Originally Posted by OnTheHammer:
Streaming sure didn't hurt attendance at the 4 Crown. Why Perris and not Eldora?
$2 beers and the whole experience at eldora. I’m sure there are people that go to eldora mainly for the camping & party atmosphere, the racing is just a bonus
I can tell you this, I have specifically talked with a few track owners. #1 thing that Flo has proven, our audience is not as big as everyone thought it was. When a track has a sell out crowd, many in that crowd are once or twice a year fans. Watch the interview with Josh King from Florence Speedway. His most profitable events didn't even have a late model on the track.
Like someone else said, great we get 1500 or 2000 people to watch the event. How many are really within driving distance? I'm going to throw something out there that has killed several tracks for me RAIN OUT POLICY!!! My schedule is beyond crazy. I am lucky if I am able to make it to the same track twice in 1 year. Almost everyone wants you to use your ticket at the next show or another race. Some reschedule, which knocks me out as well. So if the weather looks iffy, Im staying home or going to a different track. Flo has gotten me to go to tracks that I have never been to.
Originally Posted by 767:
I can tell you this, I have specifically talked with a few track owners. #1 thing that Flo has proven, our audience is not as big as everyone thought it was. When a track has a sell out crowd, many in that crowd are once or twice a year fans. Watch the interview with Josh King from Florence Speedway. His most profitable events didn't even have a late model on the track.
Like someone else said, great we get 1500 or 2000 people to watch the event. How many are really within driving distance? I'm going to throw something out there that has killed several tracks for me RAIN OUT POLICY!!! My schedule is beyond crazy. I am lucky if I am able to make it to the same track twice in 1 year. Almost everyone wants you to use your ticket at the next show or another race. Some reschedule, which knocks me out as well. So if the weather looks iffy, Im staying home or going to a different track. Flo has gotten me to go to tracks that I have never been to.
Interesting for sure. Also thirty years ago we had enough LM's to have more than full fields at three tracks in the tri state. Brownstown, Burg and Florence.
Originally Posted by OnTheHammer:
Streaming sure didn't hurt attendance at the 4 Crown. Why Perris and not Eldora?
$6.40 gas & horrible traffic?
My one visit to Perris took me 3 hrs. to drive 75 miles from LAX...
What's gas in Ohio now? I just filled my tank for $3.10/ gallon in Connecticut, which is an expensive state overall.... Ohio usually seems pretty cheap for gas...
I hope they can save this track!
$1,000 is chicken feed!
Even though I live in Pennsylvania I have attended 16 Oval Nationals weekends as a paying fan in the grandstands since my first one in 2000 and my last in 2017.
Although the racing is usually top notch, the place has always had attendance issues. The Thursday & Friday programs have always been sparsely attended, and I mean sparsely. I used to have conversations with Ken Wagner about how dismal the turnout was for such a great weekend of racing. He always made mention of the LA traffic and the number of other activities to do in the area going against the track. Others I talked to felt because of the lack of weekly sprint car racing at Perris the place never really developed a fanbase like Ascot/CRA did. So, the attendance problem thing is not new.
Scott D says that people message him for a shout out and that those people are staying home because of Flo, but could it be they can't afford to go because of the fascist politicians and their overreach that has bankrupt their once wonderful state? Flo may now provide the only way they can keep in touch with what transpires at Perris. Once Flo's gone, those people could be gone too, so be careful what you wish for.
Very few people know what the current Flo contracts and revenues are, so it is pure speculation on what money is being made and how it's distributed, so in my thinking to make Flo the boogieman even if it was doesn't really cut it as far as The PAS financial problems, as it's been a ongoing issue, fanned by COVID and even more now by the CA economy.
Does Don K have the right to express his concerns with USAC, FLO and other partners when they negotiate the future contract? Absolutely, but why air the dirty laundry video, what's that get you? It smells of victim mentality that seems prevalent and so unbecoming in our society today.
Originally Posted by nowingsjeff:
Even though I live in Pennsylvania I have attended 16 Oval Nationals weekends as a paying fan in the grandstands since my first one in 2000 and my last in 2017.
Although the racing is usually top notch, the place has always had attendance issues. The Thursday & Friday programs have always been sparsely attended, and I mean sparsely. I used to have conversations with Ken Wagner about how dismal the turnout was for such a great weekend of racing. He always made mention of the LA traffic and the number of other activities to do in the area going against the track. Others I talked to felt because of the lack of weekly sprint car racing at Perris the place never really developed a fanbase like Ascot/CRA did. So, the attendance problem thing is not new.
Scott D says that people message him for a shout out and that those people are staying home because of Flo, but could it be they can't afford to go because of the fascist politicians and their overreach that has bankrupt their once wonderful state? Flo may now provide the only way they can keep in touch with what transpires at Perris. Once Flo's gone, those people could be gone too, so be careful what you wish for.
Very few people know what the current Flo contracts and revenues are, so it is pure speculation on what money is being made and how it's distributed, so in my thinking to make Flo the boogieman even if it was doesn't really cut it as far as The PAS financial problems, as it's been a ongoing issue, fanned by COVID and even more now by the CA economy.
Does Don K have the right to express his concerns with USAC, FLO and other partners when they negotiate the future contract? Absolutely, but why air the dirty laundry video, what's that get you? It smells of victim mentality that seems prevalent and so unbecoming in our society today.
Jeff, cannot disagree with most of what you have posted. But you asked why the air dirty laundry video. If you start watching at just before the 11-minute mark, he basically explains it. He states that he has asked one of the entities to produce numbers and they will not do it. If they had, perhaps this issue would not exist. Somebody, and I do not know who, is making a %$#@ pile of money - especially with nearly all of the site ads being corporate dollars the past two seasons - and it is not the tracks or the teams.
I think pretty much everyone here has made great points.
I'd just like to add something no one's brought up: Flo's server costs. I guarantee you they ain't cheap. That is all!
P.S. It would be nice to see Flo throw USAC a bone and go in on some type of big event. I mean, USAC kinda did open this whole realm of motorsports to them.
Originally Posted by Scott Daloisio:
Jeff, cannot disagree with most of what you have posted. But you asked why the air dirty laundry video. If you start watching at just before the 11-minute mark, he basically explains it. He states that he has asked one of the entities to produce numbers and they will not do it. If they had, perhaps this issue would not exist. Somebody, and I do not know who, is making a %$#@ pile of money - especially with nearly all of the site ads being corporate dollars the past two seasons - and it is not the tracks or the teams.
Scott, I love Perris Auto Speedway and I have great respect for Don, you and everyone associated, as running any business isn't easy, but racetrack promotion probably doubly so.
I am the GM of a successful 46-lane bowling center in Mechanicsburg. It takes long hours, a lot of dedication and sometimes unpopular decisions to make it run well. So many people from customers to our own staff see all the money we take in and think we're getting rich, when nothing could be further from the truth. They don't see the dollars paid out to keep it a fun place to recreate. Costs like utilities, business insurance, payroll, employee insurance, building maintenance, restaurant and pinsetter equipment maintenance, advertising and much more, not to mention the cost of all these things have skyrocketed in the last couple of years.
Being in business is not for the faint of heart, so I empathize with Don and his current situation, I can sense his frustration of putting his heart into The PAS for a long time and realizing that it could possibly slip away. I wish him well in going against the Lake Peris project and getting more people to frequent the speedway; however, I didn't care for the part of the video that pointed fingers at Flo, when in reality we have only speculation on Flo's total income, overhead costs and net profits generated from its racing broadcasts.
