Wonder what the attendance has to be to make a profit on Indy Car race at Milwaukee. All the other ovals they have tried have basically given up on Indy Car. No attendance. Bob is one of the best promoters left in the auto racing world. Time will tell.
Originally Posted by SoIllSprinter:
Gateway near St. Louis is an oval and hosts Indy car to great crowds and great racing.
That's true. I was thinking about Phoenix, Kansas, Chicagoland, Kentucky, Pocono, Richmond, Atlanta, New Hampshire, and any others I'm forgetting. We're lucky to have Indy, St. Louis, Iowa and Texas left. Texas was a very disappointing crowd this year. Without TV money, not sure how they turned a profit.
I was just at Road America yesterday and the crowd was huge. I don't know the numbers, but I would guess that there were more people than would even fit in the stands at Milwaukee. Unfortunately, there's not a single place to watch the race at R.A. where you can see more than about 10% of the track at one time. If not for the giant TV screens there wouldn't have been much to see at all. It was still a fun time, but the good experience had very little to do with being able to watch the race and more to do with the festival-like experience of being at the track. This seems to be the case with most other road courses as well, where the event is more than just the race. The ovals don't ever seem to have the "extras" like the road course venues have. If Indycar wants to make the ovals successful, there has to be more emphasis placed on the event and the things going on around the track. If Milwaukee gets an Indycar date, I'll be there for sure and I'll be there to watch the racing, but so many others attend these races for the other things that go along with it. If it's just the race and nothing to go with it, expect the usual low numbers for attendance.
