Edmonton gone

[Trevor Longman]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/87885

Such a shame. This race had so much potential when it debuted in '05...

[opinionated ow]

It has potential UNTIL they went for standing starts and timed races. :yuck:

If they were smart they'd go to Mosport or Mont Tremblant or one of the other top raced tracks.

[emjaya]

It has potential UNTIL the IRL took over. :yuck:

Fixxed it for you.

[Elmo T]

If they were smart they'd go to Mosport or Mont Tremblant or one of the other top raced tracks.

Mont Tremblant? That is a very non-American sounding place. Is it in Iowa or Kentucky? ;)

How big is their oval track? :rolleyes:

[racer2c]

The IndyCar Series is set to lose its Edmonton date after a disagreement over funding for changes to the track....

Part of the post Tony bucks trend. 2012 schedule will probably look a lot like this;

Disney World Parking lot.
Indianapolis Speedway

[Andrew Longman]

"Just in terms of the way it has happened, it doesn't make you feel terribly welcome. We always say that we need places that want us to be there. We thought we had that in Edmonton. To have this come down and not receive a call is a little shocking.

"I was told our promoters, who I have tremendous respect for, had the new track laid out and estimated the improvements required.

"I think it was maybe in the $2 million to $3 million range and for the size and scope of an event like this one, nobody expected any push back. But our promoter got a call and was told it was voted out."

Pretty sums up the delusion at ICS

[Gnam]

To have this come down and not receive a call is a little shocking.


To be fair, Edmonton thought the IRL went out of business when they couldn't find it on any tv networks or in any newspapers. :gomer:

[Don Quixote]

To be fair, Edmonton thought the IRL went out of business when they couldn't find it on any tv networks or in any newspapers. :gomer: True, who would you call anyway? Its not like they have offices or anything. :D

[Methanolandbrats]

Part of the post Tony bucks trend. 2012 schedule will probably look a lot like this;

Disney World Parking lot.Indianapolis Speedway

Nyet on the Mickyard. They give cab rides there and that is way too profitable a business to screw it up for two days. :)

[racer2c]

Nyet on the Mickyard. They give cab rides there and that is way too profitable a business to screw it up for two days. :)

Ok, so just Indy in '12. They have to hit rock bottom before the Phoenix can rise from the ashes and those jet fighters in a gymnasium seen from outer space, each coiled snakes ready to strike, will once again be the of 'pinochole' of motor sport. :D

[Don Quixote]

Ok, so just Indy in '12. They have to hit rock bottom before the Phoenix can rise from the ashes and those jet fighters in a gymnasium seen from outer space, each coiled snakes ready to strike, will once again be the of 'pinochole' of motor sport. :DPerfectly stated. :D

[SteveH]

Ok, so just Indy in '12. They have to hit rock bottom before the Phoenix can rise from the ashes and those jet fighters in a gymnasium seen from outer space, each coiled snakes ready to strike, will once again be the of 'pinochole' of motor sport. :D

Needs to be quoted again, its just that good. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

[pchall]

Perfectly stated. :D

There is a thread about this at that IMS place fan forum that is hilarious. Six pages and growing like a melanoma and only one poster has suggested that IRL races might fail because the racing sucks, the drivers are lame, and the cars are boring.

[Elmo T]

Nyet on the Mickyard. They give cab rides there and that is way too profitable a business to screw it up for two days. :)

You can still take a spin OW style. indyracingexperience (http://indyracingexperience.com/t-DriveIndyCar.aspx)

:gomer::gomer: Maybe they should go back. When was the last time an IRL race was this well attended??

_lIT17gCeXE

[pchall]

I think there were folks in the grandstands then because the racing was respectably second rate compared to what happen when Toyota and Honda went to war over Indy.

[TKGAngel]

PT is an unhappy camper. Apparently this mucked up his sponsorship deal but good.


They have to hit rock bottom before the Phoenix can rise from the ashes and those jet fighters in a gymnasium seen from outer space, each coiled snakes ready to strike, will once again be the of 'pinochole' of motor sport

JackAroo, is that you? :)

[oddlycalm]

Pretty sums up the delusion at ICS
So does this... :gomer: :


"It's unfortunate that in a time when IndyCar is experiencing momentum and growth, the city would want to miss out on the opportunity to be part of it."

A large sucking sound (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/87898)

Momentum and growth? By what possible measure? Big surprise the local government didn't want to throw $2-3 million at it.... even in Canadian money. :D

oc

[Gnam]

We don't want to fill a date with a marginal event.

Talk about mission impossible. Every IRL event is by definition marginal. :laugh:

[oddlycalm]

Talk about mission impossible. Every IRL event is by definition marginal. :laugh:

Yeah, a true classic. :thumbup: Angstadt has let the KoolAid to drip down into his butt crack... :gomer:

oc

[Don Quixote]

Momentum and growth? By what possible measure? To be fair, there seems to be plenty of momentum caused by the ex-fans running away from the sport. As for growth, other than sammich's fat ass, I've got nothing. :gomer:

[pchall]

To be fair, there seems to be plenty of momentum caused by the ex-fans running away from the sport. As for growth, other than sammich's fat ass, I've got nothing. :gomer:

Wow, the folks at IMS must all be rocket scientists to apply Newtonian physics to the IRL marketing prospectus.

[Chief]

Why isn't the IRL stepping forward to fund this? With a huge one month gap in the schedule...in the middle of SUMMER...would not the massive activations and vibrant growth experienced by the series be enough to finance this race? wHERE'S hONDA?

[Tim]

I got sick so sick of CC for either causing or being involved with shenanigans like this I had stopped watching by the end of the last year. You'd think the winning group would have paid attention too all of that but I guess not.

[Chief]

Well..when your first order of business is kicking Austrailia to the curb....the list of great IRL decisions is on good footing, 15 years and counting.

[TedN]

After logistical and funding problems surrounding Edmonton’s downtown airport track tanked the event there, Montreal-based Octane Racing Group spokesman Normand Prieur said they’re determined to find a western Canadian venue for next July and Calgary could be considered.


Link (http://www.torontosun.com/sports/autos/2010/11/03/15949516.html)

Ted

[Corner5]

A good read-



City has been spinning its wheels on Indy too long

Returns have been dubious, costs outrageous -- near $16M all told

BY PAULA SIMONS, EDMONTON JOURNAL NOVEMBER 4, 2010

Goodbye, Edmonton Indy. Goodbye, Indy Racing League. Forgive me if I don't shed too many tears as you race off into the sunset.

Forgive me if I don't condemn the city for blowing a deal with Octane Management to run the Indy here next year.

The city wanted to move the race from the west side of the City Centre Airport lands to the east side, because it has closed the eastern runway and it needs the western runway to keep the airport operational during the race. Lorna Rosen, Edmonton's chief financial officer, says the city thought the move would be better and cheaper for Octane.

Octane says it was blindsided by the decision to move the track. It wanted the city to pay for the $3.2 million extra it says it would cost to create a premium track on the new site. That's on top of the $7 million in "sponsorship" and services the city had already promised to provide Octane over the next three years.

Rosen says that without city council authorization to spend the extra $3.2 million, she had no choice but to walk away from negotiations.

Now, it's certainly arguable that city council set up the deal to fail by giving Rosen such limited bargaining power. Certainly, if councillors had been hell-bent on saving the race at all costs, they would have handled things differently. And there undoubtedly are some people who'll argue that the loss of the Indy proves that shutting the airport is a bad idea.

But let's be clear. This isn't about the airport. It's about the cash.

The "privilege" of hosting this race has cost taxpayers dearly.

In its first two years, the Indy lost a total of $9.2 million. Every penny of that was backstopped by the city purse. Northlands and the city haven't finished calculating this year's losses, but Rosen says the city will likely be on the hook for at least $3 million more.

On top of that, the city provided the race with approximately $1.5 million in "services in kind" over the last three years, to pay for things like police and fire and transit.

Total bill? About $13.7 million. It doesn't end there.

Over the last three years, the Alberta government provided $1.2 million in Indy support -- $800,000 in 2010 alone. Ottawa also got into the act. The Harper government provided Indy with a grant of $810,000.

That's some $16 million in public funds to date -- to subsidize an international pro sports event -- with Octane holding out its hand for $10.2 million more from the city.

And what exactly did we, the public, get for our money?

The Indy Racing League won't allow the release of attendance figures, so it's impossible to know how many people actually bought tickets to this year's event. But Coun. Kim Krushell says attendance was down, and few were tourists.

"Ticket sales have been declining and they were down again, obviously, this year.

"Our citizens weren't buying tickets, and tourists weren't buying tickets either," says Krushell.

"From what I could see, the tickets were from the region and from Edmonton, not international."

Certainly, the Indy didn't seem to jazz the city the way an event like the Canadian Finals Rodeo does. When the CFR kicks off, the downtown, Whyte Avenue and West Edmonton Mall will bustle with tourists filling hotel rooms and restaurants and bars and stores. Grey Cup, later this month, will work the same magic. Indy never seemed to bring Edmonton the same kind of business, or party spirit.

Did the race raise our international profile? Did it convince more people to travel, invest or move here? That's also hard to say.

In its first year, the race was carried on both ESPN, a premium sports cable channel, and ESPN International. The second year, it was dropped by ESPN proper, and run instead on an obscure cable channel, VERSUS, as well as on ESPN International. This year, it was carried only by VERSUS.

How many people watched the race? And how many of those people noticed or cared that it took place in Edmonton? And how many, if any, changed their holiday or business plans as a result? The city says the international publicity was worth $80 million. Let's say I'm skeptical.

Now maybe Octane, with its racing industry experience, would have done a better job of marketing and promoting the event than Northlands has. Maybe Octane would have brought in the crowds, brought back TV coverage, made a profit.

But given the continued malaise of the U.S. economy, the impact of the strong Canadian dollar on American travellers, the continued fracturing of the TV audience, I'm not sure Octane could have made the race into a money-maker either. Certainly, the fact that negotiations broke down over a difference of roughly $3 million suggests that Octane knew it was working with a very slim margin, that it had to squeeze every penny to make its event viable.

And if the 2011 race had failed to make a profit? Krushell, for one, believes the requests for cash would have been never-ending.

"When does the buck stop for taxpayers? I didn't see the gravy train stopping any time soon," she says. "I think we would have been on the hook forever.

"This thing is a dog. If it smells like a dog, it's a dog. And this smells like a wet dog."

The way the city handled its dealings with Octane may not have been pretty. Breakups rarely are. But it's time to cut our losses. Time to put the dog out.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/City+been+spinning+wheels+Indy+long/3775078/story.html

Hypocrites and liars, karma baby.

[Elmo T]

"Our citizens weren't buying tickets, and tourists weren't buying tickets either," says Krushell.

"From what I could see, the tickets were from the region and from Edmonton, not international."

Certainly, the Indy didn't seem to jazz the city the way an event like the Canadian Finals Rodeo does. When the CFR kicks off, the downtown, Whyte Avenue and West Edmonton Mall will bustle with tourists filling hotel rooms and restaurants and bars and stores. Grey Cup, later this month, will work the same magic. Indy never seemed to bring Edmonton the same kind of business, or party spirit.

NOW I see why they hired Ropin' Randy. :gomer:

[dando]

A good read-



http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/City+been+spinning+wheels+Indy+long/3775078/story.html

Hypocrites and liars, karma baby.

Keeping the airport open during the race weekend is a bad idea anyway. I mean flying cars and all. :gomer:

-Kevin

[Don Quixote]

I guess the Canuckleheads just don't know what beach volleyball means. :gomer:

[indyfan31]

You know, compared to today's hideous contraptions, those weren't bad looking cars.

[G.]

Why isn't the IRL stepping forward to fund this? With a huge one month gap in the schedule...in the middle of SUMMER...would not the massive activations and vibrant growth experienced by the series be enough to finance this race? wHERE'S hONDA?

I think they're the sponsor of the race, right? For many years to come. :)

[TKGAngel]

NOW I see why they hired Ropin' Randy. :gomer:

And if they move the race to Calgary, why not use ol' Randy's rodeo connections and hook it up with the Calgary Stampede? It would be a real show of horsepower. (Get it, horsepower? :D)

Meanwhile, in case anyone wants to give their BS detectors a workout, the league is posting articles on their site (http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/40354-activation-carrying-message-to-markets/) regarding their marketing strategy.

[Don Quixote]

Meanwhile, in case anyone wants to give their BS detectors a workout, the league is posting articles on their site (http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/40354-activation-carrying-message-to-markets/) regarding their marketing strategy.Ummm, yeah, TKGAngel, I'm going to have to ask you to come in on Saturday and review that marketing strategy for us and summarize it for us. And, umm, yeah, don't forget to use the new TPS cover sheet. Thaaaaanks. :D

[Methanolandbrats]

This will be the year with all that activation :gomer:

[Chief]

“Just looking at it from a commercial standpoint, what we offer with the quality of the racing (stinks), the name recognition of our stars (invisible and Danika), the fee that we request (almost nothing) and the commercial rights we provide (take advantage of Indy, please), we’re a fantastic opportunity,” he says.
In essence, IRL is GIVING it AWAY trying to generate attention. Pfffft..not working.:laugh:

[oddlycalm]

Total douche baggery. You read about the real financial results for the Edmonton government (a sea of red ink) then you see Angstadt's comments and you understand what kind of a opportunity they're offering. It's an opportunity to get left standing with your johnson in your hand and your empty wallet on the floor. What elected official wouldn't be overjoyed....?:gomer:

oc

[stroker]

It's an opportunity to get left standing with your johnson in your hand and your empty wallet on the floor. What elected official wouldn't be overjoyed....?:gomer:

oc

Strange, most politicians fantasize about being in that situation...

[Napoleon]

Thank God I didn't need to have to watch the Cleveland event waste away on the IRL schedule.

[TRANSAM]

May not be dead.

http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/story/?id=342674

[stroker]

Somebody needs to do a Monty Python's Holy Grail "Bring Out Your Dead" bit and former IRL venues. Edmonton wants to go for a walk...