Formula 1 in Austin, Tx (Howe: bars, tickets, building)

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by testmo

If I was a wealthy European, S. American etc. and wanted to go see a F1 race I wouldn't buy tickets to watch in Austin. Austin is a great place but comparing it to some of the foreign cities that have tracks? I don't follow the city plans for the track, or F1 much, but is the idea of the track being a boon for Austin based on the amount of people that will come and spend money on food/hotels?

Texas Motor Speedway typically sells out. Do people have reputable numbers for how much money it brings into Ft. Worth each year? Yeah Nascar and Indycar isn't an international sport on par with F1, but for all the tickets they sell to Americans I don't think of Ft. Worth as being "on the map" for anyone outside of Texas


Not saying it will, or what the chances of it happening are, but should the F1 plan fall through it'd be pretty devastating. How much of the money spent is tax payer versus private money?

Well, for sure the F1 fans won't be supporting the local drug dealers as well as the ACL fest attendees. But I'll bet the hotel/motel/restaurant owners/hookers/pimps won't be disappointed.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by testmo

I don't follow the city plans for the track, or F1 much, but is the idea of the track being a boon for Austin based on the amount of people that will come and spend money on food/hotels?

It's already there. Every hotel room for... I dunno... maybe a 30 mile radius is already reserved for the November race week, even at stratospheric rates. All the car rental companies are already fully booked, and making plans to bring in additional cars. The airport is expecting so many chartered jets that they tried to get approval for a $1.2 million temporary facility to handle all the additional customs inspections in, and is arranging for additional "off-site parking" at other airports in the region for the expected overflow of planes.

The first year is pretty much a guaranteed sell-out at this point. The real question is, what will years 2 - 10 be like?

[centralaustinite]

I know so many people renting out their houses for god-awful amounts of money, it is crazy!
We will be out of town during F1 and I'm not super comfortable with renting out our family home . . . but it has crossed my mind.

To add to Open D, they are already establishing the approved routes for private helicopters to fly out to the venue! Watch out, the 1% are coming!

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by testmo

If I was a wealthy European, S. American etc. and wanted to go see a F1 race I wouldn't buy tickets to watch in Austin. Austin is a great place but comparing it to some of the foreign cities that have tracks? I don't follow the city plans for the track, or F1 much, but is the idea of the track being a boon for Austin based on the amount of people that will come and spend money on food/hotels?

The wealthy Europeans who go to see F1 are have pretty much seen and done it all when it comes to travel. They are up for adventure, something exotic or new. Texas fits that bill for many of them, I think.

However, the Europeans and S. Americans in attendance will probably be outnumbered by folks from Mexico. Do you realize that Austin is only 235 miles from Mexico? A big city like Monterrey is only 377 miles away. And the distance from Mexico City to Austin, TX is less than Boston, MA to Indianapolis.

Plus you have the 25 million or so Texans, all the West Coast, and the southern USA who haven't had an F1 race this close in decades (except one-offs in Dallas or Phoenix).

The point is that Austin actually has an enormous potential audience for this F1 race. Much larger than many people realize.

Not saying it will, or what the chances of it happening are, but should the F1 plan fall through it'd be pretty devastating. How much of the money spent is tax payer versus private money?

All private money so far. However, after the race happens they are eligible for METF funding if they meet the economic goals. Some folks will point to road upgrades/utility upgrades as taxpayer money being spent on F1, but in reality those upgrades were sorely needed for the folks out there anyway. When they build a 6-lane express way out there, then maybe we can count that as "for F1".

[ITO]

Originally Posted by Austinite101

This "silly track" is going to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the Austins economy and place Austins name on the international stage. I doubt a movie studio was going to do that. And also, aren't you from plugerville?

Bigger is not better, and ultimately it will cost us something. Be it higher taxes to improve the infrastructure or higher property values and more taxes, and as for being on the national stage what does that mean? Really isn't this just growth for the sake of growth, that wont work out like we think it should?

The movie studio would have played into Austin's funky artist side, while the race track will pump millions into nationally owned hotel chains, as other chain restaurants will pop up all around it so you can eat at chillis, Applebees, or (name your crap food chain), near by and we all gloat about having a race tack?

Sorry just not impressed with it.

[centralaustinite]

I am pretty sure that most of the F1 crowd never eats at Chili's or Applebees!

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

I am pretty sure that most of the F1 crowd never eats at Chili's or Applebees!

True, they are more of the Uchi/Uchiko/Congress/Barleyswine/Foreign & Domestic/Sullivans/Fonda San Miguel types. But I'll bet they will probably want to take advantage of the Tex Mex and BBQ offerings, maybe places like La Condesa or Franklin's. Or even some of the funkier local eateries, or the trailer scene.

Heck, the Broken Spoke and Stubbs will probably be full of the F1 crowd taking in the "local color", that should be entertaining to watch.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by ITO

The movie studio would have played into Austin's funky artist side, while the race track will pump millions into nationally owned hotel chains, as other chain restaurants will pop up all around it so you can eat at chillis, Applebees, or (name your crap food chain), near by and we all gloat about having a race tack?

Well, it would have pumped that money into the pockets of Austinites that own short term rentals, but a political pressure group tried hard to stop that.

And as far as "name your crap food chain(s)", just because they surround P'ville, don't project your neighborhood onto the rest of Austin. Rooftops mean more to those guys - who need 365 days/yr of eaters - than huge crowds over a short term. Pick your over/under number of "crap food chain" restaurants w/in five miles of COTA by 2014, and I will pay you $100 for every over, if you pay me $100 for every under.

OK?

[Parksider]

I think some if the big winners will be the touristy towns on that side. Lockhart, New Braunfels, Bastrop, Gruene and Wimberley should do well. They will give the distinct flavor that some of the visitors are looking for, and a few of them should appeal to their distant european brethren.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Parksider

I think some if the big winners will be the touristy towns on that side. Lockhart, New Braunfels, Bastrop, Gruene and Wimberley should do well. They will give the distinct flavor that some of the visitors are looking for, and a few of them should appeal to their distant european brethren.

F1 is going to be about rodeos, cowboys and texas fantasy. Think mechanical bulls.