attendance predictions for Miami

[BootsOntheSide]

They nmight have given them away - better than having the seats empty. In any case, only aorund 1/4 of them were used - obviously you can't simply give tickets away to get people here. I hope the guys who went bought a lot of hotdogs and beers, or else Tony's grand plan is wobbling again.

[tanalised]

When I look at an oval race on TV, be it IRL or CART, I wonder why does everyone sit on the main straight by the start finish line? (If the seating in the stadium is not full that is, which seems common!) Why not sit at the "corners" where the passing is most likely to occur?

Any thoughts? I';ve never been to an oval race so I'm curious.

[The Snout]

I imagine that those areas are closed off until crowd numbers justify opening them to the public.

Anyone got the 3 day weekend attendance figures for the race ??????

[jenna]

IRL and CART, any sports actually, do not exist in some sort of other-worldly void. Professional sports are a business, therefore they will always be affected by the world economy. Anyone who works in retail or hospitality especially would have noticed how unsteady business has been since September 11. Why would the sporting industry be any different? If attendance is down at a race or match it is more likely a reflection of that particular economy rather than a decrease in the sports popularity. In times of financial doubt the first expense people sacrifice will always be recreation. As sgw2 pointed out, there was a significant increase in the size of the television audience. The trend seems to be that with the current world climate people are more likely to stay at home to watch a race than to get out and see it live. Because of market instability we could see attendance figures all over the place this year. Maybe theyll be fairly consistent, maybe theyll go up or down or both (im not a market statistics person by a long shot so im not even going to try to predict it!). Its just so arrogant to assume that decreased attendance means a decreased fan base.
It seems some particular diehard CART fans are too busy trying to put the IRL down at every opportunity to see the bigger picture. It got old really fast guys, and i have this strange feeling im not the only one whos totally over it....

[True Believer]

Well Said Jenna... do we know if ticket prices are the same as last year, if the travel companies are offering the same national & international packages to the racing... or has 9/11 scared off private holiday travel just like in other parts of the world?? If we dont know the total context, any conclusions are junk

[BootsOntheSide]

Peoplefrom overseas would be much more likely to fly to a CART race than an IRL one - CART's figure was among its better ones of the last year, the IRL was still mired just as before. There are probably few international packages on offer, because no-one outside the US is as intereted, even the countries who's stars are in the series. Ticket prices is a fair point, I'm sure the event could be more profitable (or break even?) at a lower entry price - not every eventis the 500, and don't you forget it.

[True Believer]

Maybe, but what about internally? Are Americans still scared to fly? The 4 planes that hit the WTC were internal flights, not international ones

[indycool]

True, there are SOME Americans who are now scared to fly anywhere because of 9/11. Just saw a gal over the weekend who used to work 20 races a yar on the road and her husband told her not to fly any more because of it, so she had to quit. The airlines in the U.S. are hurting badly because of 9/11 and other things and haven't recovered.

[Crash Test]

Going back aways, at most tracks, you can see a fair bit of the track from the start finish line, so long as you are sufficiently high in the grandstand. Also, the fact you get a good look at the pit stops, ceremonies etc is always popular.

[BootsOntheSide]

Statistically, even if 9/11 happened every month (God forbid), flying 1000 miles would still be much safer than driving 1000 miles. So, if this is affecting attendances, the media are fooling the US populace.

[B/Mark]

Attendance at Miami was actually quite good. It cost $35 to get in including a grandstand seat and during the IRL race it was packed.

[Tailwind]

Boots, here in the US we get in our cars and drive everywhere. Your exactly right, statistically, flying is much safer than driving, but the general population doesn't believe that. Our media draws attention to air accidents making them seem greater than they are. In a really bad year, less than 1000 people will die in air accidents in the US. Over 50,000 will die in auto accidents.

We are easily fooled by our media.

On an oval race I tend to sit where I can see the pits. On a road course I try to sit where I can see cars coming into a corner and exiting a corner so I can see the passing, braking, and wheel spin.

[rustyfan]

Originally posted by BootsOntheSide
Peoplefrom overseas would be much more likely to fly to a CART race than an IRL one

Likely when it comes to others, perhaps, but I sure wouldn't - watching an IndyCar at Texas would easily be my first choice.

[racer69]

Agreed, that or Indianapolis

[jenna]

any of the races would be fine with me. i feel deprived, i think they should just move everything down here....

[indycool]

Aw, Jenna...we'll come down and see ya if ya have some racin' goin' on......