Bristol grandstands OUUUUUCH!!!!!!

hidesert cowboy

hidesert cowboy

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holy crap did you notice how terrible the attendance was for the race?? I bet they were lucky to have 85,000 people there. bruton has to be crying now. The race to me looked like it was run the next day after being rained out it was that bad. the backstrech setting was dang near empty. what is the deal the place still puts on a better race than 75% of tracks out there. The drama seems to have been brought back, with tony throwing a helmet and joey well lets just call it mad for joey.
 
NASCAR is not nearly as popular as it once was. TV ratings will tell you that as well. I still enjoyed the race though, and if I get an opportunity to go to Bristol I won't hesitate to jump on it.
 
If the crowd is down , it will come back with this weeks exciting racing . I expect the fall race will be way up. Plus it was rainy and cold.
 
Well after today's race I don't think there will be a problem going forward but the spring race has always lagged behind the night race. I just ordered my night race tickets tonight based solely of the race I saw today.

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That's where I'll be sitting. Right next to the suite support pole!
 
I agree that a bad crowd at bristol is a good crowd normally at other tracks, but when the crowd is just about half full, thats not a good crowd even at california. I thought the race was good. again I cite tire fall off not being a factor again. I am telling you guys something has been done to the tires on these cars. brad k was leading the race and ran his fastest laps of the race on OLD tires when he stayed out.

lets also keep in mind that bristol up until they put down new concrete was sold out for years ahead of time. we have went from that to maybe just over half full?? thats a big time fall from grace and one that is costing the track huge money.
 
Bristol seats 180,000, so if she's half full, 90,000 people will be there. That is 15,000 more than would be at Chicagoland at full capacity.

I do hear that Bristol is the worst with re: hotel pricing. Little dirt bag motels in the middle of nowhere Tennessee that charge $15 per night the rest of the year charge $300 per night two weekends out of the year. I wouldn't be crazy about paying NASCAR rates for a roach motel either. I haven't been to Bristol, but this is what I hear from people who have gone.
 
JimmieGordon2448 said:
Who cares, nfl fans don't complain about ratings and attendence, baseball fans, don't complain. Not sure why Nascar fans complain about everything Nascar
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Actually, baseball fans do complain. I used to be a regular member on a baseball forum. Everybody is constantly complaining about attendance in cities like Tampa and Kansas City. And when World Series TV ratings come around, everybody cries about how they're lower than the year before and baseball must be dead.

As for NASCAR fans, I think we're all spoiled by the NASCAR boom years of 2001-2005 when everything was crazy.
 
Attendance has many factors gas prices is a big one, the overall economic conditions it's a fact most people have less to spend on entertainment. Also another big factor most people don't talk about is being able to take off work to go racing. Some people fear losing their job if they miss work. As well as the racing excitement. Also most people now have HD at home and that has also caused more people to just stay home and watch.

I know I couldn't go to any races last year due to not enough money to afford the tickets and my job was a little dicey as well. I wanted to go several races and normally I've attended at least one cup race every year since 1994 most years three races.

I now work for myself so the boss can't fire me now and I'm making much better money so I can now afford the ticket prices.

So this year I'm back on track to attend three races this year. Bristol night race and both Dega races.
 
NASCAR and Bruton ought to seriously consider moving this race to a later date. For years it was run on the 1st Sunday in April, but now the Spring Bristol race is technically the Winter Bristol race, and the colder weather probably does have an effect on attendance. There are other factors as well though, such as gouged hotel prices, not much else to do in the area, and ticket prices that are higher than a lot of other tracks.
 
I wish they had the race on June 9th. That would be perfect for me. That will be an off weekend from our racing schedule, and as soon as we are done racing in Englishtown NJ on June 2nd then I will be going straight to Bristol and hanging out until our June 14-16 Bristol race. The weekend after our Bristol race wouldn't work, because we will be in Epping NH. Oh well at least it's fun thinking about the fun I could have had if all the dates fell in the right place.;):D
 
Matthew2470 said:
Didn't notice due to not being about to take my eyes off the racing action.
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Agreed. But I first noticed the crowd after a few lengthy shots from a bumper cam. (Which, by the way, really allowed me to study the front ends of the different makes of cars.)


I would describe the crowd as densely sparse. Wish I was there, though.
 
Even Kenny Wallace commented on the high cost of hotel rooms ,he paid $450.00 a night.
 
my $ says there were at least 110,000 + been to many races there, in the past 4 or 5 years spring is never a full as the fall race but you got to consider that place holds 165,000 people. the attendance was up considerably over last year

however i remember a time when there wasn't an empty seat in the house for ANY race at BMS !
 
"Does it matter?" is a legitimate question. I don't think it does. The cost to attend an event has skyrocketed over the last 10 years, and there are many things that could be done to improve attendance.

Bruton would rather maximize his profits .
 
ToyYoda said:
NASCAR and Bruton ought to seriously consider moving this race to a later date. For years it was run on the 1st Sunday in April, but now the Spring Bristol race is technically the Winter Bristol race, and the colder weather probably does have an effect on attendance. There are other factors as well though, such as gouged hotel prices, not much else to do in the area, and ticket prices that are higher than a lot of other tracks.
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what else do you need when your going to the race ? outside a place to sleep and a place to eat. as for cold you got that right the spring race is a coin toss iv'e actuall went to the busch race on a monday mornin because it was postponed for SNOW on sat. also been when it was in the 70's
 
Attendance is down at most tracks but it's even more obvious at a place like Bristol. It will probably stay that way as long as Bruton Smith owns the track.
 
Attendance at the spring race started dropping off when the moved this race to an earlier date. This race needs to be moved back to May.
 
I have said time and time again..Bristol ticket prices are still a lil too high...just my opinion...
 
Gordon_Fan24 said:
I have said time and time again..Bristol ticket prices are still a lil too high...just my opinion...
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I looked at going in August and the hotel prices are still way too high. Paying $300+per night for a room that normally goes for $110 is just not something I am willing to do.
 
It's a combination of things. Gas prices, lodging, tickets. If you can afford to take time off work,,that's if you have a job. I see the fan base dropping as the old fans are either getting fed up with the direction Nascar is going or dying off. Young people just don't appear to be interested.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I wish they had the race on June 9th. That would be perfect for me. That will be an off weekend from our racing schedule, and as soon as we are done racing in Englishtown NJ on June 2nd then I will be going straight to Bristol and hanging out until our June 14-16 Bristol race. The weekend after our Bristol race wouldn't work, because we will be in Epping NH. Oh well at least it's fun thinking about the fun I could have had if all the dates fell in the right place.;):D
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Man you got it rough.:D
 
Smoke14 said:
Attendance at the spring race started dropping off when the moved this race to an earlier date. This race needs to be moved back to May.
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i've been going to BMS since 1967 and i my be getting senile but i dont ever remember the race being in May
 
Attendance is down for lots of reasons. Hotel prices, high ticket prices (don't offer very many discounts), time of the year. Anf questionable weather for this year's race didn't help either.

I live in Knoxville, but was fortunate enough to get a media pass for this year's race. I went up Friday, but chose not to go Saturday to cut out a day of driving. I wanted to go Saturday and just stay somewhere close by. But the hotel prices are ridiculous. If Bruton wants to get his attendance back up, he needs buy and/or build a bunch of hotels in the area so he can control the rates. The track has tried to work with them, but the hotel won't cooperate.

The race date also needs to be moved to the first of April where it used to be.
 
Like retail stores who make the majority of their profit in Christmas sales I wouldn't doubt some hotel/motels make theirs on race weekends, especially the roach motels. Then there's the basic greed factor to figure in.Why take $70 a night when you can get $170? Or even $270?
 
GYRO CAM!!!!!!!.................live leader boards, action box during commercials, commentation you can hear, crap I even have a swell of internet goodies to go along with this great TV content. Why on earth would I go live andmiss anything :) Well I do enjoy the sound and the smell wow it's toxic, but gas prices, hotel prices, boss needing me more and more, and finally food wow to fill my fridge right now is insane, watching millionaires race live is the least of my worries.
 
Last year the wife was off work for spring break and we went to the Bristol race but due to time resteaints we couldnt pull the RV so in the first week of November I booked a room online at the Hampton Inn in Bristol for the regular rate of $129 a night for a single king bed and all of the amenities expected at a Hampton Inn. The secret was I booked early enough that they had not updated their computers for the spring race and the race teams had not booked their rooms yet and there were a lot of teams staying there. We left for the track early each day to browse around the track, no parking or crowd problems and had a helluva good time. We'll pull the RV next time.
 
All kinds of legitmate reason listed. Gas prices, hotel price gouging, food, the cost of the tickets themselves. All real reasons, but also add in that the racing over the last few years has been pretty boring at the place. But I think, given the quality of racing yesterday, there will be more butts in the seats come the fall race.
 
VaDirt said:
All kinds of legitmate reason listed. Gas prices, hotel price gouging, food, the cost of the tickets themselves. All real reasons, but also add in that the racing over the last few years has been pretty boring at the place. But I think, given the quality of racing yesterday, there will be more butts in the seats come the fall race.
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Agreed! After watching a great race on TV, I have the feeling that there will be a huge turnout for the (always spectacular) night race! But the number of empty grandstand seats for Sunday's race was quite noticable.
 
I just got back from three of the best races ever @ Bristol. There's nothing that anyone can conjure up in their home viewing that mirrors or comes close to the track experience. If the races that were held there this past Saturday afternoon, early evening & Sunday aren't enough to get people through the gates I don't know what will. If anyone didn't like what they saw this past weekend it's time to look for a new sport.

As far as the attendance goes..... Last year there were 102,000 in the stands for the spring race. This year it wasn't even close to that. Saturday's crowd was way down as well. The camping turnout was way down compared to years gone by. Kinda sad but it's a sign of the times. It's expensive to attend one of these events. Fewer and fewer each year are able to do so.
 
Gordon_Fan24 said:
I have said time and time again..Bristol ticket prices are still a lil too high...just my opinion...
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I don't think the ticket prices are out of line with other tracks. It's the rates at nearby hotels that get me, but good rates are available if you're willing to travel 90 minutes or so. Asheville rocks.
 
Contactpatch said:
GYRO CAM!!!!!!!.................live leader boards, action box during commercials, commentation you can hear, crap I even have a swell of internet goodies to go along with this great TV content. Why on earth would I go live andmiss anything :) Well I do enjoy the sound and the smell wow it's toxic, but gas prices, hotel prices, boss needing me more and more, and finally food wow to fill my fridge right now is insane, watching millionaires race live is the least of my worries.
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I need that occasional live race a couple of times a year to remind me why I'm watching it on TV the rest of the time. :cool:
 
de7xwcc said:
what else do you need when your going to the race ? outside a place to sleep and a place to eat. as for cold you got that right the spring race is a coin toss iv'e actuall went to the busch race on a monday mornin because it was postponed for SNOW on sat. also been when it was in the 70's
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Food and lodging may be enough for some people, but many families build their vacations around these races, and like to do stuff other than the race. I think Bristol being in the middle of nowhere contributes to the hotel price gouging as well. It goes on everywhere, but is a little less pronounced at tracks that are near large metropolitan areas. I went to the race at Chicagoland a few years ago, and got a Ramada 20 miles from the track for 70 bucks a night. I heard that this weekend at Bristol, even some of the biggest fleabag motels were going north of $200 a night.
 
de7xwcc said:
i've been going to BMS since 1967 and i my be getting senile but i dont ever remember the race being in May
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It wasn't in May, it was two weeks later in the year than it is now and the weather was much better. They need to move the spring race to May and make it a night race is what I meant.
 
Like I said, an age old NASCAR strategy. They've moved both Martinsville dates to some of the worst weather weekends imaginable and they moved the Bristol race up. When this happened several years ago (2003, 2004?"), there was a lot of talk (especially on the NASCAR forums and stuff) about whether it was being done to tank attendance so the races could be moved to bigger tracks in bigger markets. This was around the same time the Southern 500 was pushed back to November before it was removed from the schedule - and this was around the time there was talk about racetracks in Seattle and Denver.

Now, NASCAR's paying the price because those 150,000 seat stadiums are only going to get 50,000 fans.
 
Bobw said:
It's a combination of things. Gas prices, lodging, tickets. If you can afford to take time off work,,that's if you have a job. I see the fan base dropping as the old fans are either getting fed up with the direction Nascar is going or dying off. Young people just don't appear to be interested.
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Oh were interested. There's a solid young fan base who have been fans since they were toddlers. They are passing it on to their kids and so on. I introduced my family to it at a young age and atleast made them casual fans.

As far as Bristol, I've dreamed of going forever but time and money make it unfathomable.. Oh well someday maybe
 
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