groeten uit ..... indianapolis
Door Allard Kalff, donderdag 29 juni om 10 07
Hallo Den Haag. Wakker worden. Het is toch echt een goed vergelijk. De staat Indiana en het land Nederland. De economische impact blijft gewoon gelijk.....
Why the State of Indiana might pay for the United States Grand Prix
The negotiating between the Formula One group and Indianapolis Motor Speedway over the terms for a future contract for the United States Grand Prix has resulted in some rather ill-advised remarks in recent weeks, not least the suggestion from Bernie Ecclestone that Formula 1 does not need America. That is clearly not the case as remarks from various teams have shown. Everyone wants the US Grand Prix to be a success, indeed some teams want more that one race in the United States. That is entirely logical given the vast consumer markets that America offers. At the same time Tony George is like many other promoters and is not keen on paying the Formula One group so much money that he cannot make a decent profit on the race. And it is fair to say that he has a right to be a little irritated after the mess F1 made last year.
The key point in all of this is that if Ecclestone wants more money and George does not want to pay there is a danger that the race will disappear - and that would be a big blow for not only the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Formula One but also for the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. The race is estimated to bring in around $100m each year to the city from the teams and from tens of thousands of fans who fly in for the event. Indianapolis has not had an easy time in recent years. A trip around the town reveals a great deal of factory space available. Indianapolis likes to think of itself as the capital of auto racing in the United States of America but in recent years the IRL-Champ Car split has damaged the business considerably and there is pressure on the city from Charlotte where the NASCAR teams have created an impressive motor racing cluster. The Grand Prix is an important element for Indianapolis to maintain its former status.
The good news is that the local authorities have shown themselves to be willing to offer incentives to teams and there has been talk for some time of a major NASCAR team being lured to Indiana with subsidies. Today Honda has announced that it will be opening a major new car factory at Greensburg, an hour from Indianapolis, where Honda will produce 200,000 vehicles a year. This has come about thanks to subsidies on offer from Indiana governor Mitch Daniels who is rumoured to have granted around $50m in incentives to Honda in order to beat off other bids from Ohio where Honda already has several production plants. Getting the factory is a major coup for the state and it is likely to kick-start the stagnant economy in eastern Indiana
ps: met dank aan www.grandprix.com
