Montreal GP future: Bernie demands $40M in renovations & a fee increase

[chillibowl]

on topic really happy they came to a deal for the future. certainly the track and team areas need upgrades but i also hope that some of the money is earmarked to improve some of the fan areas.

while not currently at an unusable point i would say that some areas are getting dated and falling into disrepair. this man made island once represented Canadian ingenuity and ability. now we have to be forced to make improvements to it. just wish that the desire to build on what we have or at least maintain what we have came from within.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by andy_b

Canada needs some decent TV Coverage then.

No Practice, Qualy and sometimes race moved to TSN2. No preview or review of the race, goto air 5 mins before start, after interviews. BBC commentary (which is OK), but loads of ad breaks which are positioned at set points, not where action isn't.

In Hispanic America, Fox Sports has a 60-minute pre-race show (they talk on top of track feed). Races have ads every 10 minutes or so, and they try to put them just before or after pitting windows, so it's not terrible. And two years ago they got rid of a terrible annoucer, the current ones are ok.

[Andrew2001]

That's right Bernie, squeeze one of the very best races, year in and year out, just for one more dollar. Bugger off to a retirement home and get out of F1.

[andy666]

Originally Posted by Andrew2001

That's right Bernie, squeeze one of the very best races, year in and year out, just for one more dollar. Bugger off to a retirement home and get out of F1.

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by Andrew2001

That's right Bernie, squeeze one of the very best races, year in and year out, just for one more dollar. Bugger off to a retirement home and get out of F1.

+1
Can Sepp Blatter join him there? Don't forget that Bernie may be taken to the Jeffrey Archer Retirement Home in the near future.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by S griffin

+1
Can Sepp Blatter join him there? Don't forget that Bernie may be taken to the Jeffrey Archer Retirement Home in the near future.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Andrew2001

That's right Bernie, squeeze one of the very best races, year in and year out, just for one more dollar. Bugger off to a retirement home and get out of F1.

And replace Montreal with a GP in some other part of the world, without any motorsports heritage.

[Clive]

I dunno, all you people think Bernie is in it just for the money. It's not, he has enough, even for all his lawyers in Germany, it's about power, and he has it and loves to use it so everyone knows he's in charge.
He doesn't have a chip on his shoulder because he's small, he's got them on each shoulder which is what makes him short!!

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Clive

I dunno, all you people think Bernie is in it just for the money. It's not, he has enough, even for all his lawyers in Germany, it's about power, and he has it and loves to use it so everyone knows he's in charge.
He doesn't have a chip on his shoulder because he's small, he's got them on each shoulder which is what makes him short!!

A lot of it is about power and money is a demonstration of that power but I still think a lot of it is purely about the money itself.

[BobHWS]

Not much has happened since the signing of a new 10 year contract just after last year's race. But at least the future of the Montreal race is more secure than it was at this time last year.

I missed last year's race (though I did get to see part of qualifying for the Nurburgring 24 hour race and some WTCC racing at Spa last June). This year I'm looking forward to returning to Montreal...for many reasons, among which:



It's still not clear exactly what renovations will be made to Montreal's facilities and what money the city will use to pay for them. Nevertheless there is a mood of optimism around this year's race. Here is a short article published in March in La Presse (translation by Google and me) about race promoter Francois Dumontier and his hopes for the race and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

François Dumontier has big plans for the Canadian GP
March 11, 2015
lapresse.ca



The promoter of the Canadian Grand Prix, François Dumontier.
Photo Marco Campanozzi, the Press archives

Bill Beacon
The Canadian Press

This time, François Dumontier can sit and enjoy the start of the new Formula 1 season.

The Canadian Grand Prix promoter discusses the 2015 season with a 10-year contract in hand to align the cars of the top formula of motorsport on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit until 2024.

It is a 180 degree turn from last year, when the agreement with the FIA ​​to ensure the continuation of the event was due to expire and could deprive Montreal of its most important sporting event of the year.

"It's very different this year, said Dumontier Tuesday in his office which is a stone's throw from the track. It was a long process to obtain a renewal of the agreement.

"At the same time last year, we were in the final phase to complete the agreement, to ensure that we would have a contract before the race. Today, the contract is valid for the next 10 years. We can now look to the future. I have less pressure on my shoulders. "

The F1 calendar, having 20 races, kicks off this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. As is tradition, the Canadian Grand Prix will be held the first weekend of June and will be the seventh stop of the season, just two weeks after the legendary race of F1, the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Australian Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull took the honors of the Canadian Grand Prix last year, but this result was quickly overshadowed by the news of the new contract.

The interest was focused on the announcement of the joint federal, provincial and municipal governments with an investment of $187 million CDN to ensure the hosting of the race for 10 more years. Five years earlier, the race had been removed from the schedule because of a financial dispute.

The city will spend $ 32 million to renovate garages, paddock, control tower, media center and the paddock club by 2017, when Montreal will celebrate its 375th anniversary. At the same time, the Canadian Grand Prix will celebrate its 50th anniversary - because the first was presented at Mosport, Ontario, in 1967.

The boss of F1, Bernie Ecclestone, said it was essential that we upgrade the facilities around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where the Canadian Grand Prix has taken place since 1978.

Dumontier hopes we can erect a "signature" building that will give a new identity to the race, even as he insisted that no major changes will be made to one of the most famous tracks of F1 .

Among other projects in the pipeline, Dumontier hopes to attract a new younger clientele.

Without mentioning figures, he said that ticket sales were going well so far and stressed that there should be more American fans this year because of the strength of their dollar. More than half of the tickets are sold to fans from outside the Montreal area.

And he added that ticket sales usually increase after winter testing, when the real season gets underway.

[BobHWS]

Montreal GP promoter, Francois Dumontier, held a press conference Friday morning at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and spoke of his optimism for the future of the race now that it has a 10-year contract with Bernie.

For the video that accompanies the story, click on the link to the full story.

F1 Grand Prix organizers eager for June event while planning for another decade of racing
Dave Stubbs, Montreal Gazette
Published on: May 15, 2015

...Three levels of government joined Grand Prix promotion head François Dumontier, the president and chief executive of Octane Racing Group, for a news conference to unveil plans for the race and the many events wrapped around it.

This will be the first Canadian Grand Prix staged since Montreal organizers reached contractual agreement with F1’s commercial rights-holder to extend it for another 10 years.

..The decade-long extension was announced last June, the $187-million deal bankrolled by the federal and Quebec governments, city of Montreal and Tourisme Montréal.

...The city will spend nearly $33 million more to improve infrastructure on the island site, upgrading many garage-area and paddock structures, and building new ones. That work is expected to begin next year with an eye to the 2017 race.

...At the top of Dumontier’s to-do list will be securing a deep-pocketed title sponsor willing to shell out big money to strut on the global stage, without fear of investing in a race that might vanish on a racing supremo’s whim. [The GPC used to be able to attract naming rights sponsors such as Molson and Air Canada, but it has not had one in recent years.]

..And the hugely popular no-charge Open House Day returns June 4 from 9 a.m. to noon, with drivers on hand for autographs and fans free to roam pit lane to watch engineers prepare cars for Friday’s two sessions of free practice.

...It’s a minor miracle that Dumontier and his crew annually manage to turn this tranquil Expo 67 island into a world-class race track, then tear it all down again and return it to the city for the enjoyment of its citizens.

It’s not without its special challenges, Montreal’s relentless winter having recently played havoc with early preparations.

“It was so cold and we had a lot of snow, so when we started to work on the grandstands, we had to blow the snow away,” Dumontier said.

The track weathered the winter well, even if the ground around it was frozen so deep through the winter that crews struggled to begin building temporary structures.

[Clive]

As we keep saying, if he (Bernie) took less out there'd be more for the circuits to make the profit to reinvest in the track and facilities. That'll only stop when he does.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Clive

As we keep saying, if he (Bernie) took less out there'd be more for the circuits to make the profit to reinvest in the track and facilities. That'll only stop when he does.

So why does he keep doing it?

[wolfhound]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

So why does he keep doing it?

Because there is no end to his/CVC greed for ££££$$$$$$

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by wolfhound

Because there is no end to his/CVC greed for ££££$$$$$$

His/CVC greed is destroying the sport.

[Lancsbreaker]

Fair's fair, Bernie's got to save for his old age........










Not to mention Bribes, Back-handers and Payments in lieu of prosecution......

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Lancsbreaker

Fair's fair, Bernie's got to save for his old age........










Not to mention Bribes, Back-handers and Payments in lieu of prosecution......

I didn't know he was that hard up.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by Clive

As we keep saying, if he (Bernie) took less out there'd be more for the circuits to make the profit to reinvest in the track and facilities. That'll only stop when he does.

Bernie ran off with F1s assets when he negotiated the rights away from F1 and the FIA with Max's help.

The new owners, CVC with Bernie's assistance are the ones who are destroying F1 in the name of ever increasing ROI.

Aided by the big 5 teams we may add!

[Clive]

Aided by the big 5 teams? What! You mean Ferrari are involved?

[BobHWS]

In April La Presse published an article about a new study that will be conducted about the economic impact of the Canadian Grand Prix. Here is a Google translation (below) with tweaks by me.

As the article points out, maybe this study should have been done before the signing of a new contract last year. The planned study sounds like it will collect some meaningful data from actual spectators. But since the sponsor of the study (the provincial government of Quebec) is also involved in funding the race, there is an obvious conflict of interest. It's hard to believe that the government of Quebec would publish a study that makes it look like it wasted taxpayer money by subsidizing the Grand Prix.

These kinds of studies are controversial among economists who analyze them. For example:

Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Subsidies for Sports Franchises, Stadiums, and Mega-Events?

The evidence reveals a great deal of consistency among economists doing research in this area. That evidence is that sports subsidies cannot be justified on the grounds of local economic development, income growth or job creation, those arguments most frequently used by subsidy advocates. The paper also relates survey evidence showing that economists in general oppose sports subsidies.


La Presse.ca April 23, 2015
A more serious study of the impact of the Grand Prix
Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot

Less than a year after it signed a $CDN 219 million 10-year contract with Formula 1, the Quebec government will conduct a comprehensive study of the economic impact of the Grand Prix of Canada, La Presse has learned.

Earlier this month, the Quebec government launched a tender for a study to measure the "Economic Impact of the Canadian Grand Prix." For the first time, the Quebec government will make an economic impact study based on actual data from the spectators of the Grand Prix. About 5,000 spectators will be recruited for a survey conducted after the event.

Since 2009, the Quebec Ministry of Finance has estimated the economic impact of the Grand Prix to be $CDN 89 million per year. The ministry has made its calculations based on data collected by Tourisme Montreal. However, the tourist organization has never assumed responsibility for the data it has distributed in press conferences, public statements and through the promoter. According to what the federal government stated last summer the economic impact of the Grand Prix is $CDN 71 million per year.

The new economic impact study will take place after Ottawa, Quebec and Montreal already signed a 10 year agreement with Formula 1 last year for the staging of the Grand Prix of Canada. The three governments will pay a combine $CDN 186.7 million over ten years, and the City of Montreal will be responsible for renovations to the site amounting to $CDN 32.6 million.

So why wasns't a more complete study made of the economic benefits before agreeing with F1? "This study has been requested by the tourism industry for many years. The important thing is that we are doing it now," said Cynthia St-Hilaire, the press secretary of the Tourism Minister Dominique Vien. Tourisme Québec is also preparing a guide to standardize studies of the economic impact of festivals, and the tender will be a test for the new guidelines used in the study.

$CDN 33 million in Melbourne

In Australia, a 2011 study by Ernst & Young found that the Grand Prix in Melbourne generated an economic impact of $CDN 32.6 million. Yet the two events are similar in size (about 300 000 spectators over the three days, 30% of visitors from outside the state of Victoria and 40% of visitors from outside Quebec).

The study on the impact of the Canadian Grand Prix will be funded equally by Tourism Quebec, Tourism Montreal and Octane Racing Group, the local promoter of the Grand Prix. "What is important for us is to have figures on which we can rely. No matter what has happened in the past, we want credibility. It is important to have reliable figures for what we want to build for our advertisers and partners, "said Louis-Philippe Dorais, Strategic Advisor to the President and Head of Press Octane Racing Group.

The Quebec Coalition of Major International Events (REMI), which does not count the Canadian Grand Prix among its members, welcomes the decision to make a more complete study.

"In recent years, many figures have been floated, increasing threefold, says Martin Roy, CEO of REMI. It seems pretty obvious that the benefits will be greater than the money invested by governments, but it could show that the Grand Prix is ​​not in a separate category as they seem to think in certain circles. Other events such as the Jazz Festival can be compared in some respects with the Grand Prix, and Osheaga attracts 67% of tourists from outside Quebec. "

In the past, many economists have been critical of the figure of 89 million for the economic impact of the Grand Prix as calculated by Quebec - especially compared to the impact of 32.6 million in Australia. Professor of Financial Accounting at Concordia University, Michel Magnan estimated that the gap between the two figures "has the effect of a cold shower." "Achieving a more substantial study to quantify the economic impact of the Grand Prix is ​​certainly a good idea, but the only reason I can see is to retroactively legitimize the decision [by the government]," says Magnan.

"Obviously we should have done the study before it makes a 10-year agreement with Formula 1. Yes, the economic impact of the Grand Prix is ​​great, but it does not make sense we did not do this kind of study before, "says economist Jean-Marc Bergevin, which calculates benefits to about 58 million, mainly on the basis of the data used by the Government of Quebec.

[Mike Harte]

I am always highly sceptical about these so called think-tanks, and equally so about economic reviews of certain subjects. In my humble opinion, they are both extremely subjective and almost without exception based on theoretical information that is open to different interpretations.

The only way that Canada can truly evaluate what the real economic benefit they derive from the Grand Prix would be to not run it for a couple of years and then re-assess the impact. But even that would not be totally accurate as there may be many external circumstances that may influence the outcome, such as another credit crunch or even anything as mundane as the weather.

However, the article states that the cost to the city of Quebec is C$219 million over ten years, yet the article states that the lowest estimate for the benefit is about C$50 million, which adds up to C$500 million over the same period. At worst, if they take the Melbourne figure of A$33 million, that means an impact of C$318 million over the whole period. But the question that will never be answered by all this is what would the cost be to Quebec if the Grand Prix was to never take place again?

[BobHWS]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

However, the article states that the cost to the city of Quebec is C$219 million over ten years...

It's not the city of Quebec that is helping to subsidize the race (the city of Quebec is three hours northeast of Montreal). It's the province of Quebec along with the Canadian national government and the city of Montreal that are subsidizing the race to the tune of $187M over 10 years. The city is also kicking in $33M for the renovations to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

BTW, to any citizens of Quebec and/or Canada who are reading this, thank you for helping to subsidize this event which I have attended and thoroughly enjoyed 11 times and will soon attend for a 12th time. I hope that a little bit of the thousands of dollars that I have spent in Montreal over the years has somehow trickled back down to you. But if it did, you probably didn't even notice.

[chillibowl]

thanks im actually happy to see a tax dollars used for something i care about when usually its the other way around

i can see both sides of the argument. as a 'left of center' type i fundamentally believe that gov't has a role in redistributing taxes dollars to programs and events that serve the public good regardless of whether its revenue neutral or not.

as a taxpayer i question how much does a sporting event serve the public good.

we are pretty fortunate here in that our gov't for the most part already subsidies the important stuff (health care, education, housing). sure it would be great if they could do more but its misleading to suggest that spending on sport (even pro sport vs grass roots level) takes away from health care, education, housing etc. personally i would argue that this type of spending is complementary anyways.

gov't have some pretty mixed up priorities and often spend wastefully and its great that we remain vigilant against it but 187mil over 10 years is hardly worth fretting over given the size of our GDP over that same period and that this is the largest annual event Canada hosts.

by comparison Quebec City received well over 200mil in public money to build a hockey arena for a NHL team that does not exist.

suffice it to say they do things a little differently in Quebec!

[Eff One]

Typical Bernie. A greedy unscrupulous little prick.

[Clive]

One day someone will call his bluff, and other circuits might follow, so when he's lost all the established decent circuits all he'll have left are the government funded empty standed non locally supported GPs and the advertisers will withdraw and the TV figures will drop and F1 will reduce in stature and then he'll have nothing. But will he care?