Black2003SS Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 I know Mr. P. There are ordinances against them all over the place and you have to get special permitts, zoning, etc. Too bad. But thats so you dont put one in someones back yard and keep the neighbors up all nigh long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 (edited) I know Mr. P. There are ordinances against them all over the place and you have to get special permitts, zoning, etc. Too bad. But thats so you dont put one in someones back yard and keep the neighbors up all nigh long. The neighbors are the least of your problems. Fixed costs = the land, paving, outbuildings, lights, fencing, barriers, grandstands, vehicles - this can easily run $1/2M to $1M just in facility costs. But what really eats you up are the operating costs = seasonal upkeep (repaving), staffing, sanctioning body costs (IHRA/NHRA), paramedics, taxes, electricity, and most of all LIABILITY insurance; I'm pretty sure that Texas law requires hazardous motor vehicle events have $3M liability coverage per event/day/night where patrons are charged, again that's my guess the real number could be anywhere from $2-5M in coverage. Other thing you have to rememer is that there's only one dragstrip - you can only run so many cars per hour down the track, meaning that will dictate how large a crowd the facility will support and be the bottleneck to the revenue you can generate in such a venue. So revenue-wise your turnout will only be 200-300 cars on any given night (averaged through the season) so my imagination tells me the gross receipts will only be $5-6K per night at best - again that's averaged gross, subtract out salaries and insurance and it doesn't leave much left for property taxes, property mortgage payments, etc. Also, that income is SEASONAL, and mortage payments & taxes are due whether the track is rained-out or not. And this all assumes that you don't get your ass sued because somebody on your staff did something stupid and a spectator got hurt or a racer did not get a winnings check because the timing lights failed or -whatever-. If team roping is anything to go by you can assume you will be sued every 2-3 years as a matter of course... more expenses (legal fees). Good example is the 1/8-m track in Denton TX; it just went into bankruptcy/reorg and the facilities traded hands for $3/4M, and that's just a little punkin-rollin IHRA track... We've got the exact same event issues here in team roping, but the numbers are a whole lot better - just this last weekend we had a roping in San Antonio that took in over $500K in entry fees in one weekend; in contrast it would take the average mom & pop local dragstrip 75-100 weekends to get those kinds of gross receipts, that's like 2-3 seasons. Moral of the story - always personally thank the owners of your local track, because it's mostly a labor of love! 'Cause I just can't see anyone getting rich off this! And people wonder why there's so much street racing. Mr. P. Edited April 24, 2007 by misterp (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packjh Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 thats why you just build you a mile long driveway that just happens to have two lanes, and live away from people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black2003SS Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 They make their money on sponsorship and concession sales, just like movie theaters etc. I was just throwing a 1 in a million long shot wish Mr P. I know it would be expensive and I could never afford it...why I said "wish". Guess you're stuck in disertation mode the last couple of days! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatrickSilverado Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 Yes. that is awesome. you treated that corvette like an ole goat. You made him go kick rocks on the take off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagged7104ss Posted April 26, 2007 Report Share Posted April 26, 2007 Good kill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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