Business in Racing: Bad news for tracks, good news for fans?

By Erik Spanberg
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Fans head into the track for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race. (LaDon George / NASCAR Scene)

Fans head into the track for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

LaDon George
NASCAR Scene

Related stories: Ticket prices and merchandise sales among ISC priorities as revenues drop

COMMENTARY

Bad news for tracks may be good news for fans.

International Speedway Corp., the largest track operator in NASCAR, offered some sobering results during its third-quarter earnings call with financial analysts.

Company executives confirmed what can be seen at almost any NASCAR event these days: fewer fans and more empty seats. The trend began before the recession but accelerated after the economy soured.

Now, ISC is fighting through the lean times with promotions, incentives and discounted ticket prices. Company executives made it clear that fans should expect to be wooed with even more enticements in 2010.

“We need to be creative and aggressive in getting our fans to purchase tickets and if possible getting them to purchase the tickets sooner,” said John Saunders, International Speedway president.

The company owns or operates 13 tracks and controls 54 percent of the Sprint Cup race dates, including the Daytona 500. Discounts in 2009 have led to an overall 2 percent drop in prices for Sprint Cup races at ISC tracks this year.

Ticket prices next season are expected to drop by another 3 to 5 percent, on average. In total, the company expects to have lower prices on 500,000 seats, representing about one-third of the company’s tickets.

Blame for the sluggish sales falls on a familiar foe: the economy. Track operators say fans are waiting much closer to race day to make buying decisions. Advanced sales — those made more than three or four weeks before a race — have declined by 25 to 30 percent at ISC through the company’s first three quarters. And the company expects a similar response from fans next year, too.

It’s a trend companies such as ISC and rival Speedway Motorsports Inc. dread for several reasons.

When fans wait longer to buy, they can be swayed more by weather and scheduling conflicts that may persuade them against buying tickets. For the track operators, advanced ticket sales can also mean less worry and lower costs for advertising and marketing blitzes.

To chip away at those problems, ISC is trying several things. The company has emphasized ticket renewal incentives to reward its most loyal customers — and keep them coming back.

Some of the offers include all-you-can-eat programs with the purchase of a ticket, gas cards, extended payment plans and other add-ons. To entice families, ISC has created kid-friendly offers such as half-price tickets for children 12 and under at Richmond and free general admission seats for kids at the company’s Michigan track.

One of the biggest challenges for sports leagues and teams is offering discounts and promotions aimed at boosting attendance without crippling prices to the point that fans begin waiting longer and longer to buy in hopes of finding an even better deal.

ISC believes it can avoid those pitfalls. Tracks won’t offer additional discounts as race day approaches, Saunders said. Instead, the company wants to make sure the best offers go to the loyal fans who come year after year and who renew their seats early. That could prove to be a test of discipline in 2010 as economists forecast continued unemployment problems and tight-fisted consumer spending.

Attendance woes hurt more than ticket revenue, of course. (International Speedway’s ticket revenue for the first three quarters of 2009 fell by 17 percent from 2008.) Fewer people means fewer cars paying to park, fewer T-shirts and hats sold and fewer people to eat and drink at the concession stands.

Those problems have been exacerbated by a drop in corporate spending, as well. Companies are under pressure to watch expenses and avoid glitzy client entertainment. The result has been fewer luxury suite rentals and less wining and dining at NASCAR races and other sporting events.

In other words, now more than ever, fans and companies can play let’s-make-a-deal when they’re thinking about a day at the races.

Comments

18 responses to "Business in Racing: Bad news for tracks, good news for fans? ". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    cathyrrooks said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 10:22 AM

    Bring the prices down more and the seats will fill up more. Stop the "Phantom Cautions" and more people will come and watch! NASCAR you are losing fans and you better listen to us!

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  2. 2
    JrsTheMan88 said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 10:55 AM

    Hey everyone, imagine how full the Grandstands would be if Nascar got rid of the COT! Now THAT will fill up the seats!

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  3. 3
    Hammer said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 12:45 PM

    The only reason NASCAR is taking these moves is to protect their pocketbooks. Their greedy marketing tactics of gouge-gouge-gouge the race fan has come back to haunt them.

    Their see all; know all attitude; you can't tell me anything; and who are you to question mighty NASCAR has come home to haunt them.

    Am I bitter? You bet! These greedy bas----s have ruined the sport. They can blame it on the economy; and it has had an effect; but the major problem is NASCAR and it's minions of staff folks.

    Just my opinion! You're entitled to yours.

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  4. 4
    dale said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 3:22 PM

    Hammer, maybe you should try understanding what you are talking about before posting, that and actually reading the article first. "NASCAR" is not making the changes. The article is referring to the tracks. NASCAR doesn't own the tracks. Of course it doesn't surprise me to see Cathy making the same mistake. Enough said on that topic.

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  5. 5
    kcysr said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 3:33 PM

    I$C and $mi could do somethings that would not cost them any money to help with ticket sales like reward long time ticket holders with preferred parking and allow them on the track before the race to see the prerace activites and to walk the track before the race all this would cost them zilch.For being a loyal ticket holder for over 25 years at Daytona I have been rewarded by taking a bus to and from the track and waiting in line for over an hour to get on it and getting in the track to be rewarded with the view of a 4 story eyesore the Daytona 500 club blocking my view of the racing so the real race fans can sit at the bar and play pool and darts during the Daytona 500.

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  6. 6
    jerryswiatek said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 3:35 PM

    Well dale, people go to the speedway to see a nascar race, what all are saying is that the show is not what it was once and the greedy people have ruined it, kinda like a good movie or bad one no matter what theatre it is in!

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  7. 7
    Count_Culo said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 3:39 PM

    NASCAR doesn't own the tracks??... you really believe that ISC is NOT NASCAR??... hold onto THAT dream pal!!!...CC

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  8. 8
    mrbreeze18 said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 3:41 PM

    Dale, the only mistake Hammer made was not putting ISC in parenthesis after NASCAR. This whole article was about ISC tracks, which the France family owns. If you're talking ISC tracks, you're talking NASCAR. Sure, the economy is hurting things, but I have no sympathy for ANY ISC tracks. I started boycotting all ISC tracks after 9/11, when they decided to not allow fans to bring in stuff and forced them to buy everything from concessions they sell at exhorbant prices. They said they did this in the interest of security. They started this policy in 2000 when Chicago opened. Funny that SMI tracks and Bruton Smith didn't have any problem with security after 9/11, and allowed fans to keep bringing in coolers. After a year of backlash, ISC relented and allowed fans to bring in a small cooler OR bag, but not both.

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  9. 9
    SD_User_007387 said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 3:46 PM

    The France family controls BOTH NASCAR and ISC. So NASCAR does own 13 tracks.

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  10. 10
    esuchlandldo said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 4:23 PM

    It all started downhill when Brian France & Mike Helton decided that the "west coast" fans meant more than the "core" fans in the southeast. They got greedy and now they are paying the price. I doubt they will ever admit they made a mistake giving 2 races to Fontana. They need to shorten the races, lower ticket prices, lower concession prices and quit nitpicking the cars.

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  11. 11
    bthompson133 said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 4:26 PM

    i wont go to another race until they get rid of the cot! i used to go to 4-5 races a year! wise up or die the death of indy

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  12. 12
    Hammer said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 4:27 PM

    Thanks to everyone who responded to my post and Dales response. Dale, the others who responded are correct. You need to go back and re-read the article; NASCAR is the greedy ones who gouge the fans!

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  13. 13
    Werner said:
    Oct 13, 2009 at 6:07 PM

    we've paid for our tix in July...are we getting a rebate...lol

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  14. 14
    TrueBlueGreenJrFan said:
    Oct 14, 2009 at 7:24 AM

    They need to realize it's not just the ticket prices that are keeping fans away! Ok so I can get a ticket now for $40 big deal! Camping or hotels are still gouging the daylights out of us by tripling their prices for that weekend!! A hotel that normally goes for $80 a night, will jump to $200 a night with a 3 night minimum, the campground we stay in at Bristol makes us buy a whole week for over $400 (even if we are only there for 3 nights), that's over $57 a night (and 4 nights that we aren't even there), when you can stay at any other campground at any other time of year for $20 a night with the same amentities! And because we live in Ohio no matter what race we go to it's going to mean an overnight stay for us. So until they get the area campgrounds and motels to add the same type of incentives, they are still not going to fill up, the average race fan, the REAL fans and working class, cannot afford a weekend at the track anymore, so wisen up NASCAR!!

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  15. 15
    nascarnutsheeler said:
    Oct 14, 2009 at 9:21 AM

    HAMMER & MRBREEZE I started boycotting the Frans tracks in 1999 when I took in the Daytona 500. What a disappointment. I went ahead and went to Texas that same year and had a Marvellous trip. Everyone didn't have thier hand out

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  16. 16
    andygray212 said:
    Oct 14, 2009 at 1:19 PM

    I actually don't find the ticket prices too bad. As TrueBlue said, it's the HOTELS!!! I would go to soooooo many more races except for the simple fact of the x night minimum and the retarted hotel prices. That's the expensive part.

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  17. 17
    speedlover3 said:
    Oct 14, 2009 at 8:12 PM

    they need to package hotel, camping and parking at the same % discount or they will all go down together. Also it was mentioned reward pass ticket holders with a special parking area and a special entry gate. Just rewarding the past fans with special priveledges that can cut the fustration of hours in trafic, in line-up and not stealing our hard earn $$$ at HOTEL and CAMPING.

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  18. 18
    keith308 said:
    Oct 15, 2009 at 10:55 AM

    IT'S TO LATE!
    LUCKY DOG, CHASE, TOYOTA, FAKE CAUTIONS, CLONE CARS, DON'T KNOW WHEN THE RACES START AS TIMES CHANGE EVER WEEKEND! THIS IS WHY THE STANDS ARE EMPTY! IF NASCAR DOESN'T THINK SO THAT'S WHY THEY ARE IN THE SITUATION THEY ARE IN.

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