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With the new USGP date of June 20, 2004 set for the last of the 5 originally contracted USGPs at Indianapolis the big question is whether or not there will be another. Crowds have gone done each year since the first race in 2000 and IMS apparently doesn’t get any television revenue to make up for the loss of ticket sales. We’ll have to see what the crowd is like this year.
The move to the new date does at least two things right away. Since IMS has to pay the considerable transportation costs for Formula One to come to Indianapolis the new date allows these costs to be split with the Canadian Formula One promoters since the races now run back-to-back on the 2004 schedule. The new date also makes negotiations for any new contract between Ecclestone and IMS start sooner. They are probably going on right now. Some of the leaks to the press about a possible USGP West somewhere (denied, of course) are part of Bernie’s strategy. And Tony George may be doing a little positioning himself by making the big announcement about the Indy Racing League adding road courses in 2005. He doesn’t want another road racing series competing with his own in North America does he? Again, we’ll have to wait and see.
Overall, the future of the USGP at Indianapolis is uncertain. Formula One is the most expensive race that IMS puts on each year. And it draws only about a third of the spectators that the other two races do. As mentioned, the lack of television revenue is a big problem. Traditionally, Ecclestone always asks for huge increases when any of his tracks are up for new contracts. He has about put Silverstone in his own country out of business a couple of times with his tactics. Most of the European tracks put up with this because Formula One is their one big event each year. This is not the case at Indianapolis. Whether or not Formula One at IMS is a profitable venture is unknown to anyone except those “in the know” out at 16th and Georgetown. But it is certainly the weakest performer of the three races put on each year at Indianapolis. If Ecclestone holds the line on his usual huge contract increases it becomes likely that next June’s USGP at Indianapolis will be the last. We might all end up parking in the Turn 4 infield again on what’s left of the former USGP road course.
The move to the new date does at least two things right away. Since IMS has to pay the considerable transportation costs for Formula One to come to Indianapolis the new date allows these costs to be split with the Canadian Formula One promoters since the races now run back-to-back on the 2004 schedule. The new date also makes negotiations for any new contract between Ecclestone and IMS start sooner. They are probably going on right now. Some of the leaks to the press about a possible USGP West somewhere (denied, of course) are part of Bernie’s strategy. And Tony George may be doing a little positioning himself by making the big announcement about the Indy Racing League adding road courses in 2005. He doesn’t want another road racing series competing with his own in North America does he? Again, we’ll have to wait and see.
Overall, the future of the USGP at Indianapolis is uncertain. Formula One is the most expensive race that IMS puts on each year. And it draws only about a third of the spectators that the other two races do. As mentioned, the lack of television revenue is a big problem. Traditionally, Ecclestone always asks for huge increases when any of his tracks are up for new contracts. He has about put Silverstone in his own country out of business a couple of times with his tactics. Most of the European tracks put up with this because Formula One is their one big event each year. This is not the case at Indianapolis. Whether or not Formula One at IMS is a profitable venture is unknown to anyone except those “in the know” out at 16th and Georgetown. But it is certainly the weakest performer of the three races put on each year at Indianapolis. If Ecclestone holds the line on his usual huge contract increases it becomes likely that next June’s USGP at Indianapolis will be the last. We might all end up parking in the Turn 4 infield again on what’s left of the former USGP road course.
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