This isn't gonna be good.
Oh.. and that $25 mil?.... non-refundable.
That didn't take long. Bernie and friends are up to their tricks again. Heard rumblings a few weeks ago and now construction has stopped. When will people learn to not deal with Bernie? I forget the place, but another F1 race got cancelled, but Bernie also got paid for that one as well. Not a bad racket, making 50 million dollars (or more) for doing nothing.
Depressing but I can't say I'm surprised. Bernie is a shyster and F1 has been more about money than racing for a long time. It's a shame an interesting track had to get stillborn because of them though.
The track will still be completed. They have 15 series committing to weekends there. It will still make money, in the long run.
i knew this thing was doomed from the start.. this is sooo very much like every time the owners of a professional sports team decides they want a new stadium to make themselves even more obscenely rich but they don't want to pay for it themselves.. this is al la show put on by a bunch of billionaires that could build the track to world class standards and pay the F1 extortion- umm, i mean licensing- fee using money they found in their couch cushions, but they are relying on public money to get it done so they don't have any risk of losing any money over the short term.
who wants to bet that once they got the money from the state and the race was a raging success that they'd find a sneaky and legal way to avoid paying it all back while they rake in untold millions of dollars in pure profit, then find a way to pull the same scam year after year?
This looks like a conflict between the track-builder and the promoter. The builder has a contract with the promoter and the promoter has a contract with F1. Bernie only cares that someone (anyone) pays the sanctioning fee. Right now, he's doing what he does best; stirring the pot and being a troll. If the Americans can't reach an agreement, Ecclestone has other options via government-backed venues across the globe. Keep in mind that he has used the same tactics on numerous occasions.
I think Maroon is right; the track will be finished - eventually. All the fancy infrastructure and amenities required for F1 will be an after-thought or non-existent.
part of the issue it seems from the article is that the comptroller promised to advance the 25 million from the major events trust fund for the sanctioning fee, which would then be paid back via tax revenues from the event, which they have done many times in the past. apparently because this isn't a jimmy buffett concert, people don't want the state advancing the money as they have done in the past for other major events.
personally i think this comes from the comptroller being worried about her job come election time.
With Red McCombs involved in the project I was pretty sure it was doomed.
In reply to Strizzo:
I got the impression the Comptroller is witholding the funds because of the contractual dispute between the promoter and builder. Until that is resolved, the race is in jeopardy.
It may be politically motivated, but who (in their right mind) would want to commit $25M of public monies to a private enterprise with big legal problems?
They have one more week to pull their collective heads, out of each other's posteriors, according to Bernie:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/17/uk-motor-racing-austin-idUKTRE7AG1RZ20111117
Basically, the morons think they are a big deal and can get Bernie to blink. Yeah, he's not going to. He holds the cards, its his game. Play nice and he'll let you in the game, otherwise? You lose.
novaderrik wrote: i knew this thing was doomed from the start.. this is sooo very much like every time the owners of a professional sports team decides they want a new stadium to make themselves even more obscenely rich but they don't want to pay for it themselves.. this is al la show put on by a bunch of billionaires that could build the track to world class standards and pay the F1 extortion- umm, i mean licensing- fee using money they found in their couch cushions, but they are relying on public money to get it done so they don't have any risk of losing any money over the short term. who wants to bet that once they got the money from the state and the race was a raging success that they'd find a sneaky and legal way to avoid paying it all back while they rake in untold millions of dollars in pure profit, then find a way to pull the same scam year after year?
Nothing like making big comments without understanding the actual issues.
z31maniac wrote:novaderrik wrote: i knew this thing was doomed from the start.. this is sooo very much like every time the owners of a professional sports team decides they want a new stadium to make themselves even more obscenely rich but they don't want to pay for it themselves.. this is al la show put on by a bunch of billionaires that could build the track to world class standards and pay the F1 extortion- umm, i mean licensing- fee using money they found in their couch cushions, but they are relying on public money to get it done so they don't have any risk of losing any money over the short term. who wants to bet that once they got the money from the state and the race was a raging success that they'd find a sneaky and legal way to avoid paying it all back while they rake in untold millions of dollars in pure profit, then find a way to pull the same scam year after year?Nothing like making big comments without understanding the actual issues.
this is the internet.. that's how it works.
but really- how is this any different than any new stadium that's been built in the USA over the last 20 years? it's a race track instead of a stadium and the dollar amounts are smaller, but it's some of the same people that buy and sell sports teams and try to use public money to make themselves richer.
Read up on the Texas find, then get back to us. Or stay uneducated.
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