Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Was talking about how Spoon River Speedway seems to be struggling with fans and car count and suppose posted this

"It was on my list of tracks to attend this year as a new-to-Illinois resident, but friends who had been there said things about the bad facilities and food so I scratched it off my list. Facilities and concessions do matter and are a big part of how many younger fans (myself included) view the racetrack experience."

It really made me curious..do food and facilities have a impact on if you go to a race?

For me it doesn't I go for racing. I pretty much never eat at a track. It's very rare I do eat there. If I planned on eating I'd likely throw a turkey sandwich in the cooler. I just can't handle greasy type food or hot dogs. Facilities don't matter either. Sure some bathrooms could be nicer (Farmer City) , but heck I also sat top row at Granite City Speedway (IL) and wondered if it was just a matter of time before it fell lol

So I was just curious if that stuff has a impact on if you go to a track or return to one?

Originally Posted by jason88cubs:
Was talking about how Spoon River Speedway seems to be struggling with fans and car count and suppose posted this

"It was on my list of tracks to attend this year as a new-to-Illinois resident, but friends who had been there said things about the bad facilities and food so I scratched it off my list. Facilities and concessions do matter and are a big part of how many younger fans (myself included) view the racetrack experience."

It really made me curious..do food and facilities have a impact on if you go to a race?

For me it doesn't I go for racing. I pretty much never eat at a track. It's very rare I do eat there. If I planned on eating I'd likely throw a turkey sandwich in the cooler. I just can't handle greasy type food or hot dogs. Facilities don't matter either. Sure some bathrooms could be nicer (Farmer City) , but heck I also sat top row at Granite City Speedway (IL) and wondered if it was just a matter of time before it fell lol

So I was just curious if that stuff has a impact on if you go to a track or return to one?

If the sport is to survive, facilities matter. Restrooms are important, particularly for getting families to attend. I typically eat at the track because it saves hauling a cooler and I like to support the track and concessions are a portion of their profits.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Originally Posted by jason88cubs:
I also sat top row at Granite City Speedway (IL) and wondered if it was just a matter of time before it fell lol

100%, it’s a long way down :3:

It’s all about the racing!! With that being said, I don’t wanna persuade a track owner from trying to upgrade.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

The restroom and stands were replaced 7 years before the track was changed at burg
But I sure as hell don't miss standing in a inch or two of urine and water to go in a trough. Using two different concessions to get all I wanted, A grandstand who's top four rows had separated and blocked off and getting bit a dozen times a night from a drainage ditch behind the stands that never dried out.And lighting that was inadequate.

I've been in worse. Pit side at twin cities and a couple others Whitewater was a terrible restroom.

Made me wonder how someone got a family or girlfriend to come.

Facilities absolutely matter to us! We typically travel a minimum of 2 hrs one way to any track that runs sprint cars or midgets, so we usually have to eat at the track. Decent, SAFE food is important! And as we are both above the Social Security age, we are not going to expose our knees to climbing rickety bleachers!

Not once have I considered facilities a consideration to attend a race. It’s all about the race program and product on the track. I do however appreciate nice facilities, and applaud tracks that upgrade them. But there are some tracks that have massively upgraded facilities, and forget about the important part

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

I never once have I thought about facilities when going to a race track. I'm not paying $12 - $15+ to sit in the stands or $30+ for a pit pass to use the bathrooms or concession stands. My @$$ is coming to see a race. If the facilities are decent and the food is good, then so be it.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Same here... food for sure and for the most facilities, don't enter my thinking in making a decision about going to a track. My decisions are more about how well they run their program. If it's the 5,6+ classes thing with the sprint feature starting around 11, I'm out. Too old - ha!

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Good topic!!

For me the facilities do not matter as much, although as I get older I do tend to pay more and more attention to the stands.

If my wife is going then facilities absolutely matter!! She is not climbing sketchy bleachers or using a porta-john.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

When I go to the track it's for racing. I'm making the trip to Port Royal for the first time this weekend and it's because I love their program on Flo. That track puts on some amazing racing. I have no idea what their facilities are like, doesn't matter to me. I'm a race fan, that's what I care about.

With that being said, my family is a different story. I have a wife and two teenage kids. They're not interested in crap food and porta pots. If you want to promote a family type atmosphere you have to have decent facilities.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

DeadHorse is exactly right. Family is most important! People on this board are older die-hard race fans. Most of us will give the facility a pass. We're concerned about the track and racing.

But take a family or friends and the facility is most important to them. Their impression of a dirty bathroom or portajohn, long concession lines, crappy food and a program that runs ALL NIGHT will determine if they go back. Some die-hards on here complain about the 4-abreast salute and fireworks. Next time look at a kid's eyes when that happens. It's a show to them. That's the future of our sport, not us older generation fans. Facilities, a clear and working PA system, good lighting, decent food and prices, done by 11pm.....it all matters!

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

The only time that I've eaten race track food is back in the '80s when my brother and I operated the EMS service at the local speedway. Concession food was free for track employees so it was a no brainer. Since then, I either eat before the races or stop at a restaurant before getting to the track. During the 12 years that I took my RV to races, all food was prepared and eaten before going into the stands. I know I'm very much in the minority, as when I see a drone shot on Floracing of the seating area, it seems that almost everyone is eating or drinking something. I have nothing against race tracks generating revenue from concessions. Personally, I just prefer not to stand in various lines to order something, pay for something, wait for the food, and then move to the final line to add condiments to my burger.

My priorities at a racing program are a good racing surface, no more than 2 support classes, and a show that is organized with minimal questionable down time. Out of there by 11:00 at the latest. Earlier is better, much earlier gets bonus points.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Facilities have never stopped me from attending a track.

However, specific to Spoon River, I learned after the first big show I went to there that I'd eat on the way to the track at some sort of fast food joint. Horrible setup for handling large volume of customers & the food was blah at best. I've had similar issues at the Lincoln IL track on big shows. Massively long lines for food due to not enough lines. When I know a track has that issue, I'll still go but just plan accordingly & eat elsewhere.

As an aside to the original poster, glad to know I'm not the only one who has had bad thoughts while sitting up high at Granite City. Those bleachers have been sketchy since the 90's when I went there to watch the outlaws on the old half mile. Rickety at best.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

When bringing my family to a race, the facilities make all the difference. Dirty bathrooms and poor seating make it difficult to justify returning. Example being my family of 5 recently attending ISW at Tri-State and not having enough room for the kids to sit properly doubtful we will return. In this case we marked are seats early in the day with a blanket then upon arriving prior to qualifying found sets in front of us occupied by stadium seats that hung so far back we had very little leg room to the point that we had to sit sideways. Kids and wife being casual fans find this less than ideal and even myself being more than a casual fan find this not worth the trouble. Given the size of the crowd this race brings in, it's hard to understand why the track would allow this to happen. It seems completely unacceptable.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

When bringing my family to a race, the facilities make all the difference. Dirty bathrooms and poor seating make it difficult to justify returning. Example being my family of 5 recently attending ISW at Tri-State and not having enough room for the kids to sit properly doubtful we will return. In this case we marked are seats early in the day with a blanket then upon arriving prior to qualifying found sets in front of us occupied by stadium seats that hung so far back we had very little leg room to the point that we had to sit sideways. Kids and wife being casual fans find this less than ideal and even myself being more than a casual fan find this not worth the trouble. Given the size of the crowd this race brings in, it's hard to understand why the track would allow this to happen. It seems completely unacceptable.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Originally Posted by Elac:
When bringing my family to a race, the facilities make all the difference. Dirty bathrooms and poor seating make it difficult to justify returning. Example being my family of 5 recently attending ISW at Tri-State and not having enough room for the kids to sit properly doubtful we will return. In this case we marked are seats early in the day with a blanket then upon arriving prior to qualifying found sets in front of us occupied by stadium seats that hung so far back we had very little leg room to the point that we had to sit sideways. Kids and wife being casual fans find this less than ideal and even myself being more than a casual fan find this not worth the trouble. Given the size of the crowd this race brings in, it's hard to understand why the track would allow this to happen. It seems completely unacceptable.

Despite the double post. The stadium seat in front of him is back on his kids knees. That's friggin ridiculous.

I get folks saying that facilities do not matter to them. However, having race tracks remain open is important to everyone. Tracks that are not fan friendly are going to struggle to remain viable. I don’t travel long distances to races but glad that those I do attend like Lincoln Park, Paragon, and now Kokomo have facilities that are not embarrassing to attract more families. I love going to Kokomo but the last couple of years watching seat boards break during the racing was kind of scary.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester:
Despite the double post. The stadium seat in front of him is back on his kids knees. That's friggin ridiculous.

Unfortunately, from my experience, that's how most people set them up.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester:
Despite the double post. The stadium seat in front of him is back on his kids knees. That's friggin ridiculous.

There are smaller stadium seats, where the back will stand straight up from the back edge of the board. That's cool. But some of these things are huge. If it's a weekly show and tons of room, no big deal. But the other night at a special show with a packed house, I was about to ask the person in front of me who had one of those massive stadium seats if they would prefer to just go ahead and sit on my lap!

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Florence banned stadium seats completely but will let you bring cushions or blankets to everything but the North/South. THen they sell out and have a couple thousand sit in the infield on their own chairs or stand.

That's how big that race has gotten.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester:
Florence banned stadium seats completely but will let you bring cushions or blankets to everything but the North/South. THen they sell out and have a couple thousand sit in the infield on their own chairs or stand.

That's how big that race has gotten.

I watched it on Flo. That place was packed! Looking at the infield crowd, I can't fathom standing up for a 5 hour race program. If you did sit down anywhere, you had a good chance of getting run over by a race car or side by side the way they were all flying around the whole area.

Facilities mean more to the fam then the fan. Casual and new fans will swayed heavily by the overall fan experience!

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

Originally Posted by Daisy's dad:
I watched it on Flo. That place was packed! Looking at the infield crowd, I can't fathom standing up for a 5 hour race program. If you did sit down anywhere, you had a good chance of getting run over by a race car or side by side the way they were all flying around the whole area.

There's a big area in the track that has those big jersey barriers all around it. Nobody's getiting hit. Fans are only allowed to enter or exit the infield while no cars are runniing. After hot laps. After qualifying. after B mains.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

I mainly choose to attend based on what's on the track, but there's always a consideration of the facilities and food too. If the on-track product is good enough, I'll deal with splinters from the seats and no food at all, but if it's a toss up between a couple different tracks getting my money for basically the same show I always will think about comfort, cleanliness, and value of concessions. One thing that sours me on places more than anything is exhorbitant prices for food and beverage.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

When I was younger it didn't mean a lot. Been to a track to watch midgets that had no front stretch wall or fence and people sat on a mound on blankets there. And still the bottom line is I go to see great racing. I live in Kansas city but go to as many races in Indiana almost than I do races in Missouri or Kansas. I just get no joy watching a rubbered down or slow roll the bottom single file parade that we see around here.
But as I get older and have more body parts that don't work as designed I do pay attention to the stands. Walking up boards that flex and bounce with no railing or have gaps in them has at times threated to send me to the ER. I am also not into having to sit with my legs spread so some guy can sit 6 inches from my testicles. ( admit my eyes shine when it has a soft back because as soon as he gets up when sits down my knees are together shoved into his back). And I don't appreciate standing in piss gagging when going to the bathroom. So I guess facilities do mind some to me.
Growing up we looked forward to the cheeseburger the women's auxiliary fixed in the concession stand. They were hard to beat. I still occasionally enjoy sharing a funnel cake with the wife or some ice cream if they have it. But that's pretty much it for the food.
I live 2 hrs. from a track that according to many is the nicest track in the world. I go a couple of times a year because it is halfway between my kids and I and it's a family tradition reunion. Great facilities, would be awesome for a rodeo or tractor pull but rubber in the heats is not uncommon. only really good race there I ever saw was after 3 inches of rain the night before.
So i guess I am cranky in my old age. I wand decent, safe bleachers and comfortable seating. but if the racing isn't decent or I'm not meeting the kids and grandkids I am staying home.

Re: Do food and facilities matter to you?
 

One thing I never do anymore is put up with not being reasonably safety to watch. I did for the first several years, Would stand by the fence in the pits. Put up with a inadequate catch fence in any track in fan zones.

After decades watching this sport, I've seen several things that shouldn't have happened but did. A couple things that are almost impossible to happen but did A car clearing Perris's 15ft fence. While landing on the other side with nobody there. It happened. Had friend who's wife eye got blinded at a track notorious for rocks. Those two were at all the usac and big races. All the time. THey've not went to a track in 8 years.

Two instances I personally witnessed were at Atomic. Now fixed. But I noticed it seen what I thought what could happen before actually witnessing em happen and moved. Turn three grandstand. All star sprint week about 7years or so ago turn three, Car flips out of park, Hits the end of grandstand only one guy sitting real close to impact but near end of stand. Impact knocked over and back off the bench five feet breaking his back. Smoke owns all stars and after 20 minutes of cars stopped ambulance securing and transporting guy. Smoke calls the sprint car portion.
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Second was sitting low on front stretch. Im as big and out of shape as ever. I go just past flag stand toward one. Sit in row two. I notice fence is too low and don't have a retaining arch top So move up six seven rows and back on flexing stairs and no hand rails. But I feel reasonably good. Some point during night not even sure the class a car loses part of a axle and a blown tire which cleared the fence. The axel landed just fans side of fence hurts nobody but the shredded tire a piece of it his a kid in the leg slapping him pretty good. Not seriously hurt. Just hurt.

Even eldora or burg I'll sit back at least twenty feet and ten feet up minimum.
I've not seen it all. But enough to pay attention. Even though I could of at the time visited Circle City. Hell you could see the rocks clearly on the track and hear em hitting the stands during broadcast.