Tavo Hellmund has announced that San Antonio billionaire BJ “Red” McCombs will be the primary financial backer for the new US Grand Prix race track in Austin.
McCombs (82) founded the Red McCombs Automotive Group in 1958 and went on to be a founder of Clear Channel Communications and the a former owner of various sports teams, notably the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets basketball teams and the Minnesota Vikings football team.
“It’s a business venture,” McCombs said. “It’s a project that I believe will do worlds of good for Texas and, in particular, the Central Texas area.”
McCombs declined to give financial details.
Hellmund also revealed that the 900-acre site will be near the small town of Elroy, to the south of Austin, not far form the airport. However there is believed to be another site which could step in.
“This site has already been approved,” said McCombs. “But if a little magic came into the game, I might try to convince Tavo that there might be another site around here that would work just as well.”
Still feels like a pipe dream. Not sure if I should be making those Austin plans yet or not.
Here is a little background re McCombs
http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/27/billy-mccombs-anschutz-capital-gains-personal-finance-billionaire-mccombs-fights-irs.html
I’m eager to see the layout of this track including the elevation changes. What they are supposed to build is simply the best road racing facility in the US.
The location is perfect and the concept of running it all year with multiple big events is the only that will work to earn money, because F1 surely will not.
I think the concept is right and so I hope they really build an absolutely mega road course.
It should be like Spa, Silverstone, Turkey, Suzuka or Road America with fast sections, lots of challenging corners, elevation changes and hopefully a good lap length like 4 – 4.5 miles.
The greatest threat to this coming to fruition is Red’s age & health.Otherwise,it’ll be done.
Sounds sketchy at best to me: “another site”???
Far from certain that this is going to be the track home………..
Texans have a reputation of being a bunch of sod-busters, the opposite is the reality! There is a healthy, well educated group of more than 7 million potential spectators in a 160 mile radius of the preposed facility, and they don’t mind driving. Also there is somewhat less competition for the weekend dollar spender, say than, New York, Las Vegas, and so on. These people are real go-getters and the local governments are more interested in progress than every last little environmental net pick, they will get it done…..
Wonderful stuff indeed, but surely they need to be absolutely certain of site by now.
I wonder how Eddie Gossage and the Fort Worth folks are viewing this?
Looking forward to it. I liked Indy but a purpose built circuit in ‘middle America’ like Texas will be a great spectical and can only increase F1′s appeal and grow the fan base. And to state the obvious F1′s teams and sponsors need the US far more than US needs F1.
As a Minnesotan who watched Red own the Minnesota Vikings, I have some not-so-fond memories of Mr. McCombs.
I really hope that they can build a proper course, because I’d love to go, but I’m not optimistic this will happen as stated.
He’s a cheapskate and is almost certainly already looking for an out on this.
It’s all about the end game for ol’ Red.
Sounds to me, that McCombs must also own or has a friend that owns a suitable property. A good Texas deal involves the public buying something(often an albatross) from a private party at an inflated price with public dollars.
The NFL is profitable. Every NFL team makes ALOT of money. If Red wasn’t willing to spend his own money on a stadium for the NFL’s money making Vikings, why would he be willing to spend his money on an F1 track now? F1 promoters lose money hand over fist.
Red said he wasn’t even aware of F1 until 7 weeks ago, when he signed on with Tavo’s group. That flies in the face of Tavo’s previous statements that his group had been together for years, and that they weren’t from Texas.
Add in the proposed college tie in with the F1 track, and I’d be willing to bet that Red’s idea of building an F1 track uses State money and not his own.
That’s how he tried to do it in MN anyway. Threatened to move the Queens if he didn’t get his new stadium at taxpayer expense. (BTW, the Queens of 98 are the reason I don’t watch Football anymore. Who else goes 15-1 and doesn’t even make the Superbowl???) http://rope.92kqrs.com/morningshow/audio/vickingssuck.mp3
Between the holes in Tavo’s stories and Red’s penchant for taxpayer money, I’d say this deal is going nowhere.
I couldn’t see Elroy on the map but I did find Webberville and Hamilton in Texas. In an obvious bias against Spanish drivers, I couldn’t find a town called Alonso.
Meanwhile, it is being reported that the Red Bull Air Race has been cancelled for next year. Maybe Red Bull need to save money to invest in spare wings for the front of Vettel’s car?
I’ve seen ‘a’ layout for the circuit, and it’s very twisty, whether this is the definitive layout I have no idea, but it looks like a compact Spa, and has a 30 metre elevation change.
Leigh O’Gorman: Gossage said he had no problem with Austin having an F1 race as long as it doesn’t want a NASCAR date. As far as I recall, Hellmund said he did not, more likely the track will host Grand-Am, ALMS, AMA Superbike and other road racing caregories so that it doesn’t compete with TMS.
@Zoltán Laky
Kind of what I was thinking.
Cheers for that
[...] McCombs – you don’t get more brilliantly American than that. And he’s sometimes referred to as BJ McCombs, if you fancy some particularly immature smirking. Which I frequently [...]
I just found Elroy Taxas using Google maps.
It could also be called “FLATroy” Texas. I hope they have earth moving equipment rental in the budget for the construction of the track.
I just got back from the MotoGP race last weekend at Laguna Seca and that is a world class course in the USA, somewhat short, but it has great elevation changes. The promotors of this new Austion track need to take a visit to Laguna Seca to get ideas for track layout and not parking.
I really believe its all lies. How is it possible that Tilke has been working on the track layout for years if they don’t know where the bloody track is located? Especially since they are talking elevation changes etc etc.
Pipe Dream.
I want so badly to be proven wrong.
I’ll believe it when I see it when it comes to anything USA + F1.
I don’t believe it will happen.
I don’t believe more people would go to Austin than Indy.
I went to Indy thrice.
I wouldn’t pay 10 cents to watch a race at a Tilke track. Free on TV, I suffer through them, but horsepuckey he’s a terrible track designer.
Lagun’s a bit small, but has that hint of effete snobbery (not the track, the CaliKids all around in wine country) so necessary to those who think they are special. That pretty much sums up the movers and shakers in F1, no? But no one will invest the money necessary to bring the track to F1 standards.
Watkins Glen, Road America, Road Atlanta – we have many great tracks – just this circus has gotten to expensive for any track owner to see returns on investment.
The whole thing is a lie. Plans are already to use the announced site to be the new landfill and use the current landfill as the track. The site is already underway. Don’t be sheep people!
Back Door Deals Etc. must be done so the rich get richer and the poor stay the same.