Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I'll address some of these since I'm from Knoxville.

Checkered flag sidewalk across Highway 14 -- paid for by the CITY of Knoxville, not the Racetrack

Pace Trucks - supplied by Pella Motors (as are a lot of the equipment for track maintenance by other sponsors)

Suites -- A revenue stream (they are always full and it costs 3x as much to sit up there as it does in teh stands.  so, without people up there, it'd cost EVEN MORE to go to the races and sit in the stands).

Some other things that people don't think of.

Cell tower - the Raceway/Fairgrounds get PAID by US Cellular for that tower to be there (which helps offset costs as well)

Sponsors -- How many other tracks go out and find Major Sponsors (Lucas Oil, FVP, Iowa Corn Growers, Iowa Soybean Association, Arnold Motor Supply, RacingJunk.com) that have no presence in the immediate area?  FVP is a prime example, no location here or within 100+ miles, yet they pony up big $$'s to support our track)  Take those sponsors away and we might as well be The Iowa State Fairgrounds (huge grandstands, small group of racers and VERY FEW people in the stands (for the record, I hope Tony Moro and his group can turn that track around or I'm afraid it won't be around 5 years from now).

Does it cost more than it used to? Of course it does. But when I was a kid (30 years ago, it cost $8 for adults and $2 for kids 12 and under for weekly races.  Today it costs $15 for adults (unless you use one of the multiple ways to get a discounted ticket for $10) and $4 for kids 12 and under and they added a teen price of $8 instead of charging them as adults.

If the cost of living increased 2.5% every year for the last 30 years, and they raised ticket prices YEARLY instead of waiting until they have no choice like they've done forever, tickets would be $16.37 for adults today (and Outlaw tickets that were $18 GA back then would be $36.83 today (instead they are $30)).  Unfortunately, we all know that the Cost of Living has gone up way more than 2.5% yearly.

Heck, minimum wage was $2.25 back then and if they only increased it 2.5% per year (Cost of Living) it should only be $4.60 per hour today, yet it's $7+ and they want to raise it to $10.10.

It doesn't cost 3x as much to seat in the suites,,2x ticket price, and always full,,need to take a better look next time.

Yet, people were praising it when it was installed becuase it was so much better than the previous one and NO OTHER TRACK even had one....

Technology moves at a pace so fast that everything is dated the day it's purchased.

heck, just look at TV's.  A new one today looks WAYYYY better than one that's only a year old, same goes for phones, computers, you name it...

Isn't that the topic of the whole string??  Nickel and diming everyone?

I guess my point is/was that if everyone steps back and looks at the alternatives they'd see how much less it costs them to attend Knoxville than it does to do things elsewhere.  Yet, Knoxville Raceway as a business isn't getting their electric, water or anything else any cheaper than any of those venues (so their costs are essentially the same PLUS they pay out the purse to the racers (I-Cubs the payroll for the team (players) is paid for by Chicago for example, as are the Iowa Wild players (Minnesota) and the D-League Energy Players (by one of the multiple affiliates).  yet tickets to those aren't any cheaper (and in some cases more expensive.

Camping, tickets, concessions, you name it, it's 99% of the time cheaper than every other venue in the state (outside of tickets to I-Cubs games that are $8 but hotdogs are $7 there so they make up for letting you in cheap by raking you over the coals at the concession and beer lines).

Our family attends the knoxville races nearly every week and has been for many years.  We believe that the new fee for parking is upsetting because its just another thing that makes it harder to afford to take your family to the races.  Last year the yearly camping fee at the North Campground went up $100 from $500 to $600.  Now this year we have to pay for parking and beer prices went up .50 per can.  When will the increases end?  When people cant afford to attend anymore?  They just got a 2 million dollar grant.  Are all these increases really nescessary???