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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
