View Full Version : USGP Austin, TX?!?!
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/5/10824.html
rosawendel
05-25-10, 02:23 PM
Does Tilke speak Texan?
I don't know where the hell they think they're giong to build a track unless it's way the **** to the farmland to the east halfway to Houston in the middle of nowhere, otherwise land goes upwards of 10K/acre
Cool. I like Austin and I've never even been there. I hear nothing but good things from people who have, though. Good luck.
All full up, town sucks, weather horrible, people *******s, food worse than pig slop. I recommend not sullying your good reptuation by going to Austin.
Ok, I'll watch on TV...probably be in the middle of July or August anyway.;)
^ is that like Don Quixote saying Colorado is vast frozen tundra, don't move there? :D
I thought Austin was home of the Corny dog, stadium jumbotrons, and aggie hate HQ.
Hard Driver
05-25-10, 03:01 PM
Really !?!?
Are there really a lot of F1 fans in Texas? A craftsman truck race makes sense, but F1?
Looks like berie found another sucker to spend $100 million on a track and $30 million in fees to have a race for a few years and then realize they are loosing money hand over fist.
oddlycalm
05-25-10, 03:02 PM
I don't know where the hell they think they're giong to build a track unless it's way the **** to the farmland to the east halfway to Houston in the middle of nowhere, otherwise land goes upwards of 10K/acre
Agreed, it's not like big parcels of low value land within 100 miles of Austin are just laying about waiting to be discovered.
About all we really know from the press release is that Tavo Hellmund has convinced Bernie that he can hook him up with a big chunk of $$$ and that he has probably paid dearly for an option to do so. Other than that this could be just another Donnington Park exercise for Bernie and he can sound shocked that the impossible didn't happen.
oc
Texas track (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/83873)
No details have yet emerged about the track layout, or whereabouts in Austin the venue will be built.
extramundane
05-25-10, 03:06 PM
Keep Austin weird, indeed.
I smell USF1 amongst the cow manure. :saywhat:
-Kevin
Don Quixote
05-25-10, 04:22 PM
dibs to crash on a couch at the Ank compound.
Ecclestone said: "For the first time in the history of Formula 1 in the United States, a world-class facility will be purpose-built to host the event.
I could see them pulling off a street race by 2012, but a new purpose built facility? From the ground up? With stands or will this be a Bernie "TV is the only important audience" place? NIMBYS? Environmental nutjobs?
Seems very unlikely to me.
^ is that like Don Quixote saying Colorado is vast frozen tundra, don't move there? :D
I thought Austin was home of the Corny dog, stadium jumbotrons, and aggie hate HQ.
I haven't the faintest idea what you speak of. Austin hates corny dogs and jumbotrons. The greenies are so out of control they've banned large jumbotrons, oh wait, that's CA, nevermind...
Aggies, think of all the aggies. Austin = bad news.
Bernie has been off for awhile now.
I'm beginning to think Slavica was really running the show before she walked away, much like Edith Wilson steered Woodrow.
BarillaGirl
05-25-10, 05:46 PM
I saw a Facebook status about Austin hosting an F1 USGP and thought it was a joke. Or maybe one of those viruses that's going around. ;)
If it's true, it certainly flew under a lot of radar. But it does seem more likely to be a Locomotive Accident Test Facility..... at least they can sell a lot of tickets to watch the train wreck. :gomer:
cameraman
05-25-10, 06:18 PM
I'm going to guess that there is a large parcel of land bordering the Balcones Wildlife Refuge on one side and 3-400 McMansions on the other three sides. That pretty well sums up Amurican F1 planning.:rolleyes:
After they secede we still won't have a USGP.
Jervis Tetch 1
05-25-10, 09:11 PM
Interesting.
Hellmund dude said he's looking at land out past the airport, so that's flat'ish farmland to the SE
Don Quixote
05-26-10, 09:07 AM
I have a big decision to make regarding what to wear to the Republic of Texas G.P. Do I go with my dress jorts, my 20-year old faded jorts, or perhaps the cutoff jorts? As for the T-shirt, "Don't mess with Texas", "Nashville Nationals", or "Git-R-Done". Any suggestions?
opinionated ow
05-26-10, 09:30 AM
Jonathan Neale, Mclaren's managing director said this to autosport (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/83884):
"I'm not qualified to answer this question, and there are smarter men than I trying to find the answer to that question. I think we should ask the Americans, we should look at what the TV networks want and we should look at the way in which sport is consumed in America as a family and say do we have an offering that is going to work over a weekend when the American culture provides for family life and sport in a slightly different way?" he said.
If the American public as a whole can't comprehend a sport that is globally popular without changing it then the American public doesn't deserve a race. Seriously WTF is wrong with that guy? How hard is a straight road race (which is what F1 is) to understand?
who's talking about changing the sport? is there a shortage of roos to hump or something down there?
I have a big decision to make regarding what to wear to the Republic of Texas G.P. Do I go with my dress jorts, my 20-year old faded jorts, or perhaps the cutoff jorts? As for the T-shirt, "Don't mess with Texas", "Nashville Nationals", or "Git-R-Done". Any suggestions?
i think cutoff jorts + git-r-done would be mighty buckeye of you. :D :thumbup:
so it turns out that the state senator for Austin added language to a tax abatement bill offering relief to events brought to the state that bring in revenue, such as super bowl, to specifically include Breeders' Cup events and F1 races.
so city & state have been on board apparently
Rogue Leader
05-26-10, 11:53 AM
After Bernie's hemming and hawing about having a metropolitan venue (and doing everything he could to try and get a race in NY) he ends up in Austin, TX? WTF???
I am sure there is some sort of joke involving a connection between the IRL Cowboy and this move by F1. Perhaps it will come to me later. :gomer:
I have a big decision to make regarding what to wear to the Republic of Texas G.P. Do I go with my dress jorts, my 20-year old faded jorts, or perhaps the cutoff jorts? As for the T-shirt, "Don't mess with Texas", "Nashville Nationals", or "Git-R-Done". Any suggestions?
WWWTRD? -- "What would Walker, Texas Ranger do?"
That is something I try to ask myself on a daily basis.
Come to think of it, I'll bet Chuck Norris could build a track yesterday and have time left over for some pit babes. That must be what they are thinking.
Wheel-Nut
05-26-10, 12:37 PM
I haven't the faintest idea what you speak of. Austin hates corny dogs and jumbotrons. The greenies are so out of control they've banned large jumbotrons, oh wait, that's CA, nevermind...
Aggies, think of all the aggies. Austin = bad news.
Austin’s National Recognition
- Known as “The Live Music Capital of the World”
- Voted “Greenest City in America” (MSN)
- Voted “Least Stressful Large Metro” in the United States (Forbes)
- Voted Top Two “Best Cities” in the United States (Money Magazine)
- Voted Top Three “Hippest Cities” in the United States (Forbes)
- Voted Top Five “Safest Cities” in the United States (Forbes)
- Voted Top Ten “Sports & Fitness Cities” in the USA (Sports Business Journal)
They just don't know what AUSTIN means! :laugh:
Methanolandbrats
05-26-10, 02:20 PM
so it turns out that the state senator for Austin added language to a tax abatement bill offering relief to events brought to the state that bring in revenue, such as super bowl, to specifically include Breeders' Cup events and F1 races.
so city & state have been on board apparently
This will never happen. China, Malaysia, Turkey, Bahrain can barely afford to pay Bernie and the "city and state" are on board :rofl:
I don't think it'll happen. It's just interesting that politicans have been working with this guy for at least a couple of years now. The state is #15 global GDP, well above bahrain, malaysia, and turkey, although they wouldn't be allowed to use tax money for such an asinine purpose, just slightly less asinine purposes...
Come to think of it, I'll bet Chuck Norris could build a track yesterday and have time left over for some pit babes. That must be what they are thinking.
Just one roundhouse kick will be all that it takes.
oddlycalm
05-26-10, 05:07 PM
The proposed race track will no doubt be seen a serious by environmentalists as an incursion into valuable pocket gopher habitat. :gomer: Herman "Billy Bob" Tilke will be forced to design a track that avoids existing gopher mounds.
oc
http://www.southerncarelawns.com/_images//scl_pocket_gopher_mounds.jpg
Don Quixote
05-26-10, 05:45 PM
Come to think of it, I'll bet Chuck Norris could build a track yesterday and have time left over for some pit babes. That must be what they are thinking.:rofl:
"If you don't see Chuck Norris, you might want to check your six o'clock"
extramundane
05-26-10, 05:53 PM
The proposed race track will no doubt be seen a serious by environmentalists as an incursion into valuable pocket gopher habitat. :gomer: Herman "Billy Bob" Tilke will be forced to design a track that avoids existing gopher mounds.
I know someone who's an expert in these matters. I'm sure he'd be available to help out at reasonable rate.
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/8633/caddyshack.jpg
Wheel-Nut
05-26-10, 09:33 PM
The proposed race track will no doubt be seen a serious by environmentalists as an incursion into valuable pocket gopher habitat. :gomer: Herman "Billy Bob" Tilke will be forced to design a track that avoids existing gopher mounds.
oc
http://www.southerncarelawns.com/_images//scl_pocket_gopher_mounds.jpg
No he won't. A few rednecks, couple cases of Lone Star, spotlights, pick up trucks, Mini 14's and a few cases of .223; its all good!
Even though its near Austin, it's still Texas!
Autosport says it's Tilke! We're saved! On 700+ acres SOMEwhere in/near Austin. Plenty of room for runoff.:D
Supposed to be over 3 miles long. That's a start.
http://adamcooperf1.com/2010/05/26/tilke-designing-austin-track-site-already-purchased/
Methanolandbrats
05-27-10, 10:27 AM
If this is after Canada, average temp 91F, average dewpoint 69..........no thanks.
Wheel-Nut
05-27-10, 12:07 PM
If this is after Canada, average temp 91F, average dewpoint 69..........no thanks.
That's nothing. Dewpoint? We like to refer to it as Humidity! ;) It helps keep the skin looking young!
Methanolandbrats
05-27-10, 12:22 PM
That's nothing. Dewpoint? We like to refer to it as Humidity! ;) It helps keep the skin looking young!
I am a Yankee, I hate hot, humid weather. I work on my cars in a t-shirt when it's 35 F and sunny. If I had to live in a tropical climate, I would die within weeks. Dewpoint is an excellent measure of human comfort. DP< 60 is comfortable. DP low 60s is a little sticky and most people start to get uncomfortable. DP of 70 and above is ****ing miserable. I hope the Grand Prix of Texas is in October on their way to Brazil :thumbup: Then I will attend, eat Mexican food and watch the Bernie Sleds. :D
Methanolandbrats
05-27-10, 01:00 PM
Ticket prices for the race? Will they be Bernie Bucks or Gomer Pricing, that was the best thing about Indy. :gomer:
Wheel-Nut
05-27-10, 02:08 PM
35 F ??!! :eek: WTF!! That's not safe for human habitat.
Do you have to post a lookout for polar bears? :D
Methanolandbrats
05-27-10, 02:44 PM
35 F ??!! :eek: WTF!! That's not safe for human habitat.
Do you have to post a lookout for polar bears? :D
A 35 degree, sunny day with light wind is perfect weather for a picnic :D
Don Quixote
05-27-10, 03:10 PM
A 35 degree, sunny day with light wind is perfect weather for a picnic :D But 35 degrees is a little too warm for a proper game of football.
But 35 degrees is a little too warm for a proper game of football.
Clearly they should run the USGP in NJ in Feb....it would be a great lead for the Super Bowl. :gomer:
-Kevin
This will never happen. China, Malaysia, Turkey, Bahrain can barely afford to pay Bernie and the "city and state" are on board :rofl:
after further digging, turns out the state will reimburse local municipalities up to $25M from the Major Events Fund for activities related to an F1 event, per the Comptroller's letter. Same deal Arlington's getting for the Super Bowl at the Death Star
Methanolandbrats
05-27-10, 03:29 PM
But 35 degrees is a little too warm for a proper game of football. Exactly, the ground will not be frozen and getting hit won't hurt like it should.
chop456
05-28-10, 01:43 AM
I am a Yankee, I hate hot, humid weather. I work on my cars in a t-shirt when it's 35 F and sunny. If I had to live in a tropical climate, I would die within weeks. Dewpoint is an excellent measure of human comfort. DP< 60 is comfortable. DP low 60s is a little sticky and most people start to get uncomfortable. DP of 70 and above is ****ing miserable. I hope the Grand Prix of Texas is in October on their way to Brazil :thumbup: Then I will attend, eat Mexican food and watch the Bernie Sleds. :D
Amen to that. Spent a miserable Labor Day weekend in Austin once. Thank goodness I can be entertained with BBQ, beer and air conditioning.
Methanolandbrats
05-28-10, 07:46 AM
nancies
Wanna go ice racing? ;) Nothing like a cold, refreshing beer after being on the lake all day at -10. :D
TrueBrit
05-28-10, 01:44 PM
Seems Bernie forgot the fiasco that was the Dallas GP a number of years ago..:confused:
Methinks this is Donington redux with a cowboy hat thrown in for good measure.
Just more free money for Bernie when the deal falls apart...:shakehead:mad:
I cannot wait until he finally joins the choir invisible and we are rid of him permanently..
Amen to that. Spent a miserable Labor Day weekend in Austin once. Thank goodness I can be entertained with BBQ, beer and air conditioning.
But it's a dry heat. BS. :gomer: :irked: :saywhat:
-Kevin
Don Quixote
05-28-10, 02:12 PM
Wanna go ice racing? ;) Nothing like a cold, refreshing beer after being on the lake all day at -10. :DSpeaking of nancies, they don't even have ice fishing in Texas. You need to keep your beer in a cooler so it doesn't freeze. :thumbup:
oddlycalm
05-28-10, 02:19 PM
after further digging, turns out the state will reimburse local municipalities up to $25M from the Major Events Fund for activities related to an F1 event, per the Comptroller's letter. Same deal Arlington's getting for the Super Bowl at the Death Star
"Our land is just a few miles from the airport so, for sure, it's a great location."
OK, so now we know what flavor of OPM (other people's money ) Tavo is playing with. :) A few miles East of the airport puts it a lot closer to town than I would have thought. The $25M from the major events fund might be enough to buy the land and along with the contract with F1 leverage the construction cost.
As we all know from experience, the real trick of course isn't how much public money and suckers can be lined up on the front end but how much revenue can be wrung out of the race, particularly once the big splash of the first race is over. Austin may be within a 3hr drive of 2.2 million people but they are 2.2 million people that don't know and don't care about F1.
Skeptical as I am, I'd like nothing better than to see a great track built and a successful USGP.
oc
BarillaGirl
05-28-10, 02:39 PM
Austin may be within a 3hr drive of 2.2 million people but they are 2.2 million people that don't know and don't care about F1.
On my other racing discussion board, someone pointed out that this venue is a lot closer for the South American fanbase to attend than Indy. They're a lot more rabid than the North American fans, to be sure. I wonder what numbers we're talking about in that case.
oddlycalm
05-28-10, 08:18 PM
On my other racing discussion board, someone pointed out that this venue is a lot closer for the South American fanbase to attend than Indy. They're a lot more rabid than the North American fans, to be sure. I wonder what numbers we're talking about in that case.
There are plenty of them but the trick is to keep them coming back after race 1. If you can do that then everything else falls into place.
The most promising news I've seen so far is this Hellmund comment in an Adam Cooper article.
"I've always said F1 has to go back to one of the true great road courses in America...
...hilly countryside, complete with lakes. Hellmund says the design is over three miles in length, with challenging corners that replicate some of the best in Europe.
"It's going to be holy s*** fast," he (Hellmund) insists...
We've all grown skeptical after decades of BS temporary circuits and the rotting carcass that is the IMS, but in reality it's not impossible to put together a compelling track, just expensive. Serious elevation changes, high speed turns and hold-on-to-your-attachments fast is the right place to start.
The reality is that if we had a track as good or better than the one Tilke designed for Turkey in the US there would be a lot of interest from every F1 fan in the hemisphere. Putting it in a non-Islamic location where there is actual night life would be a big plus as well.
How you do all that without ticket prices spinning out of reach of all but the lucky few is a different issue.
oc
Methanolandbrats
05-28-10, 08:54 PM
For all you locals, how is the road network around the proposed track? Can it handle the traffic? I'm thinking of MIS. Went there when Cabs did'nt suck in the late 80s. Took five ****ing hours to get in and out because there was one road and a bunch of Andy of Mayberry cops directing traffic.
Took five ****ing hours to get in and out because there was one road and a bunch of Andy of Mayberry cops directing traffic.
Sounds like Road America back in the good ole days of CART.
Methanolandbrats
05-29-10, 09:06 AM
Sounds like Road America back in the good ole days of CART.
Nope, much, much, much worse. Imagine if Road America had sent everyone out the gate by Canada Corner and only allowed you to turn one direction.
stroker
05-29-10, 09:40 AM
Am I the only person who thinks this whole thing is complete BS and will never happen?
:confused:
Napoleon
05-29-10, 09:47 AM
Agreed, it's not like big parcels of low value land within 100 miles of Austin are just laying about waiting to be discovered.Texas track (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/83873)
With the collapse of the real estate market and the bank failures actually right now you may be able to pick up something for 10 cents on the dollar from 4 or 5 years ago.
Austin’s National Recognition
- Known as “The Live Music Capital of the World”
I have for a few years thought that the South by Southwest concert sounds like it would be a blast to go to. They put the race within a week of that I am there.
Am I the only person who thinks this whole thing is complete BS and will never happen?
:confused:
No.
nissan gtp
05-29-10, 10:49 AM
Am I the only person who thinks this whole thing is complete BS and will never happen?
:confused:
nope. I give is a 1 in 100 chance. But if it happens, I'm in. :p
extramundane
05-29-10, 11:02 AM
I have for a few years thought that the South by Southwest concert sounds like it would be a blast to go to. They put the race within a week of that I am there.
Or the ACL Festival in early October. If done properly, it could be a world-class, Bernie-grade event with a distinctly American feel.
The odds of it being done, either at all or properly? Well, I think we all know that answer.
I would like to see some skepticism from the Speed crew, especially after their role in covering for the USF1 team. Instead of waiting for a press release, some reporting would be nice.
Methanolandbrats
05-29-10, 02:00 PM
Speeders said more on Sunday night. Bernie did a good of picking a week/day to leak this stuff :thumbup:
Here are snippets from an Adam Cooper interview with Tavo Hellmund on the Autosport site:
- his father was a sports promoter who brought the ChampCar series to Mexico City in 1980-81, and was also involved in the 1986 World Cup and later the return of F1 to the country in 1988.
- raced karts and midgets before trying his luck in the UK. He made it as far as the British F3 championship.
- did a little bit of Formula Ford, some Vauxhall Junior, and then some F3 [in 1995]
- shared a house with Luis Garcia Jr in a little cul-de-sac in Cambridge where that little group like Rubens Barrichello and Helio Castroneves lived. Played tennis with and trained with Cristiano da Matta and Gualter Salles
- moved back to the USA, raced in the NASCAR Grand National
- his company, Full Throttle Productions, is best known for running events at Thunder Hill Raceway, a small oval just outside Austin
- brought USAC sprint cars and midgets back to Texas for the first time in 60 years, and it's gone like gangbusters."
- his trump card is that over the years he has kept in touch with Ecclestone, who has remained a friend of Hellmund Sr since the Mexican GP days.
- has known Bernie since a little kid, and maintained a relationship with him over the last 30 years."
- the Austin project has been in progress for three years
- convinced Ecclestone that Austin would be a suitable venue, and found a site close to highways and the airport, and just a few miles from downtown
- Austin is the 15th largest city in the USA by population, and as such, it is larger than higher profile places such as Vegas, Boston, Miami, New Orleans, Seattle and Washington DC, all of which could have been credible homes for an F1 event.
- is a major business centre, mainly for technology firms, with HQs for the likes of Dell and Ferrari sponsor AMD
- is completely different from the rest of the state in terms of topography. This isn't flat, this is hill country."
- says F1 has to go back to one of the true great road courses in America, whether it be a Road Atlanta or a Laguna Seca, one of these great traditional tracks. An American audience doesn't like a flat track unless it's an oval, where they can see everything. It doesn't show off what F1 is. So you've got to go to a beautiful, natural road course. Watkins Glen was the heyday of grand prix racing in America."
- hopes Hermann Tilke can create on the 800 plus acres he has been given to play with. Used to remote deserts and swamps as starting points, this time he has hilly countryside, complete with lakes. Hellmund says the design is over three miles in length, with challenging corners that replicate some of the best in Europe.
- "It's going to be holy s*** fast," he insists
- signed a deal with Tilke a long time ago. They know where FIA and FOM want every plug, literally. They've already done the design, there's already a masterplan, and we have unbelievable land, a few miles from the airport. It's a killer location."
- Tilke and his people have been regular visitors to Austin over the last couple of years, and with the race now confirmed, the company is looking for office space in the city.
- a lot of the time consuming red tape has already been dealt with, which makes the 2012 deadline - a tight one by any standards - a little more realistic.
- optioned the land nearly three years ago with this in mind. Already got the permitting for utilities, water and waste water, and those are the biggest things to get sorted.
- because it's a permanent venue he's seeking other year-round uses for the track, and one of the key elements will see it used as a proving ground for alternative fuels - a natural fit in a state where everything is based on oil
Ted
cameraman
05-29-10, 04:09 PM
The most promising thing about this is the simple fact that it has been in progress for three years without anyone opening their mouths.
That could actually be considered professional...
Wheel-Nut
05-29-10, 09:25 PM
For all you locals, how is the road network around the proposed track? Can it handle the traffic? I'm thinking of MIS. Went there when Cabs did'nt suck in the late 80s. Took five ****ing hours to get in and out because there was one road and a bunch of Andy of Mayberry cops directing traffic.
The roads should be able to handle the traffic if it is where I think it will be; East of the city near the airport.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=30.148987,-97.652149&spn=0.083126,0.188828&t=h&z=13
Hopefully this deal will be better then the Gustavo run champcar race of 80-81.
oddlycalm
05-30-10, 10:46 PM
Nope, much, much, much worse. Imagine if Road America had sent everyone out the gate by Canada Corner and only allowed you to turn one direction.
Yeah, MIS was the berries when it came to getting in and out. :thumdown: It's twin sister down in Bryan/College Station, TX was as bad. Larry LoPatin had no track or event experience and had no clue what he was doing. Building both in the middle of nowhere doomed them to some degree from the start. Going to a race there from the Detroit area meant dawn patrol departures and getting back well after dark. A forced march instead of a fun race day. I went to a few then bagged it.
Should be just the opposite of that east Austin. There are freeways and major highways leading away from there in every direction so unless they screw up the last mile or two to the track it shouldn't be an issue.
oc
For all you locals, how is the road network around the proposed track? Can it handle the traffic? I'm thinking of MIS. Went there when Cabs did'nt suck in the late 80s. Took five ****ing hours to get in and out because there was one road and a bunch of Andy of Mayberry cops directing traffic.
right off 2 highways, one E-W to get into south austin, one of them brand new toll road N-S to take you to north burbs
Speaking of nancies, they don't even have ice fishing in Texas. You need to keep your beer in a cooler so it doesn't freeze. :thumbup:
I'm sending more californians your way.
Wanna go ice racing? ;) Nothing like a cold, refreshing beer after being on the lake all day at -10. :D
I prefer my -10 when I'm at 14K ft :p
OK, so now we know what flavor of OPM (other people's money ) Tavo is playing with. :) A few miles East of the airport puts it a lot closer to town than I would have thought. The $25M from the major events fund might be enough to buy the land and along with the contract with F1 leverage the construction cost.
the issue with the OPM is that the Major Event Fund reimburses municipalities for operational costs, not private entities
With the collapse of the real estate market and the bank failures actually right now you may be able to pick up something for 10 cents on the dollar from 4 or 5 years ago.
not in TX, land was never appreciating out of control as the coasts+phx+mia+vegas, maybe in some of the hill country bourgeoisie developments, but not east of town, the new toll road would've just added value
Spent a miserable weekend in Austin once.
Newton's 7th law says no such thing exists.
nevermind, state $25M goes to sanctioning fee w/ a new bill that's being passed supposedly
Contrary to earlier assertions, Texas taxpayers are putting up the first $25 million in a deal aimed at luring Formula One racing to Austin.
And the money, to be deposited in the state's Major Event Trust Fund, would pay the sanctioning fee London-based Formula One Group charges for the privilege of hosting the first of 10 annual F1 races planned for Austin beginning in 2012. Austin resident Tavo Hellmund would organize and promote the races.
Last week, state officials said money from the fund would not go to the promoter but to local governments to reimburse them for costs incurred in hosting such large sporting events. Previously, the fund, which has been used to cover costs associated with hosting the Super Bowl and baseball and basketball all-star games, has been generated from sales taxes and other tax receipts in host communities that are attributable to spending at the event.
But the Texas Legislature's authorization to use general revenue funds for F1 can be found on page 933 of the 988-page budget that legislators approved a year ago — though mention of a car race is nowhere to be found.
"The amount of $25,000,000 is appropriated from General Revenue for the biennium beginning September 1, 2009 to the Fiscal Programs-Comptroller of Public Accounts for deposit into the Major Events Trust Fund for the purpose of attracting and securing eligible events," the rider reads. It says the money is tied to the passage of the bill that added Formula One racing to sporting events eligible for the trust fund.
Robert Wood, director of local government assistance and economic development for the state comptroller's office, said the trust fund had not been used in this way before and that officials are still figuring out the details.
nevermind, state $25M goes to sanctioning fee w/ a new bill that's being passed supposedly
+
officials are still figuring out the details
=
Politician saying, "Now tell me again how stealing $25 million for the dwarf will get us re-elected?"
Why, just call it a "Jobs Bill!" Morally we just HAVE to get that race!:gomer:
Any chance this will work as advertised? :rolleyes:
Austin promises unique F1 circuit (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85287)
...the circuit will be a break from the norm of modern F1 venues and is set to feature a selection of the very best sequences from other tracks around the world.
The F1 version of Pocono?
So it'll be like Las Vegas with a fake Eau Rouge, 130R, and Parabolica?
Lame. Better to assemble the greatest collection of chicanes. :gomer:
Methanolandbrats
07-15-10, 04:27 PM
Track won't matter if it's after Canada and the weather is hot as hell, better hold it in the fall on the way to Brasil if they want a crowd.
Track won't matter if it's after Canada and the weather is hot as hell, better hold it in the fall on the way to Brasil if they want a crowd.
well, you nancies won't show up. rest of us brown folk will :p
opinionated ow
07-16-10, 03:13 AM
Any chance this will work as advertised? :rolleyes:
Austin promises unique F1 circuit (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85287)
The F1 version of Pocono?
It exists...they call it Magny-Cours
Corner5
07-20-10, 01:23 PM
More on the track-
Local press are reporting that the construction of the circuit will commence before the end of the year with completion expected by June 2012—just weeks before the race is due to be held in Austin.
Tavo Hellmund, the man behind the Texas bid for the US Grand Prix, won a 10-year deal earlier this year but has remained tight-lipped about where the circuit will be built and how it is being financed.
Hellmund said at Silverstone that an announcement would be made on the circuit’s location, but it has yet to be confirmed.
He also claims to have acquired the $250m to build the circuit “somewhere close to the airport”, but has failed to name his investors.
There was a lot of excitement back in May about where Formula 1 would turn to in its US return, with a number of current circuits mentioned including Laguna Seca and Montichello.
Few, however, would have anticipated the announcement from F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone that a race would be held in Austin, Texas, on a circuit yet to be built.
With construction not due to begin until December, Hellmund’s project has no room for delay in construction if it is to form a June double-header with the Canadian Grand Prix and provide the spectacle that has been promised.
Should Hellmund fail in his bid to provide a US race for 2012, perhaps Ecclestone will seek alternatives and love it or hate it, we know Indianapolis can be ready.
http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2010/07/construction-of-texas-f1-circuit-to-begin-in-december/
Q&A with Tavo Hellmund-
http://www.racer.com/q-a-with-tavo-hellmund/article/174654/
also- A Yahoo! User Sat May 29, 2010
F1 track will be built between fm 973, 130 toll road and hwy 71, elroy rd. inside info always leaks out. Let the hotel building begin! year and a half to build?
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20009165-48.html
- track location speculation
Napoleon
07-20-10, 01:36 PM
If you want to check out the area go to Google maps and plug in: 30.139783,-97.641249
track locations been leaked from the get go,supposedly it's by the airport and new toll road
Napoleon
07-20-10, 02:34 PM
track locations been leaked from the get go,supposedly it's by the airport and new toll road
Google maps does show that location just a little off to the side of the direct flight path into the airport, and not all that far from it (1 or 2 miles?)
austin news says comptroller's office says construction to begin in dec, details to be released in a week
This is over a month old, but not one I previously read:
What public officials are revealing about F1 (http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/investigative/entries/2010/06/15/the_preliminary_results_are_in.html)
That’s because most of the information is being withheld. Each party has invoked one or more exceptions to the Texas Public Information Act as a way to delay or prevent the release of some documents. The Office of the Attorney General will decide whether the protests have merit in about a month.
They said so in a series of short e-mails exchanged following the May 25 announcement that F1 was headed to Austin — the only documents that the governor’s office has seen fit to release. “Awesome, I will be there. Even though I much prefer stock car racing…” reads one.
Texas will provide $25 million a year for the next 10 years to Hellmund from the trust fund.
Did I miss that one before?? $25M per year??
So who is going to be the token Texan driver that weekend?
At these third world races, Bernie always likes to put a native in one of the cars for the locals to cheer. :gomer:
Did I miss that one before?? $25M per year??
The sisters will be envious.
Methanolandbrats
07-21-10, 04:49 PM
So who is going to be the token Texan driver that weekend?
At these third world races, Bernie always likes to put a native in one of the cars for the locals to cheer. :gomer:
ONe of them Lubonte boys :gomer:
Did I miss that one before?? $25M per year??
yep. state special events fund.
If all the state is paying is $25m, then that's a good deal, for a F1 race.
Victoria is spending about $44m a year for Melbourne and most of that is Bernie tax. The sanction fee's are about $60-70m for the new races: Singapore, Malaysia and so on, and they rise by 5 to 10% a year as well.
Welll, SHOOT! That's a good deal then!:gomer: (What other "special events" already on the take will have to start pinching pennies?)
Methanolandbrats
07-24-10, 12:29 PM
Bernie will fleece those cowboys. They won't even be able to figure out what happened for years.
oddlycalm
07-27-10, 01:08 PM
Location and backer revealed (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85604)
Red McCombs: "Bernie said: 'How do you think you are going to get a facility built in Austin in time for the 2012 race'. I told him remember you are talking about doing this in Texas, we are not talking about doing it anywhere else. We have that reputation."
What the hell does that mean? Because they have magic fairy dust? Because the laws of physics don't apply? Because the best engineers from A&M are involved...? :)
oc
Because the best engineers from A&M are involved...? :)
oc
Hey!
extramundane
07-27-10, 01:29 PM
Ummm... (http://f1newsaustin.com/2010/07/track-news/major-announcement-austin-f1-track-location-to-be-revealed-july-26th/)
http://f1newsaustin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/f1_track-640x374.png
:yuck:
oddlycalm
07-27-10, 02:25 PM
Hey!
Just checking to see if you're awake...:)
oc
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