when very high temperatures could prove troublesome for drivers, teams and spectators... As well as moving Bahrain to later on in the calendar, it is also understood that Austin will be moved to the end of the campaign – with it becoming the penultimate race of the season before Brazil [which would mean mid-November for Austin]. The two events will also form a back-to-back... Ecclestone's plans for the calendar remain provisional, but if teams do not complain about any major logistical dramas then it could be submitted to the FIA's World Motor Sport Council for ratification later this year. |
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28 Jul 2011, 21:02 (Ref:2932269) | #988 | |
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Another angle to consider is the one of U.S. television. The USGP is an important race to put on network television, and historically has been aired on ABC and FOX (CBS did not air it, oddly enough). If the race is during NFL season, FOX won't be able to air it, and especially can't make it part of a block of four consecutive races. Not the end of the world, but I'd think you would want as much TV exposure in the U.S. as possible to make it work, and the races on FOX get sufficient viewership for a sport with zero U.S. presence at the moment.
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28 Jul 2011, 23:07 (Ref:2932300) | #989 | |||
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Let me opine: IMO you don't want the race held toward the end of the season for various reasons the most important of which may be that the winner/s is/are already established thereby reducing interest in who wins in Austin, Texas to a real ho-hummer. Plus, that places this event at that time of year in direct competition with the NFL. Guess who wins that one in USA. July is better. Other factors such as the weather in November should be considered too. However, I ain't BE and no one is listening to the fans anyhow. Just sayin. By the end of January 2012 might be a better predictor of where things really are. |
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29 Jul 2011, 11:46 (Ref:2932555) | #990 | |||
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Then we have the week before Thanksgiving factor...the biggest travel time in the US. I have no idea how expensive competing US sports are for the fan that chooses to attend but I know how expensive an F1 weekend is. In this economy some folks will have to make a choice between holiday plans with family and an expensive F1 adventure. I still think June is the better choice if F1 wants the undivided attention of the US fan base, all 10,000 of them. If the heat is such a worry, they should have thought about that before they picked Austin. |
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29 Jul 2011, 12:08 (Ref:2932566) | #991 | ||
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I still think they should have the USGP either the weekend before or after the Canadian GP. The GP Circus is going to North America for one race so include the other and the distances involved between the two venues is nothing compared to going from Austin to Brazil.
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29 Jul 2011, 16:39 (Ref:2932819) | #992 | |||
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i mentioned this in the 2012 calendar thread but if the race has to be moved because of weather would a Saturday race make more sense than competing against the NFL on Sunday? |
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29 Jul 2011, 16:56 (Ref:2932828) | #993 | ||
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As much as I like F1 and have followed it for years, if it were a toss up between the USGP and watching the Raiders, the Raiders would win every everytime; though I would probably flick over to watch the start of the race or monitor it on a live feed on my laptop.
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30 Jul 2011, 00:16 (Ref:2933109) | #994 | |||
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1 Aug 2011, 19:49 (Ref:2934677) | #995 | ||
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According to a report this past weekend on speedtv.com:
..with less than a year to go until the US GP's original 2012 race date, actual construction of the circuit buildings has not yet begun. "A great deal of dirt has been moved," FIA official Nick Craw said after a visit to the site last month. I keep reading reassurances from the promoters and others that the track will be ready in time for the original June 2012 date, but given that they haven't yet started construction of any permanent structures (pictured below), it seems like a November 2012 completion date is more realistic than June 2012. I think the date was moved as much for the construction schedule as for the weather. Maybe the 2013 race will be in June though. Jeremy, how was your meeting with Tavo? |
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2 Aug 2011, 00:28 (Ref:2934779) | #996 | ||
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The meeting was fine thank you, Tavo is a great guy..
The race will be in November.. |
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3 Aug 2011, 13:19 (Ref:2935391) | #997 | ||
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COTA has released a preliminary traffic and parking plan for the Austin F1 race.
Austin F1 Transportation/Parking Plan Traffic, parking study gives more details of plans to move 120,000 fans at F1 track By Dave Doolittle AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011 About 20,000 cars and other personal vehicles carrying more than 72,000 people will descend on a Formula One race planned next year at a racetrack under construction in southeastern Travis County, according to a traffic management plan submitted to officials Friday . Another 26,000 people are expected to arrive by shuttle, nearly 18,000 more will park off-site or in recreational vehicles, and about 1,000 will arrive by bicycle or helicopter, according to the plan, which was done by Kimley-Horn and Associates for local F1 organizers... |
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3 Aug 2011, 15:13 (Ref:2935421) | #998 | ||
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I really wish they would sell tickets to watch the traffic trying to leave the track or at least offer rides in those helicopters to watch the 3.5 hour "lot clearing" unfold. I might consider killing 6 hours to watch that.
Austin better take a good hard look at the 2011 NASCAR Kentucky Speedway fiasco. They thought they had the traffic thing figured out too, but those pesky fans have this nasty habit of ingnoring predictions and suggestions and hopping in their cars to get to the track. FWIW - A November USGP is not winning over the teams: http://www.f1reader.com/news/teams-u...calendar-25014 |
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4 Aug 2011, 00:09 (Ref:2935607) | #999 | ||
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Maybe you would like to direct the traffic?
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