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CoTA sounds like it sucks

Updawg

By Updawg
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wood

wood 11272

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18 minutes ago, skittlebrau said:

I’ve done the last four. I’m going to actually prepare one of these years.

Yeah when I used to do the R4R 100 mile rides, I always cramped for about the last 15 miles despite a good bit of prep. Hammy cramp on the upstroke, quads on the downstroke. Fun. I'd just keep riding because I knew if I got off the bike I wouldn't be able to get back on it. Probably not the best idea in retrospect.

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Deej
Deej

Maybe if they hadn't been so busy trying to shut down MLS moving to Austin, they would have caught that?

Hawndoh
Hawndoh

I'm pretty sure it's some kind of race track equivalent to the plot of "The Producers".  I almost expect them to stage Springtime for Hitler at the amphitheater. 

relapse98
relapse98

The pace car was the other thousand of people. This thing was well run, I was amazed. Their map had you come in 812 from 130, through Lot A, Tunnel1, through garages onto pit road and track and exi

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utee94

utee94 15865

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At COTA it's just a completely inadequate preparation of staff, both in quantity and training.  

It took an hour to get out of the parking lot for the Foo Fighters concert last week.  It was no big deal because I expected it and planned for it (meaning, I had a well-stocked cooler), but as an engineer that's been focused on operational efficiency my entire life, it's really painful to watch them do almost every single thing, completely wrong.

 

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skipperj

skipperj 377

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For concerts, seems like there are long lines to get into the parking lot from every direction except east. Probably depends on when you get there. We got there kind of late for Foo as I was waiting for my daughter to get home from some after school thing.

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skittlebrau

skittlebrau 474

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Although the weather was great, the parks were open, and the overnight camps were festive, we acknowledge that the new finish line presented significant challenges. Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience and frustration. We pride ourselves in providing an outstanding event experience, so we are devastated that the new finish line was not seamlessly executed for our event participants, volunteers, supporters and spectators despite our best efforts. We acknowledge the difficulties you and your team experienced, and your feedback is critical. We want to hear from you and include you in the plans for 2019.  

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wood

wood 11272

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17 hours ago, skittlebrau said:

Although the weather was great, the parks were open, and the overnight camps were festive, we acknowledge that the new finish line presented significant challenges. Please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience and frustration. We pride ourselves in providing an outstanding event experience, so we are devastated that the new finish line was not seamlessly executed for our event participants, volunteers, supporters and spectators despite our best efforts. We acknowledge the difficulties you and your team experienced, and your feedback is critical. We want to hear from you and include you in the plans for 2019.  

Wow. So, I read what you posted earlier about it, but what were the big problems for other folks? Sounds like failure on a massive scale if COTA actually issued an apology.

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ScottS

ScottS 1075

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14 minutes ago, skittlebrau said:

In my email.

Okay.  I haven't seen an email from the MS Society since the ride, much less one with that apology or any kind of acknowledgement that things at the finish line were, shall we say, less than optimal.

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Atxracer

Atxracer 797

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They usually don’t advertise it but most of the DE events that are held out there will do single days for $500.  You usually get 4 or 5 20-30 minute sessions.  Main ones I know of are:

www.thedriversedge.net 

www.mvptracktime.com

www.edgeaddicts.com

 

 

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skittlebrau

skittlebrau 474

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CoTA seems that way even when dealing with competing soccer proposals. Like putting misleading research out in the field.

https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2018/06/survey-finds-soccer-stadium-concerns-alternative-development-proposals-on-tap/

 

In an interview with the Austin Monitor, Spataro disclosed that she performs property tax consulting work for Circuit of the Americas, which is set to be the home site for a United Soccer League team in 2019 and would compete for the dollars of soccer fans if a Major League Soccer franchise also moved to Austin.

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wood

wood 11272

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7 minutes ago, skittlebrau said:

CoTA seems that way even when dealing with competing soccer proposals. Like putting misleading research out in the field.

https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2018/06/survey-finds-soccer-stadium-concerns-alternative-development-proposals-on-tap/

 

In an interview with the Austin Monitor, Spataro disclosed that she performs property tax consulting work for Circuit of the Americas, which is set to be the home site for a United Soccer League team in 2019 and would compete for the dollars of soccer fans if a Major League Soccer franchise also moved to Austin.

Yeah, did you see my post on this in the Austin FC thread? Don't get me started...again. These guys are shameless.

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skittlebrau

skittlebrau 474

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5 hours ago, wood said:

Yeah, did you see my post on this in the Austin FC thread? Don't get me started...again. These guys are shameless.

Guess who showed up at Gracywoods HOA meeting tonight (that both CMs Pool and Alter attended) with some very questionable “facts” about MLS attendance, land valuation and tax benefits of other uses of the McKalla Place site?

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wood

wood 11272

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1 hour ago, skittlebrau said:

Guess who showed up at Gracywoods HOA meeting tonight (that both CMs Pool and Alter attended) with some very questionable “facts” about MLS attendance, land valuation and tax benefits of other uses of the McKalla Place site?

Definitely Susan Spataro, and maybe Maggie Gomez and Ron Wattinger, even though that's way across the county from them.

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wood

wood 11272

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& they apparently also wanna do a 'residential' site in the infield along the back straight. Surely the city needs to demand rail, affordable housing, use of the track by amateurs, etc, before approving this kind of thing, right? Right?

This Car-Centric Real Estate Development Overlooks a Formula 1 Track in Austin https://robbreport.com/shelter/new-construction/forza-race-track-development-in-austin-2811311/#utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=social_bar&utm_content=top&utm_id=2811311

20180808-exterior-render.jpg?w=660

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wood

wood 11272

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5 hours ago, utee94 said:

There is zero chance any of that happens.  

But that doesn't mean they won't somehow ruin the best viewing spots anyway.

Ya think? I mean I'm skeptical too, but I'm curious why you think so too...

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utee94

utee94 15865

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Requires way too much "put-togetherness" from the team.  Red's not on board any longer, and neither are other key power brokers from the original team.  At this point, there's an established history of the current team not only failing to make any positive improvements, but also failing to perform simple basic maintenance.  If I'm being asked to invest tens of millions, I'm going to look at the history, and I'm either going to laugh in amusement, or tremble in fear.

Plus, it's a poor business plan with very little chance at positive ROI even under the best circumstances. 

Don't get me wrong-- I actually like that they're trying to do something innovative in order to utilize the property to better capacity, but this isn't it.

Like I've said all along, it's a race track.  The focus ALWAYS should have been on getting more races. And. you know... PROMOTING them. 

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wood

wood 11272

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lol...

So, We’re Just Building Condo Towers at Circuit of the Americas Now, Huh? Weird! https://austin.towers.net/so-were-just-building-condo-towers-at-circuit-of-the-americas-now-huh/

Quote

 

...

The article, though not super long, gets increasingly bizarre as it goes — let’s just dig into a few sequential paragraphs, where there is so much going on that I’m not sure where to begin:

Quote

“The four-tower development will house around 150 units (including 10 penthouses). Some residences offer views of up to 18 of the 20 track turns for an unforgettable viewing experience, and the penthouses come with private infinity pools and balconies. Ranging from 2,000 square feet to 6,500 square feet, the townhomes and penthouses showcase two- to four-car glass garages that allow residents to proudly display their supercars.”

Okay. 

Quote

“Residents can access their homes through elevators located in the drive-in lobby and parking structure (which was inspired by the Porsche Museum). Onsite amenities include a fitness center, a full-service spa, cigar lounges, restaurants, an observatory, three helipads, rooftop bars, and, fittingly, a car-themed arcade. The infinity pool deck offers panoramic views of 12 of the track’s turns, allowing residents to cheer on their favorite drivers in utmost comfort.”

Ah, yes. An observatory and three helipads. Wouldn’t want to be caught with only two!

Quote

“Perhaps best of all, residents and Forza Elite Car Club members will have access to the development’s fleet of more than 40 supercars (including Lamborghini Huracan Performantes and Ferrari 488s). After having their driving abilities assessed by onsite experts, members will be given free reign to drive themselves and passengers on the track. Sixty track days have been reserved for members, and trackside maintenance and servicing will be available.”

Hmmmmmm. I’ve decided I have questions. For one thing, is this real? While trying to figure that out, I actually managed to dig up a development assessment application with the city from a few months ago discussing a Circuit of the Americas PUD, which would bring a huge push of mixed-use development to the land around the Formula One track. Here’s a selection from part of the application, describing size and usage — and yes, that number is 1,037 acres or 45 million square feet of potential development area:


Haha, they spelled it “wharehouse.” Image: City of Austin

But there are, as you might imagine, more mysteries. For example, what’s the story with Forza-COTA Ventures LLC? This entity, partnered with COTA for the Forza development, is associated with Kamran Nezami — a former stockbroker, pharmaceutical investor, and “healthcare trailblazer,” complete with an inexplicable, seemingly self-published “unauthorized” biography and swiftly-deleted Wikipedia bio that he may or may not have written himself. Weird!

Still, there’s an awful lot of money behind the scenes at COTA, so it’s not entirely ridiculous to think something like this might get built — it’s just really, really hard to see these renderings and read the words “waterpark,” “helipads,” and “observatory” without immediately thinking “vaporware.”  

 

 

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elfenix

elfenix 34334

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Posted

now confirmed:

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nascar-auto-racing/texas-motor-speedway/article217012870.html

 

i wonder how territorial exclusivity worked - indycar put on some races in houston a few years back, and houston is closer to TMS than san antonio is.  maybe TMS didn't have an exclusivity clause at that time? 

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elfenix

elfenix 34334

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16 minutes ago, wood said:

Interesting that he specifically mentions IndyCar looking at San Antonio and says nothing about COTA.

as much as i'd like to see indycar at cota because cota needs to make some money, i'm not sure it'd be good for indycar to show just how much slower the current cars are than F1. 

toyota just dropped its support for long beach.  i wonder if that means toyota is out, or maybe toyota is shifting dollars to a san antonio race? 

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wood

wood 11272

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I hope the streets in SA are smoother than COTA is right now!

6 minutes ago, elfenix said:

as much as i'd like to see indycar at cota because cota needs to make some money, i'm not sure it'd be good for indycar to show just how much slower the current cars are than F1. 

toyota just dropped its support for long beach.  i wonder if that means toyota is out, or maybe toyota is shifting dollars to a san antonio race? 

Yeah I speculated about that Toyota connection with some guys on another board. Toyota's pretty huge in SA, so that could have some bearing on this thing. Who knows ... 

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wood

wood 11272

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Ruh roh ... 

Parking attendant allegedly sexually assaulted teen in COTA lot https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/parking-attendant-at-cota-allegedly-sexually-assaulted-teen/1409481004

Affidavit: Teenage girl raped by parking attendant after leaving concert at COTA https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/affidavit-teenage-girl-raped-by-parking-attendant-after-leaving-concert-at-cota

 

 

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wood

wood 11272

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1 hour ago, skittlebrau said:

“In competition” my ass.

Yeah I don't think there's any competition either, and I think Gossage is helping them set up the narrative that there is competition. 

And yeah, who knows re: the CC paying them back, but I'm not surprised tbh. They've approved it every single time COTA has needed their endorsement for the state money.

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