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MOTORSPORT: NASCAR for fans, has been delayed. So has construction of new ticket and merchandise sales buildings. “We’re a small state with a small population and we need all the help we can get,” Dover Motorsports president Denis McGlynn said. “With the economy the way it is and the finance industry so slow to lend money, we’ve got to wait a little while. Maybe another year or two, but we’re going to do it.” HITTING THE NUMBERS Barry Wilner says the surge in popularity and revenues experienced by Nascar earlier in the decade has subsided and the tough economy has inflicted some damage. But the stock car series remains one of America’s top sports. IT HAS BEEN an awful year for the US auto industry, with bankruptcy filings, rising unemployment, weak sales and a distrust of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler among the American public. Some of that negativity has filtered over to Nascar, yet the series still keeps company with baseball, college and pro basketball and college football in the US sporting landscape. All chasing the NFL of course. But there have been some setbacks for Nascar and heading into 2010, they are issues the sport is attempting to address. “We’re always looking at ways to lower costs for the teams related to travel and everything that that means,” Nascar chairman Brian France said, noting that more twoday weekends might be scheduled to save on expenses. “The schedule has already been announced. The testing policy is out. We saw some (changes), but it won’t be dramatic. “We have people in every division that understand everything from the team owners’ direct cost to the per-event cost and everything in between. We have quite a command of that.’’ On the sponsorship side, Nascar has had to adjust to sponsor defections more often in the last two years than anyone would have projected. For 2010, Richard Childress Racing has lost Jack Daniels, the famed bourbon distillery and a loyal participant in the sport for years. “While it is difficult for us to end our formal relationship with RCR, the current economic environment has compelled us to re-evaluate our spending, and we’ve concluded that other areas in the marketing mix require additional investment,” said Tim Rutledge, vice president and brand director for Jack Daniels. Investments on hold Petty, the most successful driver in stock car history and Nascar’s resident icon, searched long and hard for a partner who could keep his company afloat. RPM had not won since 1999, but when it merged with Gillett- Evernham Motorsports to begin 2009, Petty’s group got star driver Kasey Kahne into one of its cars. Kahne won at Sonoma in the spring, then qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, a first for any Petty-associated driver. But Chrysler’s deep financial problems plagued all of the RPM teams, with the Dodge brand offering less and less factory support throughout the season. Finally, in October, Petty agreed a merger with the Yates team for 2010. Dodge though remains committed to the sport. Ralph Gilles, the new head of Dodge’s car brand, says the manufacturer will remain in Nascar because development and marketing of Dodge vehicles “still works’’ through its participation in Nascar.” Then there were the tracks. Even Nascar’s most popular track, Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, had issues in the sponsorship area this year. “We had a lot of corporate sponsors actually cut their allocation because of the economy, so a lot of fans who had been wanting to come to our race for years but hadn’t been able to get tickets actually had that opportunity,” said BMS spokesman Kevin Triplett. “We’ve had to spend more in advertising than we ever have. We haven’t advertised Cup tickets in 13 years. But we had to do that.” Darlington Raceway, which has a Cup race on Mother’s Day weekend in May, has already cut ticket prices on more than half of its seats for the Southern 500. Darlington executives surveyed customers and found that many planned to stay away because ticket costs were too high. “We’ve faced hardships before,” Darlington president Chris Browning said. “We always seem to be able to adjust. Hopefully, the whole country will adjust and move on.” Some racetracks have put upgrades, whether for fan comfort or racing considerations, or both, on hold. At Dover Downs, where the two Nascar weekends each year are the only significant sporting events held in Delaware, work on a new garage, including rooftop viewing On-site gambling One intriguing way for the tracks to enhance revenue streams could be through on-site gambling. Dover is considering it, with live gaming tables to go with slot machines that already exist. Nascar has yet to pass judgment on such a proposal, and McGlynn notes that Las Vegas is a regular stop on the circuit. Plus, Delaware has legalised sports betting on a limited basis. “I think the sports betting could have had the ability to draw new people into Nascar just to give them some other reason to watch,” McGlynn said. Not as many eyeballs are watching on TV, although no trends are certain because some races just before and early in the Chase saw increases in viewership. Nascar’s contracts with Fox, ESPN/ABC, Turner and SPEED have four more years to run and net $4.48 billion for the eight-year deals. That makes one area where stock car racing is in excellent shape, although make-goods to the broadcasters are possible should ratings slip excessively - something NBC has done in the past for lowrated Olympics. As for the folks in the stands, well, when you are still averaging six-figure crowds, how negative a slant can anyone place on your sport Yes, some tracks have struggled to fill up, particularly those outside racing hotbeds. But others venues remain touch tickets. “This year, obviously, everyone has seen changes in attendance, but we’re still averaging about 110,000 fans per event,” said Nascar spokesman Ramsey Poston. “Two or three years ago, the average was closer to 120,000. “But given where we are in the country with the economy, we think this shows how strong Nascar is. To keep hitting those numbers is very reassuring.” 58 SportBusiness International • No. 152 • 12.09
As one of motor racing’s top-3 and fastest growing events, the production bike series FIM Superbike World Championship (SBK) features the world‘s leading manufacturers Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. It stages 13 rounds in 12 countries, making it a truly global event with two billion TV contacts every year. SBK is arguably the most exciting form of motor sports offering a format of two races plus the FIM Supersport World Championship and its support classes. With superstars like Max Biaggi (ITA), Troy Corser (AUS), James Toseland (GBR) or Nori Haga (JAP) and fast newcomers including Max Neukirchner (GER), Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam (both GBR), SBK is really a fantastic viewing. All Superbikes are competitively engineered to boost performance, with top speeds exceeding 300 km/h. As promoter of the FIM Superbike World Championship and partner of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), Infront Sports & Media exclusively holds all types of commercial rights to the FIM Superbike World Championship and provides clients with a top TV product, a first class sponsorship platform and high quality event services. Infront – Racing action at its best.
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SIR KEITH MILLS On the America’s
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12.09 CONTENTS SportBusiness Intern
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UPDATA 12.09 FERRARI SLUMP SEES RAT
Page 7 and 8: COMMENT “The deal covers all terr
Page 9 and 10: INSIGHT MIRIAM SHERLOCK Editor Spor
Page 12 and 13: aGeNDa aMerICa The ParIah rick Burt
Page 14 and 15: BRANDS & MARKETING SHORTSTOP MARETI
Page 16 and 17: SHORTSTOP BRANDS & MARKETING MARETI
Page 18 and 19: MEDIA SHORTSTOP Al Jazeera: Pan-Ara
Page 20 and 21: MEDIA SHORTSTOP IPL: Entertainment
Page 22 and 23: EVENTS SHORTSTOP 2020 OLYMPICS: Tur
Page 24 and 25: EVENTS PLAYING IT THE AMERICAN WAY
Page 26 and 27: sAiling inTo The fuTure As PrinciPA
Page 28: This has been an unhappy period for
Page 31 and 32: NAMING RIGHTS Tottenham FC/PA Archi
Page 33 and 34: Ultimate Sports Websites Creating a
Page 35 and 36: FACILITIES Venue: Yas Marina Circui
Page 37 and 38: 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Of
Page 39 and 40: SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT AWARDS 2009
Page 41 and 42: TRIP FROM BRUSSELS TO LONDON : 250@
Page 43 and 44: ISEMS Innovative Event Marketing 20
Page 45 and 46: A pArtnership thAt mAkes the differ
Page 47 and 48: SECURITY GOLD: Sword Event Guard In
Page 49 and 50: F1 has kept its show on the road -
Page 51 and 52: MOTORSPORT: SPONSORSHIP Top Motorsp
Page 53 and 54: Countries Without a Domestic F1 GP
Page 55 and 56: MOTORSPORT: FORMULA ONE “Hospital
Page 57: MOTORSPORT: RALLY l’Automobile (F
Page 61 and 62: MOTORSPORT: MOTORCYCLING Of these,
Page 63 and 64: Thanks to Channel 4, whose racing o
Page 65 and 66: Sports Tourism: Strategies for Succ
Page 67 and 68: INTERNATIONAL FOCUS MIDDLE EAST STR
Page 70 and 71: SIR CRAIG REEDIE IOC EXECUTIVE BOAR
Page 72 and 73: THE WORLD’S TOP 20 … MOST INFLU
Page 74 and 75: #1 A MATTER OF INFLUENCE THE MARGIN
Page 76 and 77: CONFERENCES www.sportbusiness.com/m
Page 78 and 79: SportBusiness Marketplace now offer
Page 80 and 81: www.sportbusiness.com/marketplace/o
Page 82 and 83: PEOPLE hard work. On a personal lev
Page 84: PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 18: G
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