Another amateur featured event another rip off

Mcaupp22

Mcaupp22

PR Addict
I don’t get it. These amateur featured events that only run two motos and have prices of $70 per class just blow my mind. First featured event of the year is kings cup in Georgia. $70 a class plus $100 for any a/b all star classes. I get it’s a featured event but I guarantee their isn’t going be full gates. These featured events that aren’t spring nationals, minios and Ponca have really no hype behind them and if you win them it pretty much doesn’t matter. Just think if these lower level events would have $40-$50 per class and make it affordable for the locals also more people would show. The more extreme the sport gets the worse the showings have been for lower level events
 
Looks like they have your attention, so there must be something to their marketing. If you are reading their post then imagine how many others are reading it. If 5% of the people that read that post show up to the race then it’s a success. There is a perceived value to these races that entices people to go. Usually it’s based of the perception that it will have a higher caliber of competition. Also there is a geographical factor that plays into whether or not people show up and pay. I would say that being in the southeast and the amount of “facilities” down there, people will want to see how they stack up. I would imagine that those same facilities will be excited about a featured event to feature what their riders can do. The cost doesn’t matter when the perception is that they will get more exposure to he industry they long to be apart of. People spend thousands on a week of training for their kids. Do you really think $140 dollars is going to matter for 2 classes? Drop in the bucket at that point.

Now on the flip side that $140 for 2 classes would be almost 5 classes at the local level. So maybe these premier events are what is killing the local race scene? Maybe?

But at this point anything that is deemed “Premier” or sponsored by AMA/VURB/Red Bull etc will always draw no matter the price.
 
Good points by Todd. Also have to assume the motos are longer than the 4 lap, 6-8 min motos we get locally.
 
Meister said:
Ya but.... $100 a class at Daytona...

I cant justify what some (tomahawk) want just to practice. Lol
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Wow I suppose this is why dad and I never raced the amateur events. We raced at High Point and Steel City but never did the pro race weekends.
 
you can tell who has little understanding as to what it takes to put on any type of event, let alone a motocross race.

$100 is pennies
 
hindsy said:
Wow I suppose this is why dad and I never raced the amateur events. We raced at High Point and Steel City but never did the pro race weekends.
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Yeah but.. go to Daytona and race on Tuesday for the vintage stuff.. if telling everyone, its a bucket list race and the environment is so amazing.

Mx, yeah, i figured thats part of it. The other part that sucks is 30 in tolls each way. It looks fun, but not THAT fun lol.
 
Georgia or not, those that live in training facilities support only certain events. Mini O's, lake Whitney, Daytona, and the AMA qualifiers and regionals that lead up to Loretta Lynn's. And even the mini O's does not draw all the factory west coast kids. Those that go to training facilities do nothing to ever support local motocross.

Prices are going up. Paid $40 to just practice last weekend. If I bought a membership it would have been $35 to practice. They had ONE flagger on 3 tracks. One. One girl in sign up. No ambulance. Never touched the tracks all day.

That's the way to rake in the money.
 
John250 said:
Georgia or not, those that live in training facilities support only certain events. Mini O's, lake Whitney, Daytona, and the AMA qualifiers and regionals that lead up to Loretta Lynn's. And even the mini O's does not draw all the factory west coast kids. Those that go to training facilities do nothing to ever support local motocross.

Prices are going up. Paid $40 to just practice last weekend. If I bought a membership it would have been $35 to practice. They had ONE flagger on 3 tracks. One. One girl in sign up. No ambulance. Never touched the tracks all day.

That's the way to rake in the money.
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The point is we have to find a middle ground. National events are priced more and have more prestige to them. However one off events and lower level featured events don’t need the fees these national events have because the majority of riders that would attend those featured events are the locals. Also if local racing keeps increasing prices it’ll kill local racing also and all the weekend warriors. Everything is one extreme to another and something needs to change and their needs to be some middle ground. And in order to grow featured events that aren’t the minios and Loretta’s, Ponca you have to make it “Locally” known. Minios started that way now look at it
 
Mcaupp22 said:
The point is we have to find a middle ground. National events are priced more and have more prestige to them. However one off events and lower level featured events don’t need the fees these national events have because the majority of riders that would attend those featured events are the locals. Also if local racing keeps increasing prices it’ll kill local racing also and all the weekend warriors. Everything is one extreme to another and something needs to change and their needs to be some middle ground. And in order to grow featured events that aren’t the minios and Loretta’s, Ponca you have to make it “Locally” known. Minios started that way now look at it
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I’m not trying to start a war or discount your thought process but it might help to understand how events work by participating in one. But doing it on the other side of the gate.

These events and prices reflect the work that goes into these events. There’s things you don’t take into consideration and you’re truly only thinking of your pocketbook.

How many people can you have at an event before you need to have a police presence? What is the cost to have them at that event?

How many days of trash removal will be needed to maintain the grounds? What is that cost? How many trash cans will be needed and bags?

How many portAjons will you need based off the estimated influx of attendees? Also how many times a day do you need them cleaned out? How much to clean each one?

I’m just going to say it like it is… You (and I) truly don’t know the cost to run an event. Whether it’s a Qualifier or a Premier event. To complain about the cost of the class and how it affects you, is why people get out of the business. You need to look at the big picture and stop looking at your wallet. Realize that the expense of 70 dollars is probably what it cost to rent a police officer for 2hrs.

The cost of a lift ticket at Breckenridge Colorado is $225 for the day. $70 is a deal to spend a day at the track.
 
There’s a reason I didn’t get the skis out this year. $80 lift ticket anywhere in Ohio for not great skiing. And I attend all these races and know that it costs a lot to run these events. But them gouging the riders and parents isn’t going to grow the events themselves. I know a ton and ton of people who used to race and loved racing and simply told me it’s not worth it anymore. They’re tired of paying out the ass to race. Obviously that’s their choice but local level racing needs to stay responsible for the weekend warriors out there or the kids that parents wanna give them a chance but can’t afford the prices every weekend. Then local people have no interest in riding the featured events even when their local because they dont wanna pay all the stupid fees for just a normal race. Look a ctown classic. I can’t even begin to count the amount of people that skipped the whole event cause they were like I’m not paying all that to just to ride chillitown for one race that’s just “featured”. Once again goes back to the point has to get locally good before nationally
 
Mini O's. I've never seen one security officer and there are thousands of people there. Damn I wish they had security to control the out of control insane pit riding destroying the roads in the pits.

Mini O's cleaned the port a pots. Not hardly a trash can to be found. Use your own bags and just lay them around, and they did pick them up.

Point is, some promoters are really not spending as much as you think extra. I will not complain as much about the entry fees as the insane prices for gate entry. That is where they make their money on peoples families and the insane camping fees at some locations. I will take the hotel with a nice bed, pool and hot tub for less.

I get everything is going up. Outlaws and UMP modifieds at Volusia $50 a night, racing for something like 10 nights. Whelen Modifieds at New Smyrna Speedway $55. Crazy to me that they get that for a couple hour show. General Admission for Daytona is up to $55, used to be $25 just a couple years ago. I am going to the SX, but the races at Volusia and NSB Speedway that I would not mind seeing, I said nah, I will pass and just go to the 500. If it was something like $25 to get a GA ticket I probably would have went to at least one of them and hit the concession.

They wonder why these tracks can not get casual fans out to watch? Because most families are not dropping $250 to go to the local speedway or track.
 
My cost for a youth regional type event/Atv National is easily double a double local race cost. Probably closer to triple this year. Portajohn bill for the weekend is roughly 4k. Multiple 40 yard dumpsters. $500 a pop. When you add more people, some expenses go up. It’s just nature of the beast. It costs more to insure too. Everyone else has their hand out more when they do more and succeed, not us idiots (promoters), no, geesh we can’t ask that much, they’ll never pay it, then an event like mini os happens, and promoters say “what the heck am I doing charging so little?”. It’s all relative, and in the end, if you want to Do it, then do it. If you don’t go find something else to do. Honestly having been through the equipment side for going 18 years, I’d say every track is charging about half what it really should to open the doors, on average. I think you’re seeing a moto bubble in ohio, and only the truly passionate will be left in 10 years.
 
Couldnt agree more with that. Think only the ones who really wanna race will stay racing many are either hanging it up or just riding for fun.
 
No one is hanging it up because of prices. The big events get bigger every year. Daytona sold out almost every class the first day. Lincoln is limiting the number of entry’s for their series. Yes the CTMX classic is a bust for locals but the whole idea is to pull out of state people and bigger names.

Also there’s a lot of behind the scenes stuff that dictate the cost. Gatorback is leased and Walker just purchased Echeconnee and there was some legal battles the had to deal with.

There’s also some different ways to think about the higher prices as an owner.
Charge $25 and 100 assholes pay. The track gets destroyed quicker , you ride less and more people complain.
Charge $50 and 50 assholes pay. The track stays nicer longer , you ride more and less people complain.
 
Is Walker still running Silver Dollar?

I agree there will always be some that pay. But I've been around a long time and see what happens. The 50, 65 and 85 classes are huge. Parents fork out tons of money spend like drunken sailors on everything, racing and practicing 24/7......no other life. Then the kid gets to be 13, 14, 15 and things get even more expensive. The kid is getting burnt out and they are done. Never to be seen again, or the kid shows back up at 28 or 29 years old with a bike again.

I do think many people spend more on this sport than some have. 5 or 6 years and they are done. If we tried to keep cost down a bit, would they last longer? Probably not. But I do think the sport is headed the way of your local short tracks and you'll see rider counts declining.

Very few kids around like Matthew these days. He started racing two weeks after his fourth birthday. We never raced enough that it burnt him out and he also played other sports. Now at 20 he is more committed than ever to racing, and likes racing more than practice. I was like that too. I would rather race than just ride.
 
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