California Speedway Demo / Rebuild

This is the middle of nowhere.
No industry, no residential, no shopping, just woods..
Lots of woods...
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Even though the Coliseum is about 30 minutes closer for me to drive too, I would still vote to keep it at Fontana. I went to the first race at the Coliseum, and I do not have any desire to go back. I had to get there early in the morning to get a parking spot in the on grounds parking, and then sit in my car for about 6 hours until they let us in the gates. My other option was to park about a half mile to a mile away and pay $80 or more to park and then take a bus or shuttle to the Coliseum. I chose the first option. After they opened the gates there wasn't much to do while we waited another 3 or 4 hours before the cars were on the track. I didn't find the racing that exciting watching it in person either. I enjoyed it much more on tv the next few years.
 
Revman said:
I openly admit that the people I have talked to down there are a small sample size, but they are in the industry. When I asked about the short track, they just laughed. They were like at 0 in terms of optimism. I also think that The Clash is going another year as a stop gap until NASCAR truly answers the question.....Do we need to be in SoCal? I think it is a dumb question with an obvious answer.....but Riverside, Ontario, and now Fontana?
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Yes, you absolutely need to be in the second biggest market in the country and one of the epicenters of car culture.

But Riverside, Ontario, and Fontana are all at least an hour outside of LA. Go to Google Maps and look around, it's not really that close to LA. In a city with notoriously bad traffic, it's a tough sell to convince people who aren't diehards to make the drive out there. LA is a city with unparalleled entertainment options. The Coliseum makes sense because it's centrally located (and is even on a public transit line).
 
The Nature Boy said:
Yes, you absolutely need to be in the second biggest market in the country and one of the epicenters of car culture.

But Riverside, Ontario, and Fontana are all at least an hour outside of LA. Go to Google Maps and look around, it's not really that close to LA. In a city with notoriously bad traffic, it's a tough sell to convince people who aren't diehards to make the drive out there. LA is a city with unparalleled entertainment options. The Coliseum makes sense because it's centrally located (and is even on a public transit line).
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It might be the second biggest market. Nascar heads say it is the largest market, but on any given day there are so many unrelated events going on that day competing with a Nascar race in that huge metropolis that it is no wonder about the lack of attendance. Another factor is finding a place in the whole state that is less populated with the infrastructure to support another track and with the blessing of the locals in the area.

The California track turned into a white elephant, a black hole of expenses. The short track in the same spot is about the best of a bad situation, Make it nice, really fan friendly, supposed to be shopping, and drinking spots in the mall like area, maybe decent parking one can hope. :idunno:
 
Magicmiler said:
Nothing.
Just like the Texas,Martinsville, Kentucky and various other tracks mentioned. Some are in congested areas, and some aren't. I didn't mean to derail Your thread...
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I can’t think of anything further from LA than Martinsville, VA
 
The Nature Boy said:
Yes, you absolutely need to be in the second biggest market in the country and one of the epicenters of car culture.

But Riverside, Ontario, and Fontana are all at least an hour outside of LA. Go to Google Maps and look around, it's not really that close to LA. In a city with notoriously bad traffic, it's a tough sell to convince people who aren't diehards to make the drive out there. LA is a city with unparalleled entertainment options. The Coliseum makes sense because it's centrally located (and is even on a public transit line).
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I firmly believe either the Los Angeles Coliseum or Long Beach is THE answer for NASCAR in the LA market.
 
It's crazy to see them actually tearing down the grandstands and not disassembling them. Whoever wants this land wants it FAST. Crazy to think NASCAR raced there 10 months ago and now most of the non-saved property is just dirt with no sign of anything ever being there.

If anything, Riverside, Ontario, and now Auto Club proves NASCAR SHOULD be in SoCal. The land values these speedways are on is tremendous! Build a track, tear it down in 20 years, double your profit just on real estate! o_O
 
The Nature Boy said:
Yes, you absolutely need to be in the second biggest market in the country and one of the epicenters of car culture.

But Riverside, Ontario, and Fontana are all at least an hour outside of LA. Go to Google Maps and look around, it's not really that close to LA. In a city with notoriously bad traffic, it's a tough sell to convince people who aren't diehards to make the drive out there. LA is a city with unparalleled entertainment options. The Coliseum makes sense because it's centrally located (and is even on a public transit line).
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Fontana, Ontario, and Riverside is close enough to LA. I have been to 12 or 13 races in Fontana, and many of those I coupled with time in LA. Fontana was a great location IMO.....and if that property is worth 500 million, can you imagine what property would be closer to LA? The Coliseum will not be a points paying real race IMO. ...but who knows?
 
Well I was optimistic about this track being turned into a short track until I saw the front stretch grandstands being torn down, I thought I remember in the initial release that it was said the front stretch stands weren’t going to be touched. This short track might not be happening after all, I’ve been bamboozled!
 
Speedbowl14 said:
It's crazy to see them actually tearing down the grandstands and not disassembling them. Whoever wants this land wants it FAST. Crazy to think NASCAR raced there 10 months ago and now most of the non-saved property is just dirt with no sign of anything ever being there.

If anything, Riverside, Ontario, and now Auto Club proves NASCAR SHOULD be in SoCal. The land values these speedways are on is tremendous! Build a track, tear it down in 20 years, double your profit just on real estate! o_O
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From a money standpoint its probably not worth disassembling them for what they can be resold for. You have to pay someone to take them down, pay someone to store them, pay someone to ship them to a new destination, then find someone that actually wants used seats
 
StandOnIt said:
The California track turned into a white elephant, a black hole of expenses. The short track in the same spot is about the best of a bad situation.
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Can you elaborate on that? What made it a black hole of expenses, and how does tearing down most of the old track and then building a 90% new track change the cost VS revenue number any?
 
Formerjackman said:
Can you elaborate on that? What made it a black hole of expenses, and how does tearing down most of the old track and then building a 90% new track change the cost VS revenue number any?
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Way less taxes, maintenance, upkeep, having more depreciation opportunities available, offsets with year round leasing in the retail space area And a huge windfall selling off part of the property.
 
StandOnIt said:
:idunno:
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"We will do what we want....when we want to do it.....and we will let you know when we want to tell you." Look, I get what they are doing....but to toy with a fanbase this way is an ass move. Just tell us what the ****** plan is....or tell us that Fontana is dead forever. I don't get into NASCAR's **** much, but this is elitist bull**** at its finest. "We have the greatest fans in the world!" Then treat them with respect damn it. Phelp's suit cost more than my trip to Fontana.
 
Revman said:
"We will do what we want....when we want to do it.....and we will let you know when we want to tell you." Look, I get what they are doing....but to toy with a fanbase this way is an ass move. Just tell us what the ****** plan is....or tell us that Fontana is dead forever. I don't get into NASCAR's **** much, but this is elitist bull**** at its finest. "We have the greatest fans in the world!" Then treat them with respect damn it. Phelp's suit cost more than my trip to Fontana.
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They do not have a plan. They are dumping a **** load of money tearing up the track though. It's come down to when hell freezes over OR when the short track program pleases everybody. Both have about the same chance of happening. But it does sound like they have some pretty pictures.
 
Revman said:
Long Beach. Please. Please. Please.
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Oh God no. Long Beach is a social event, not a race. If we can't get people to watch or attend our product for the product itself, then let's just close the whole thing down and forget it.
 
StandOnIt said:
Way less taxes, maintenance, upkeep, having more depreciation opportunities available, offsets with year round leasing in the retail space area And a huge windfall selling off part of the property.
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Possibly, but you are dumping a huge amount of money back into what we must assume is a paid off property. With the relatively modest seating we would expect, it would take a LONG time to recoup that investment. A lot of costs are relatively fixed too, regardless of facility size, so I'm going to guess that the cost savings are going to be somewhat less than you would expect. The sale of the real estate is the only real windfall I see, and if you are NASCAR, what are you really in business for? Holding sporting events, or speculating in real estate? As long as the property isn't an actual major drain on the company, I wouldn't even consider selling it off. One of the sayings we go by at the company I work for is that we NEVER have too many employees, we don't have enough CUSTOMERS. Put out a product that fills those grandstands, and the facility will pay for itself, regardless of size.
 
We will likely have to wait for IndyCar to finish dying before Long Beach is an actual opportunity anyway. Both F1 and NASCAR have tried to take that event over in the past and been rebuffed.
 
I believe that Nascar has been looking long and hard to find either a place or a municipality and hasn't found anything that works easily in California. Plenty of dirt tracks in Cali that I bet would fall all over themselves to host a Nascar race. Doesn't have to be Cup fans, Xfinity or Trucks would work just fine.
 
Formerjackman said:
Possibly, but you are dumping a huge amount of money back into what we must assume is a paid off property. With the relatively modest seating we would expect, it would take a LONG time to recoup that investment. A lot of costs are relatively fixed too, regardless of facility size, so I'm going to guess that the cost savings are going to be somewhat less than you would expect. The sale of the real estate is the only real windfall I see, and if you are NASCAR, what are you really in business for? Holding sporting events, or speculating in real estate? As long as the property isn't an actual major drain on the company, I wouldn't even consider selling it off. One of the sayings we go by at the company I work for is that we NEVER have too many employees, we don't have enough CUSTOMERS. Put out a product that fills those grandstands, and the facility will pay for itself, regardless of size.
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The “windfall” was $559 Million.

Every single significant expense is tied directly to the size of the facility.

What else you got?
 
StandOnIt said:
I believe that Nascar has been looking long and hard to find either a place or a municipality and hasn't found anything that works easily in California. Plenty of dirt tracks in Cali that I bet would fall all over themselves to host a Nascar race. Doesn't have to be Cup fans, Xfinity or Trucks would work just fine.
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I mean....Sonoma seems fine with NASCAR. 🤷‍♂️
 
There’s a perfectly good short track called the LA Coliseum for 3 seasons now has been content running in February. Run it as a 400 or 500 lap Bristol/Martinsville race with maybe heats or something in an altered format to cut the field size down to 28 or 32.

Why waste money on a track in Fontana when you can spend that $$$ in Seattle, Denver, or a unique Southern market like New Orleans.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I'm not fond of that layout. I've watched ten or twelve races from there, Indy and IMSA, and enjoyed only one. Just me, I guess.
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Worth a try I think....I respect where you are coming from however.
 
Revman said:
Worth a try I think....I respect where you are coming from however.
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I don't know if there's pit space for 40 cars. IMSA doesn't run all classes. LB may not be able to work a Cup race into the schedule, or may not be interested at all.

Still, it would better than another pack race. At least the attendees are more likely to be there to watch racing and not sideshows.
 
racingfan7 said:
There’s a perfectly good short track called the LA Coliseum for 3 seasons now has been content running in February. Run it as a 400 or 500 lap Bristol/Martinsville race with maybe heats or something in an altered format to cut the field size down to 28 or 32.

Why waste money on a track in Fontana when you can spend that $$$ in Seattle, Denver, or a unique Southern market like New Orleans.
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Please do not, cup cars should not be running on any track that is less than a half mile.
 
For all of you that are advocating for them to keep the race at the coliseum, here is a link to the info for you to purchase your tickets for 2024. Make sure to wave and I will wave back if I see you on the tv. :D

NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash 2024 - Los Angeles Coliseum

NASCAR CUP SERIES AND NASCAR MEXICO SERIES RACE EVENTS HAVE BEEN MOVED TO SATURDAY NIGHT Due to the threat of unprecedented severe weather on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Mexico Series race events for the Clash have been moved to Saturday night. Thanks to the Los Angeles Memorial...
www.lacoliseum.com www.lacoliseum.com
 
Nitro Dude said:
For all of you that are advocating for them to keep the race at the coliseum, here is a link to the info for you to purchase your tickets for 2024. Make sure to wave and I will wave back if I see you on the tv. :D

NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash 2024 - Los Angeles Coliseum

NASCAR CUP SERIES AND NASCAR MEXICO SERIES RACE EVENTS HAVE BEEN MOVED TO SATURDAY NIGHT Due to the threat of unprecedented severe weather on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Mexico Series race events for the Clash have been moved to Saturday night. Thanks to the Los Angeles Memorial...
www.lacoliseum.com www.lacoliseum.com
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I clicked on that and explored seating options just for fun. A lot less left than I would’ve thought. Probably because no Fontana this year. They may sell it out.
 
Nitro Dude said:
For all of you that are advocating for them to keep the race at the coliseum, here is a link to the info for you to purchase your tickets for 2024. Make sure to wave and I will wave back if I see you on the tv. :D

NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash 2024 - Los Angeles Coliseum

NASCAR CUP SERIES AND NASCAR MEXICO SERIES RACE EVENTS HAVE BEEN MOVED TO SATURDAY NIGHT Due to the threat of unprecedented severe weather on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Mexico Series race events for the Clash have been moved to Saturday night. Thanks to the Los Angeles Memorial...
www.lacoliseum.com www.lacoliseum.com
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I passed the link along to a friend in the area and he bought a couple of tickets. 😁
 
The Nature Boy said:
I passed the link along to a friend in the area and he bought a couple of tickets. 😁
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Awesome, then my time posting it was well worth it. Just because I have been there and wasn't impressed doesn't mean others won't enjoy it. Hopefully they can find a decent place to park and have a fun day at the races. If you talk to him after the event let me know how they liked it and if they plan on going back.
 
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