COTA Austin - construction and infrastructure

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What do you think of the prospect of a USGP 2012 at Austin Texas

Good thinking. Place has good infra structure and nice climate in winter.
126
47%
Not good as it has no motor sport tradition in the US.
23
9%
I will wait to see how it will shape up.
97
36%
I don't care.
23
9%
 
Total votes: 269

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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That was Tavo's tree.

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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Dave Doolittle's Statesman writeup of today's "Topping Off" ceremony:

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ ... celeb.html
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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One third of the pit and paddock building’s roof has been installed, officials said, and more than half of the structural steel for the main grandstand has been installed.

The road base for the racetrack between Turn 19 and 20 has been installed, and access roads through the pit and paddock building are taking shape, officials said.

Exterior stone on the media and conference center is being placed, and crews are moving dirt in the area that will hold a 5,000-seat amphitheater, officials said.

The footings for the pit wall have also been installed and electrical conduits that will connect the pit and paddock building and the main grandstands are also being put into place, officials said.
Stone! :o :lol:

I thought the amphitheater wasn't going in until after the race. Have they added a concert to the weekend?

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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hairy_scotsman wrote:Remember the buy-sell clause mentioned in the Statesman article a while back?

http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula ... 98638.html
San Antonio billionaire Red McCombs might have less than a week to decide whether he's willing to be bought out of the Circuit of the Americas racetrack or instead will purchase the shares of Full Throttle, the company of Tavo Hellmund, once the driving force behind the project.

That's the claim made in a letter sent Wednesday from Hellmund's lawyers to McCombs. The letter contends that, in accordance with a company agreement, a buy-sell procedure began on Jan. 11, and the 90-day period for a relevant response expired Wednesday. The letter also claims McCombs now has until next Wednesday to say he will purchase Full Throttle's shares or McCombs' shares will be considered sold, with the closing on May 25.

Buy-sell, or push-pull, agreements are meant to resolve extreme differences in companies. One party makes an offer to buy out the other with the knowledge that it also then opens up the possibility of a reverse buyout.

According to the letter, Full Throttle is offering to acquire McCombs' 20 percent share for $8 million while claiming that Full Throttle's slightly larger share would be valued at $8.2 million.

If Full Throttle is successful in obtaining McCombs' stake, it could change the dynamics of a $300 million project that has been marred by a rift between Hellmund and Bobby Epstein, who is believed to be the lead investor.

The letter states, "Upon the consummation of the McCombs Units ... Full Throttle expects to hold over 40 percent of the equity of the Company and have the power to appoint three of the Company's 5 managers."
I wonder what he'd be buying? I noticed that at some point, they swapped companies from "Austin Formula 1 Racing & Entertainment LLC" to "CotA Racing & Entertainment LLC". Then there's also "Circuit of the Americas LLC", "Prophet Track Partners LLC" and "McCombs Motor Sport LLC". Maybe nothing.

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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Statesman construction photos posted a little while ago:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 490&type=1

Image

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Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

bhall
bhall
244
Joined: 28 Feb 2006, 21:26

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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At least I'm very familiar with New Jersey. That should help next year when I see my first F1 race.

User avatar
WhiteBlue
92
Joined: 14 Apr 2008, 20:58
Location: WhiteBlue Country

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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hairy_scotsman wrote:COTA ticket info is out:

http://circuitoftheamericas.com/tickets
All PSL as announced
Formula One's fundamental ethos is about success coming to those with the most ingenious engineering and best .............................. organization, not to those with the biggest budget. (Dave Richards)

xpensive
xpensive
214
Joined: 22 Nov 2008, 18:06
Location: Somewhere in Scandinavia

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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Right, while I can sell you tickets to Mars, any takers?
"I spent most of my money on wine and women...I wasted the rest"

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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Here's the scoop on the likely sales date and prices for general admission tickets, plus a few stats on ticket sales to date...

http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula ... 03252.html
General admission and grandstand tickets for Austin's first Formula One race are not yet on sale and probably won't be until June, around the time of Montreal's Grand Prix. Geoff Moore, head of the track's marketing and sales, said those tickets would be sold online, with all likely to be three-day passes.

He said prices for those tickets have not yet been set, but they could be similar to Montreal's. At the Canadian Grand Prix this year, three-day passes are $558 for premium grandstand seats, $265 for the regular grandstand and $123 for general admission.

Moore said the sale of personal seat licenses has been brisk.

"We're in kind of a dead sprint," he said.

According to Moore, six senior representatives have been selling the personal seat licenses since mid-February, and in the past week 14 junior sales reps have been through training and are now working the phones from a row of cubicles at the circuit's office on Congress Avenue. They're going through 11,000 potential customers from around the U.S. and the world who earlier placed their names on the track's waiting list.

"It will be all 50 states and several countries," Moore said of the personal seat license customers.

Moore said slightly fewer than 10 percent of those on the waiting list were from foreign countries and 39 percent were from Texas. Californians account for about 15 percent of the list and Floridians about 8 percent.

Moore said the track has commitments for all 29 of the circuit's permanent suites. There are also 40 temporary trackside suites, similar to those found at professional golf tournaments, and he said there were commitments for about 35 percent of those suites.
Those grandstand prices are about twice what I remember paying for an Indy weekend pass. But it's not outrageous.

User avatar
strad
117
Joined: 02 Jan 2010, 01:57

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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Pup;
Check with Paul, that skinflint will remember to the penny. ;)
To achieve anything, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.”
Sir Stirling Moss

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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He'll tell me it was a nickel. The last time he went to Indy, it was still brick. :lol:

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Ray
2
Joined: 22 Nov 2006, 06:33
Location: Atlanta

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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$123 for general admission? No thanks. Unless I can walk the track on the interior like at Road Atlanta, it's completely overpriced. At Road Atlanta a Petit Le Mans ticket is $80 and I can bring ANYTHING in that I can carry. Food, drinks, lawn chair, whatever. And I can go wherever I want for the duration of the race. $123 to sit in one place and pay $6 for a coke? No thanks.

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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Ray wrote:At Road Atlanta a Petit Le Mans ticket is $80 and I can bring ANYTHING in that I can carry. Food, drinks, lawn chair, whatever.
Can you bring a grand prix? Because that seems to be missing from your list.
Last edited by Pup on 15 Apr 2012, 22:18, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
Ray
2
Joined: 22 Nov 2006, 06:33
Location: Atlanta

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

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Pup wrote:
Ray wrote:At Road Atlanta a Petit Le Mans ticket is $80 and I can bring ANYTHING in that I can carry. Food, drinks, lawn chair, whatever.
Can you bring a grand prix? Because that seems to be missing from your list. :lol:
:D True. But $123 for a seat that I can't carry with me and most likely a complete ban on bringing anything in with you is a non-deal for me. Especially since I'd have to drive to Texas since I refuse to be molested traveling by air, and that there's no guarantee that it'll even happen.