.... has had its contract terminated for non-payment to the city of Baltimore. There are 2 months left for them to pay up or have another entity put up the $$$.
This is devastating. The GP was absolute success for the city and the event goers. This was the most accessible racing event I've ever been to.
was it really a success in that it made more money than it cost, or was it a success in that you had a good time?
novaderrik wrote: was it really a success in that it made more money than it cost, or was it a success in that you had a good time?
All of the above.
Economically it was very good for the city.
The only drawback has been the failure of the promoter to pay.
Almost any inaugural event will NOT make money, it takes time. Its messed up that they are not paying though causing one of the only good events to do in this E36 M3ty city to go away, its no wonder why people never come here for events.
Dammit. I would have gone again for sure.
All the articles are lamenting that it cost more than it made. Haven't seen anything showing it made a profit.
foxtrapper wrote: All the articles are lamenting that it cost more than it made. Haven't seen anything showing it made a profit.
first year events NEVER make a profit. They had a whole lot of BIS though, and that's a good sign.
(BIS = Bums In Seats)
I'm not arguing against first year events not making profit, though I can think of many that do.
I'm just disagreeing with the posted claim that it was an absolute success and was economically good for the city. From what I've read this was not the case.
foxtrapper wrote: I'm not arguing against first year events not making profit, though I can think of many that do. I'm just disagreeing with the posted claim that it was an absolute success and was economically good for the city. From what I've read this was not the case.
Good for the city and profitable are not mutually exclusive.
The Baltimore Grand Prix took place on a weekend which would normally not have had much tourism in Baltimore. Hotels around the city, which normally would have had completely empty rooms, were booked solid. Restaurants sold lots of food that they otherwise would not have. Generally, road racing has an upper echelon type of clientele attached to it, so perhaps even the local Rolex dealer saw some action that weekend that would not have otherwise occurred.
THAT is how B-more GP was good for B-more. Who cares if the promoters made money, the city made money.
The city made almost 500 million. That would be in taxes and fees. The surrounding shops had a boom. BWI saw increased traffic from international visitors.
As for the event it self it was a success in so far as it sold over 100 thousand tickets. People came in droves. Even IRL was surprised at the attendance.
Now the promoters may have not made money but they never do the first year. The subsequent years you trim down on waste and logistic impasses and that when you turn a profit.
Yep. And if the event happened by dropping out of the sky, life would have been spiffy. It didn't. Many months of infrastructure upgrades and such took place. That wasn't pretty. It cost a lot and hurt many folk.
I'm not at all against it and I'd like to see it again. But it wasn't all rose petals and wine.
foxtrapper wrote: Yep. And if the event happened by dropping out of the sky, life would have been spiffy. It didn't. Many months of infrastructure upgrades and such took place. That wasn't pretty. It cost a lot and hurt many folk. I'm not at all against it and I'd like to see it again. But it wasn't all rose petals and wine.
Again, now that those infrastructure upgrades are done, they could have been amortized over the 5 or so years that the event would have run, and the city would have been even farther ahead.
Maroon92 wrote: Who cares if the promoters made money, the city made money.
If the promoter didn't make money, why would they do it again? For an even to be successful, all parties must make a business case for it.
WTOP.com said: Friday - 12/30/2011, 7:15pm ET SARAH BRUMFIELD Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore terminated its contract with the organizers of the Baltimore Grand Prix on Friday and opened the door to having another group continue the race in future years. The city had warned last month that it would terminate its contract with Baltimore Racing Development after the first year of the five-year pact if the group failed to pay $1.5 million owed to the city by the end of the year. The city is interested in making the Grand Prix a yearly event, and it noted in a statement that it can now move forward with others that have expressed interest in organizing races. While Friday's move leaves Baltimore without an operator for the race, the INDYCAR series has already added a Labor Day event in Baltimore to its calendar for next year. The inaugural event on Labor Day weekend drew about 160,000 spectators over three days to the 2-mile, 13-turn course on city streets that ran past the Inner Harbor and around Oriole Park at Camden Yards. IndyCar and the American Le Mans series headlined the event, which also featured races from three other leagues. BRD was responsible for organizing and promoting the event, from bringing in fencing to line the course to selling sponsorships and tickets to fans. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she had hoped BRD would restructure and start paying its debts by the city's Saturday deadline, but the group's leaders failed to take steps to put the company on a sustainable path. "The Grand Prix generated $47 million in economic impact and proved valuable in terms of positive media exposure and civic pride for Baltimore's residents," Rawlings-Blake said. "The event, if conducted responsibly, has significant economic value to potential investors and the City this year and in future years." The state Comptroller's Office, which collects taxes for local jurisdictions, filed a lien against BRD's property last month for nearly $600,000 in unpaid taxes, and it was still in place earlier this week. BRD is facing lawsuits from investors and vendors. Organizers had said they did not expect the event to be profitable in its first year, but former BRD CEO Jay Davidson has said the event showed that it could ultimately be profitable. BRD officials could not be reached for comment Friday. INDYCAR respects the city's decision and is optimistic that Baltimore will find a new promoter for the event, said Sarah Davis, senior director for business affairs at INDYCAR. "We will do what we can to help the city identify who that is," she said. Sean Conley of West Tisbury, Mass., a founding investor in the group who recently filed a complaint in court seeking payment for the shares he sold back to BRD, was saddened by the news of the termination. "I hope for Baltimore's sake it can continue because it's a great event," Conley said. "I'm just sorry that the company that we founded couldn't get it together." The Grand Prix can be a good investment if run properly, and Conley said he would be interested if he weren't broke from his losses with BRD. But the city may need to adjust its stance, he said. "City officials may have to restructure their expectations. No other community demands to be subsidized by the event," he said. "Other communities give money." (Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Is that what we're talking about? I hope they get it worked out, it was a fun a weekend and it was nice to see motorsports (other than drag racing) in Maryland.
Maybe Jay Lamm can bring LeMons to Baltimore... the city should clear at least a cool $1.34 after cleaning up the oil spills.
bravenrace wrote:Maroon92 wrote: Who cares if the promoters made money, the city made money.If the promoter didn't make money, why would they do it again? For an even to be successful, all parties must make a business case for it.
You do it again to gain you money back and make more over the long term. You have to look at this as 1, 5 year deal not 5, 1 year deals.
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