pferrf1
03-24-05, 05:59 PM
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/Sports/2005/03/24/971012-sun.html
That's just grand!
TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
From a marketing and branding point of view, it probably would have been easier to sell as the Edmonton Molson Indy. No Molson. No Indy. No problem.
It's been selling by itself with no name. Now it has one.
'Grand Prix Edmonton' yesterday became the official title of the race which remains without a title sponsor 14 weeks before the green flag drops.
While 'Grand Prix' means Formula 1 in the minds of most auto racing fans, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach where the Champ Car series opens in two weeks has a 31-year history with the Grand Prix tag.
HOST OF SPONSORS
"We definitely didn't want to call it an Indy,'' said general manager Greg Macdonald at yet another first-class press conference, this one in an airport hangar to announce a host of sponsors, one of which is Molson as the official brewery of the event.
"We didn't really want the word 'Indy' because 'Indy' is more an Indy Racing League name tied to the Indianapolis 500 and races in a U.S.-only series.''
Grand Prix, he suggests, reflects the international aspect of these Indy-type cars, which have two series stops in Mexico, three in Canada, one in Australia, another in Korea and another soon to be announced for Argentina.
A title sponsor and a big cheque to go with it is still a goal for the event which has a budget of $15 million. But it was a healthy secondary sponsorship line-up and a host of off-track plans announced yesterday.
With all 60 corporate suites sold (last year Vancouver had 32) and 18,000 of the 42,000 temporary seats to be put in place for the three days of Grand Prix Edmonton already in the hands of fans, selling the event hasn't been a problem so far. Organizers are coming to the conclusion they have something special here, which will be better off with its own identity and stand aside from the Montreal Molson Indy, the Toronto Molson Indy and the now deceased Vancouver Molson Indy which has been replaced on the schedule by Edmonton.
The Montreal and Toronto races are the property of the brewery and run by a Molson event management team. Grand Prix Edmonton is a separate local and provincial event.
Macdonald, in addition to the mostly contra sponsorship deals, announced details of a downtown parade, a dinner for the same night, a drivers' reception and Miss Grand Prix Edmonton finalist event and a street festival for the July 14-17 event.
And, to hear John Clagett tell it, it's going to be one of the best races in the 14-race series because of the City Centre airport venue - and because organizers are clearly intending to make it an event more than a race.
"Races that don't make themselves more than races generally aren't successful,'' said the executive director of the Trans-Am Series, which is part of the package.
It was through Clagett with an eye on a Trans-Am this whole process started. Champ Car and Trans-Am are both under the same ownership umbrella. The two are part of the same weekend in several events. "I came here last June. The idea started as a Trans-Am. What I saw was way bigger. What I saw was Edmonton's ability to put on a much bigger event.''
He loved the airport layout.
"It's going to allow wide-open racing. Cars will be able to get side by side and race and get closer to their potential here than just about anywhere,'' he said, suggesting that on some of the street courses the race cars don't do much racing.
RIGHT ON TOP
"The trouble with a lot of road courses and street courses is the cars go past and then you don't see them again until they go past again two minutes later. Fans are going to be right on top of this and see everything.''
Clagett did his homework.
"Edmonton is a big event type town,'' he said. "There is no doubt in my mind that Edmonton will show up big time.
"There are a lot of race tracks that can't be in this position in their second, third or even 10th years.''
Some of them even have title sponsors.
Hmmmm... I guess he hasn't spoken to his compatriort at the Toronto Sun. If he did, he woudl know that the sky is falling, CCWS is a dead series and the IRL rules.
Interesting tidbit in there: I didn't know the event came to CCWS as a Trans Am idea.
That's just grand!
TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN
From a marketing and branding point of view, it probably would have been easier to sell as the Edmonton Molson Indy. No Molson. No Indy. No problem.
It's been selling by itself with no name. Now it has one.
'Grand Prix Edmonton' yesterday became the official title of the race which remains without a title sponsor 14 weeks before the green flag drops.
While 'Grand Prix' means Formula 1 in the minds of most auto racing fans, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach where the Champ Car series opens in two weeks has a 31-year history with the Grand Prix tag.
HOST OF SPONSORS
"We definitely didn't want to call it an Indy,'' said general manager Greg Macdonald at yet another first-class press conference, this one in an airport hangar to announce a host of sponsors, one of which is Molson as the official brewery of the event.
"We didn't really want the word 'Indy' because 'Indy' is more an Indy Racing League name tied to the Indianapolis 500 and races in a U.S.-only series.''
Grand Prix, he suggests, reflects the international aspect of these Indy-type cars, which have two series stops in Mexico, three in Canada, one in Australia, another in Korea and another soon to be announced for Argentina.
A title sponsor and a big cheque to go with it is still a goal for the event which has a budget of $15 million. But it was a healthy secondary sponsorship line-up and a host of off-track plans announced yesterday.
With all 60 corporate suites sold (last year Vancouver had 32) and 18,000 of the 42,000 temporary seats to be put in place for the three days of Grand Prix Edmonton already in the hands of fans, selling the event hasn't been a problem so far. Organizers are coming to the conclusion they have something special here, which will be better off with its own identity and stand aside from the Montreal Molson Indy, the Toronto Molson Indy and the now deceased Vancouver Molson Indy which has been replaced on the schedule by Edmonton.
The Montreal and Toronto races are the property of the brewery and run by a Molson event management team. Grand Prix Edmonton is a separate local and provincial event.
Macdonald, in addition to the mostly contra sponsorship deals, announced details of a downtown parade, a dinner for the same night, a drivers' reception and Miss Grand Prix Edmonton finalist event and a street festival for the July 14-17 event.
And, to hear John Clagett tell it, it's going to be one of the best races in the 14-race series because of the City Centre airport venue - and because organizers are clearly intending to make it an event more than a race.
"Races that don't make themselves more than races generally aren't successful,'' said the executive director of the Trans-Am Series, which is part of the package.
It was through Clagett with an eye on a Trans-Am this whole process started. Champ Car and Trans-Am are both under the same ownership umbrella. The two are part of the same weekend in several events. "I came here last June. The idea started as a Trans-Am. What I saw was way bigger. What I saw was Edmonton's ability to put on a much bigger event.''
He loved the airport layout.
"It's going to allow wide-open racing. Cars will be able to get side by side and race and get closer to their potential here than just about anywhere,'' he said, suggesting that on some of the street courses the race cars don't do much racing.
RIGHT ON TOP
"The trouble with a lot of road courses and street courses is the cars go past and then you don't see them again until they go past again two minutes later. Fans are going to be right on top of this and see everything.''
Clagett did his homework.
"Edmonton is a big event type town,'' he said. "There is no doubt in my mind that Edmonton will show up big time.
"There are a lot of race tracks that can't be in this position in their second, third or even 10th years.''
Some of them even have title sponsors.
Hmmmm... I guess he hasn't spoken to his compatriort at the Toronto Sun. If he did, he woudl know that the sky is falling, CCWS is a dead series and the IRL rules.
Interesting tidbit in there: I didn't know the event came to CCWS as a Trans Am idea.