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I would compare this to the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto. There are far fewer hockey fans in North America than racing fans (if TV ratings are any indication).
Yet the museum makes money hand over fist in an expensive city. Because of the interactive exhibits, it is a family destination that many enjoy. The NASCAR HOF also has many things to keep a family entertained.
My fear it that is will steal tourist dollars away from the Discovery Place though.
I absolutely would go back. And would take others with me. The Coke museum had a lot of fun interactive areas and I understand the Nascar HOF has the same. Places like that are entertaining. I’d put them more in the category of an amusement park than a history museum. People don’t say they’re not going to go back to Carowinds simply because they’ve rode all the rollercoasters once.
And again Jack, the numbers they used are similar to those for the Country Music and Rock & Roll places. They each did around 800,000 the first year and leveled off to around 400,000 thereafter. There’s really not much of a point of reference for this type of thing, so I really don’t see how you can fault them for using those as a guide.
Well, we'll really never know how/why exactly unless someone from the inside dishes that info out....
However, people affiliated w/the whole Nascar HOF know there are major problems w/revenue and probably don't have a clue how to fix them.
If the Disturber was a serious paper (which we all know their not), they'd bring out exactly what I'm saying and open people's eyes.....or, they can go along, close their eyes and ears and just pray that things work it self out.
This is a HUGE story like it or not (most don't but that obv).
"We entertained around 10,000 people," said spokesperson Kimberly Meesters. "School is in session, and there is no race in town. We are satisfied with that."
If the hall's early attendance is indicative of the rest of the year, it would fall short of projected attendance for 2010. The CRVA and the hall projected roughly 800,000 visitors in the hall's first year, and 400,000 annually after that.
But Meesters said the hall has expected "peaks and valleys."
"We expect to see that," Meesters said, adding that "800,000 is all long-term planning. We're very comfortable with where we were in the first week."
"We fell miserably short of our exaggerated predictions for attendance and revenue, and have no clue how we are going to get the money to fund this overpriced museum long term"...
I hate to repeat it, but when I hear the guy spin it, that's prob exactly what he's feeling unfortunately....
As a small business owner involved in part with B2B marketing, I can attest that it has been a tough 12 months for anyone working with sponsors/advertisers - in every business sector. Corporations have slashed marketing budget and sponsorships. The last year has been very difficult, but I saw the slump begin in late 2008.
It was not a good time to depend on corporate sponsorships to help underwrite the cost of the HOF but when those projections were made, I don't think people were realistic about the situation on the horizon. I battened down the hatches in 2008 as I could see what was coming.
My feeling is that HOF management needs to come up with more ways to involve small businesses, to offer them advertising benefits/exposure at a very low/reasonable cost, rather than rely on big sponsorships alone. But maybe they are doing a small, medium and large marketing program and I simply am not aware.
I tend to agree w/chuckles. I have zero interest in Nascar, so I might have an extreme opinion, but I think the HOF is a huge waste of money. The type of people who would come to a museum like this don't have jobs anymore, so they aren't going to spend $20 a head just to see some cars. I also doubt anyone would go more than once.
I hope for the sake of the city it is successful, but I have some serious doubts.
Wow. Seriously? Since jobs have been lost at all levels of employment, who exactly are you referring to? Or are you suggesting that Nascar fans are more likely to be jobless? Here's a hint-Nascar fans come from all walks of life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anifani821
I know you sincerely do hope this, Chuckles. You are definitely a big supporter of Charlotte and anything that makes Charlotte a better place to live - as well as anything that will bring in revenue (and jobs!)
The powers to be in the NASCAR org didn't want the HOF in a small town - they wanted it in a medium to large city (and remember -we competed to land this opportunity). I am so glad we got the HOF rather than Atlanta!
They have done a first-class job with the installations and the building itself is terrific. So I am hoping the HOF will be a drawing card for decades to come.
As far as residents, the natives (even those who don't follow racing) readily acknowledge that the HOF is a true part of the history of this region, and most folks take pride in the fact that what began on back roads, dirt tracks and eventually received national coverage - is now a huge sport with international interest.
If there is a lack of enthusiasm for racing amongst CLT residents, that is b/c most of the residents here now are not natives and feel no connection to the history of the sport at all.
Charlotte lacks an identity and I think everyone should just take a deep breath and recognize that racing was here b/f all the uptight banking/financial types arrived, lol, and the preps that were here have always gotten along well with the racing types . . . THIS IS WHAT CHARLOTTE'S IDENTITY IS IN REALITY - so why we keep trying to make this region into something it isn't - I just don't get.
Charlotte has always been a very preppy town w/ a propensity towards a lot of outdoor fun, be it golfing, water sports or racing.
I don't know who the misguided folks are in particular who have tried to change Charlotte's image - we were just fine being a little bit rough around the edges. We turned out graduates of Duke, Carolina, Wake, Davidson, State and a slew of graduates from private religiously affiliated colleges . . . we liked our fast cars, cigars, scotch, imported beer, golf, boats and singing in the choir on Sunday morning. Your claim to fame could be your Bloody Mary as well as your ability to sing tenor at First Presbyterian.
High performance vehicles in general were revered along with the ability to set the perfect tailgating table for your alumni associations pre-football party (or the symphony's outdoor concert). Preppy with a dirt road twist.
It was a great place to live and a very nice southern city b/f someone decided to redefine Southern hospitality.
The HOF was a great investment and FINALLY, something that is in keeping with WHO WE ARE in this region.
Just as you can't take the cows out of Dallas and the oil refineries out of Houston, you can't take NASCAR out of Charlotte . . . so why folks have tried to gloss over it makes me shake my head in disbelief.
Everyone needs to embrace it as a big part of the history of this region.
I agree, we don't know who we are. I do know that city leadership would like us to be like NYC, Atlanta, and the like, because they constantly compare us to those kinds of cities. According to them we need more "culture", although that doesn't necessarily seem to be the opinion of the general public. Remember the "headless Gumby" and other art debacles?
Quote:
Originally Posted by coastalgirl
^^ I never knew about all of that! Can't say it really improves the image of Nascar in my mind, but it is always interesting to know the history.
The problem is that many people assume Nascar is a bunch of rednecks driving around in circles, when they know nothing about the sport. Well, there aren't any circular tracks in the top three series of Nascar. And if people took the time to learn a bit about racing and Nascar, there would probably be even more fans. If you have no appreciation for what it takes to be competitive at the top levels, and the talent required by the entire team to get there, well, you're missing out. If you're just not a fan of racing, that's fine. It's not for everyone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CouponJack
We all know there's a recession. What I don't understand and maybe someone smarter can explain to me is why would you make such rosy predictions when you know they are going to fall way short?
They budgeted for 831,000 people in the first year. Then they budgeted approx 400K the following years.
Attendance "they say" was 4500 for the grand opening and 5,500 for the next 5 days. And that's with help from an NRA convention. if you do the math, they'd be lucky to do 400,000 the first year.....
It will only be a matter of time before they are in serious do-do....
I wonder what race week will do to the attendance.
So if they were able to do that every week for a year, they'd have 520,000 people. Sustain the opening week's momentum for one entire year and reach 65% of the projection. Sounds about right.
I cant believe something positive for the city that even built a big corporate tower that will employee
many people a museum in the city that is a tourist attraction Uptown that we finally needed
and where whining about it after its built bringing in boat loads of people.
Are we jealous? us Rednecks have something big in this city to be proud about?
This museum is going to have many daily visitors then all the other museums
combined.
Should we be whining about bigger problems that are effecting us NOW like teacher job cuts, library closures over paid CMS administrative staff In stead of whining about a what if.
I cant believe something positive for the city that even built a big corporate tower that will employee
many people a museum in the city that is a tourist attraction Uptown that we finally needed
and where whining about it after its built bringing in boat loads of people.
Are we jealous? This museum is going to have many daily visitors then all the other museums
combined.
Should we be whining about bigger problems that are effecting us NOW like teacher job cuts, library closures over paid CMS administrative staff In stead of whining about a what if.
No one is whining obviously. Its about talking about major financing problems down the road that obviously many people want to bury their head in the sand and don't want to deal with...
That's ok. Kind of sounds like how govco works....just blow it off down the road and let someone else worry about it.
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