Quote:
Originally Posted by greynomad
Why is their fee so low, here in Australia we're on $35m and going up every year.
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The fee is low because in 2008 Montreal called Bernie's bluff. That was when Montreal said
Non to a proposed fee increase and Bernie would not agree to renew the old contract. So there was no race in Montreal in 2009.
At the time Montreal was the only race in North America so the teams and the big sponsors were not happy about not visiting the North American continent, one of their best markets. They demanded that Bernie make a new contract with Montreal.
Under pressure from the teams and sponsors, Bernie grudgingly signed a new deal for about the same amount as the old one, i.e., $15M/year for five years. This contract started in 2010 and runs out in 2014. The only thing Bernie was happy about was that he got the various governmental bodies to underwrite his fee.
Now it's time for another challenging negotiation among Bernie, the governmental bodies and the promoter. I'm hopeful, but I don't think it's a sure thing that Montreal will keep the race. Bernie has more cards to play in this game now that he has Austin in place and the possibility of new races in New York and/or Mexico. While Bernie has sometimes said nice things about Montreal in the past, I have always had the impression that he doesn't like it as a venue, or maybe he is tired of it. He must also resent getting out-negotiated
after the 2009 cancellation.
I agree that the renovations are needed for the track infrastructure, but public support for spending $40M in government money on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve plus an increased annual sanction fee may be tenuous. Most Quebeckers support the use of government money to help keep the race, but there's a vocal minority that has never really liked it. Recall that last year radical students protesting a proposed increase in tuition made the race a target of their protests. It's a good idea to keep the negotiations quiet. If things go well, there will be an announcement in time for this year's race. If not, then anything could happen, including the loss of the Montreal race.