F1 Coming to .... TX!!

U.S. Grand Prix investor Red McCombs says that bringing Formula One to Austin in 2012 could be compared with the city hosting the Super Bowl.

McCombs Partners, owned by the Texan business and sporting legend, was confirmed on Tuesday as the main investor behind the project, which is led by Tavo Hellmund. McCombs is closely associated with basketball and has owned three major-league sports teams, although he admits he had no previous interest in F1.

“Bringing Formula One back to the United States represents the opportunity of a lifetime and one that any city in the world would want,” McCombs said in a statement. “The size and scope of an F1 event is comparable to hosting a Super Bowl and will bring substantial economic benefit to Austin, San Antonio and the entire state of Texas.

“We know Tavo has a clear vision for developing Formula One into a major event with year-round opportunities. Over the past few years, he has built a solid business foundation and has assembled a great team, one we are proud to be part of. We are ready to roll up our sleeves and work alongside Tavo to make this project a huge success.”
Tavo Hellmund

Tavo Hellmund is shown at the wheel of a racer sponsored by a Red McCombs dealership in 1989.

Hellmund added: “This project has been a tremendous undertaking. But for at least the next decade, Texas will host a global sporting event on an annual basis in a new world-class multipurpose facility. Knowing that our hard work is being rewarded and that my dream is becoming a reality is extremely gratifying. It is a great honor to have Red McCombs and McCombs Partners as our primary investor and partner. Red's success in business and the professional-sports arena is legendary. Working together as a team and under Red's direction, we will ensure that this project will make all Texans very proud and will benefit our great state.”

Also involved are Prophet Capital Management, an Austin-based investment company, and Hellmund's close friend, former two-wheel star Kevin Schwantz.

It has now been confirmed that the track will be located on a 900-acre site in southeast Austin along the SH 130 corridor near FM 812. Close to the airport, the site was formerly a proposed housing development called Wandering Creek.

Read more: McCombs: Grand Prix compares to Super Bowl

 

It appears that we finally know the location of the mooted 2012 U.S. Grand Prix near Austin, Texas.

According to local newspaper Web site Statesman.com, one of the land owners involved in the deal said that plans call for the track to occupy “about 900 acres near Elroy in southeastern Travis County.”

Race promoter Tavo Hellmund began a press conference in Austin at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday morning to reveal further details, which we should have later today.

The newspaper reports that “most of the land was previously planned for a residential subdivision called Wandering Creek. It is land with rolling hills and a small lake, north of FM 812, south and west of Elroy Road and east of Texas 130.”

Speculation about the track's location has been rampant since late May, when Hellmund and Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone revealed Austin as host of the next U.S. GP. Hellmund has insisted all the while that everything is in place to make the race a reality, but had kept details tucked firmly away until now.

The Statesman story also said that an unnamed source close to the deal revealed that “Wandering Creek covers about 650 acres, and organizers have recently secured adjacent acreage.”

Read more: U.S. Grand Prix site revealed

 

So you are saying yes.........:ihih:

 

Well seeing as the main financial backer owns Clear Channel............

 

The Austin, Texas, Formula One track will cost $180 million to build, according to documents given to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.

The documents also suggest that the race will have a $300 million impact on the Austin area.

The newpaper requested information on the project, and despite the documents being marked "Confidential," they were released by the city after the Texas attorney general decreed that they were not exempt under the Texas Public Information Act.

Aside from quoting the cost of building the track, the documents contend that the project will require 1,500 construction workers, and that 1,200 people will be employed over the grand prix weekend. There also will be 40 full-time employees at the venue.

Other activities expected to keep the track busy for up to 250 days a year include testing, alternative-fuel research, driving schools, police training, music concerts and "high-end auctions." There also is mention of NASCAR and drag-racing events.

Read more: Texas F1 race will bring Austin $300 million a year, documents show

 

There is a mention of a NASCAR and a drag-racing event? In Texas? You don't say... tell us more.

 

Must be a lower level NASCAR event because securing a Sprint Cup date is akin to finding bin laden....

 

Ingram: Can Austin Succeed Like Budapest?
Jonathan Ingram | Senior Writer, RacinToday.com Thursday, 5 August 2010

It’s almost a shock to realize that it’s been a quarter of a century since the first Formula One race just outside of Budapest, site of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix won by Mark Webber. Despite little history of F1 racing, the event near the one of Europe’s most charming cities became an overnight sensation in 1986. Can the promoters of the proposed U.S. G.P. in Austin, Texas strike the same sort of gold?

After a busy month of July, the key elements of the effort to bring F1 to the Texas state capitol are on the table. I, for one, am cautiously optimistic about seeing at least one or two Formula One races near the heart of the Hill Country, despite some big hurdles and question marks.

The outlines have finally been drawn by rookie promoter Tavo Hellmund, who kept key investors and partners in his back pocket in the initial months following the announcement of F1 coming to Texas in 2012, the first of ten scheduled races. Hellmund’s father Gustavo participated in promoting CART and F1 events in Mexico City in the 1980’s – but just where the money went and why the races disappeared remains a bit of a mystery. So son Tavo’s got some experience, but is it the right kind?

To believe in the U.S.G.P. you have to discount the prospect of enough ticket sales to cover what is a huge financial nut. Texas has a long and deeply appreciated open-wheel racing history featuring drivers like A.J. Foyt and Johnny Rutherford that continues with the relative success of IndyCar at the Texas Motors Speedway. Austin is in the middle of several major Texas cities and presumably demand for tickets will also come from Mexico. Response to an F1 race in Dallas in 1984 was strong – the crowd at the State Fair park was estimated at 90,000, despite a blisteringly hot day.

The discounted part: you can’t easily drive to Austin from Canada and who’s going to fly from Europe to see yet another Hermann Tilke track with no heritage? And, there’ll be no discount on some very expensive tickets, a problem already hurting other major racing series in the U.S. Last time I checked, there are no American drivers or teams in F1.

The lone appearance of F1 in the state at a Dallas street race wasn’t sundered by searing heat, although that contributed to a track that disintegrated in places. Rather the, ahem, rookie promoter and F1 organizer FISA had problems over the 1985 race date and a $200,000 surety bond resulting from the track surface issues.

The plan in Austin also calls for use of state property in the form of $25 million each year from the Major Events Fund. To access the funds, it requires an application to the offices of Susan Combs, the state comptroller who is already a major proponent of bringing the F1 circus to town. The discounted part – tax payer sentiment is already running nine to one against the idea, according to the comments section of the Austin American-Statesman. And, there’s a bona fide method of checking whether the money generated by the U.S. G.P. actually benefits the state of Texas – the fund must be renewed by increased tax collections. No crowds, no “rollover” state money for the following year.

Many people believe in the magic-like powers of recently announced chief investor Billy Joe “Red” McCombs when it comes to any kind of sports franchise or risky, multi-million dollar project. The 82-year-old billionaire and former owner of NBA and NFL franchises has proven himself a big leaguer in sports and finance. The discounted part– the best way to make money in this deal is to bring in seed money and sell a share to investors. Then close out one’s investment in the first couple of years.

These days F1 rights generally are close to $30 million a year, which falls nine million short annually of the politically proposed money. A track must be built for a multi-million dollar sum, and a single ticket has yet to be sold or sponsor named. (Personally, I think estimates of $200 million to build the track are inflated and designed to give potential investors better tax write-offs.)

One of the other primary partners is putting up the land for the location of the track – as opposed to cash. At a time when McCombs is being sued by the federal government for $45 million over a disagreement about capital gains in 2002 and 2003, can and will he generate enough cash for the project if investment falls short?

By comparison, the problems of getting necessary licensing, permits and environmental approvals for the track and building the necessary infrastructure in a scant 18 months are relatively minor.

Just for grins, I recently reviewed coverage of that first 1986 race in Hungary in On Track Magazine, the bible of F1 racing in America for many years published by Paul Oxman and where I contributed throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Some local investors put up the money and built the rather tightly confined Hungoraring –expecting to satisfy pent-up demand in a country where Grand Prix racing had a “short” tradition. The diminutive Tazio Nuvolari won the lone pre-war event. Despite little Grand Prix history, the crowd at the inaugural race won by Nelson Piquet in a Williams FW11-Honda was estimated at 200,000 by some and was regarded as at least well over 100,000.

The promoters who came up with the wherewithal to make the event happen – which is still running after all these years – can testify that sometimes such risks pay off.

There was a dispute about just how much the rights fee for the race was paid to FISA, which was then the sporting arm of the FIA. One report indicated a whopping $900,000 was paid, but officials at FISA insisted that the payment was a mere $15,000. In all likelihood, the smaller sum was collected by FISA as the sanctioning group and the rest went to FOCA — the Formula One Constructors Association, where Bernie Ecclestone was a member thanks to ownership of the Brabham team and just getting his feet wet as an organizer of marketing rights.

In any event, we’re a long way from relatively simple build-it-and-they-will-come risks for anybody who wants to host an F1 race.

 

An F1 race in Texas in June... that is GENIUS! I can only imagine how much the drivers are going to be sweating.:frown2:

 

F1: Ecclestone says another U.S. race could join Austin event

Formula One commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone has stressed that the 10-year deal he signed with Austin, Texas, Grand Prix promoter Tavo Hellmund does not guarantee the new venue exclusivity in the United States, and that he remains open to the possibility of a second F1 race in the United States.

“Let's make one thing clear--Austin will be the ‘U.S. Grand Prix,' but that doesn't mean that we can't have another race in the United States with another [name],” Ecclestone said. “I would be insane if there were the option to race in New York and I said, ‘no thanks.' But for now, that's nothing more than a pipe dream. The reality is we have a contract with Austin, and that's where the U.S. Grand Prix will be staged.”

Ecclestone clearly feels that greater American participation in F1 would be helpful for its image in a nation where the damaging 2005 Michelin tire farce at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been followed recently by failed bids to enter the series by two American teams. The United States has not been represented in the series since driver Scott Speed's midseason departure from Scuderia Toro Rosso three years ago.

Ecclestone added: “Regarding an American driver, we've tried that lately but obviously what's missing is the right attitude. You can race successfully in the U.S. without the huge effort you need to succeed in Formula One, but to have someone like Danica Patrick would be a perfect [advertisement] for us.”

Read more: F1: Ecclestone says another U.S. race could join Austin event

 

Austin Formula One track's design set to be revealed soon, promoter says

U.S. Grand Prix promoter Tavo Hellmund says he will reveal the layout of his new Formula One track soon, and that the circuit will be quite impressive and challenging.

Speaking to the Speed TV program "Wind Tunnel" on Sunday night, Hellmund said the track--planned for construction on about 900 acres located about 20 miles from downtown Austin--will feature more than 20 corners, with a total length exceeding 3.2 miles. Hellmund said that F1 architect Hermann Tilke's design firm has completed its plans, and that those plans will be made public "soon."

According to reports out of Austin, city and county planners expect to receive the plans shortly, possibly even this week.

“I think [fans will] be pleased that for a true natural-terrain road course, kind of like in the '60s, you'll be able to see a lot of the track,” Hellmund said.

Read more: Austin Formula One track's design set to be revealed soon, promoter says

 

U.S. Grand Prix promoter expects new circuit to generate major revenue

Financial documents released in Texas this week show that Full Throttle Productions, the group building a Formula One track in Austin, expects to collect $7 million in revenue from naming rights, plus $17 million from non-F1 races and property rental. Full Throttle promoter Tavo Hellmund also requested $25 million annually from the State of Texas.

Full Throttle battled the state in court to keep the papers private, but Texas attorney general Greg Abbott released all but a few sensitive documents.

Papers released earlier this summer revealed that the company could employ up to 1,500 workers during construction of the track and 1,200 on race weekend. Full Throttle also claimed the event will create $300 million in revenue for the area and that the track will operate 250 days per year.

The proposed circuit will be located 20 miles from Austin on 900 acres of land. Hellmund said recently that the layout will feature 20 corners spread over 3.2 miles of the “natural terrain road course."

Read more: U.S. Grand Prix promoter expects new circuit to generate major revenue

 

Formula One: Hellmund says U.S. Grand Prix will accommodate more than 130,000 fans

U.S. Grand Prix promoter Tavo Hellmund says that his yet-to-be constructed racetrack near Austin will accommodate up to 130,000 to 140,000 fans.

According to local newspaper the American-Statesman, Hellmund made the comment during a speech that was part of an event organized by the Urban Land Institute at downtown Austin’s Headliners Club.

“It will be the biggest thing Austin has ever had,” Hellmund said. He claimed that the track’s grandstands might accommodate 50,000 fans, while the rest of the attendees could enjoy the race from various open spaces around the facility.

Hellmund also said that attendance will be affected substantially if Formula One adds Mexican drivers to its field.

“I could see 30,000 or 40,000 people from Latin America coming,” he said before revealing that the track will feature “four real passing zones.”

As for the track’s construction time line--work is planned to begin in December--Peter Wahl, a director of the Hermann Tilke-owned circuit-design company, said that the project is doable in time for a race in 2012. “[The time issue] does not frighten us,” he said.

Exactly when the race will take place remains unknown, but Hellmund assured his audience that it will not be held in the scorching-hot months of July or August.

Read more: Formula One: Hellmund says U.S. Grand Prix will accommodate more than 130,000 fans

 

He's right about Mexico, if there was a Mexican based team, the place would sell out just from folks from south of the border.....

I have to say I'm excited to see that this thing seems to be real, when they break ground and start scraping dirt, that's when I'll start planning my 2012 summer. I expect it will be pretty hot down there in June, when the race is supposed to be held tho...

What say you, Austinites? Is it bearable for an old codger like me come a mid-June race date?

I have a brother who just moved to town I can stay with, so that will help on costs...

 

Just think. If there was a driver from MA (me) that would be like 2000+ tickets sold right there.

I was gonna say Nate, but I am pretty sure he presents an engineering challenge even F1 guys would have a problem with.

 

I was working turn 3 of the first year in Phoenix... On the summer equinox. Track surface temps were pushing 140 F. Wanna talk hot, I guarantee you Austin's got nothing on Phoenix in the "OH MY GAWD IT'S HOT!" department.

The European workers were partying it up and then dropping like flies from heat stroke. One of those weekends you would drink 2 or 3 gallons of water and not pee once. It was brutal.

20 miles from water, 2 feet from Hell was my favorite t-shirt when I was living out there.

 

My son lives in Phoenix.

I helped him move into his house on March 3rd.

It was 99* that day.......'nuff said!




I don't do heat very well anymore, so the timing of MITM this year couldn't have been better for getting out of the Kansas heat and humidity and hence my question about how hot it might be come June in Austin....still, a good US F1 race might be worth the risk.