Tws to open till end of the year

[Storm Trooper]

Friend of mine who lives in college station told me that the track is going to be open till the end of the year. One of the developers ran into some issues and they told him that the track will stay open through the end of the year. Maybe we can get a second track date this year :-)

[mach1]

Nice!

[Wade]

http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/texas-world-speedway-back-on-track-at-least-temporarily/article_6bfc8c38-ff33-11e4-9b3d-b3fb22905bac.html

[ShadowBolt]

Cool?

[Pranav]

I CALLED IT!

I'm no insider and have no basis for my gut feeling, but knew something like this would happen close to the "end date"

You can't just knock down a money maker if you aren't ready to turn it into another one right away...

So when's our next TWS event???

[AllZWay]

Lienart is famous too.

http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/demolition-of-texas-world-speedway-delayed-until-the-en-1705913430?utm_campaign=socialflow_jalopnik_twitte r&utm_source=jalopnik_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

I saw it on Twitter.

[AI#97]

“At this time, Texas World Speedway will be accepting event dates through December 2015,” Mather told The Eagle. “If the critical development issues are not resolved promptly, it is planned that Texas World Speedway will continue to operate well into the future.”


Yeah, not saying what needs resolved tells me it won't get resolved. I called this long ago.

[Supercharged111]

It's great marketing for the track bubbas, keep 'em coming.

[ShadowBolt]

Lienart is famous too.

http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/demolition-of-texas-world-speedway-delayed-until-the-en-1705913430?utm_campaign=socialflow_jalopnik_twitte r&utm_source=jalopnik_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

I saw it on Twitter.
Wonder who told him? Oh I know.....me! Matt has been saying since day one he thought it was BS.

JJ

[Supercharged111]

Ooh that's a spendy trip, but ever since I watched my first TWS vid that track just looks so goddamned fun: wicked front straight and sideways holy shit braking into T1 no matter which way you go. . . plus it's a 2+ mile roval with near airborne status and potholes and shit. I hope they keep kicking the can, because I really really want to make the trek for a TWS event. I get the feeling that, given their lofty aspirations, this won't be the last time they encounter a "complication" with the project.

[AI#97]

If you paid attention to the numbers being thrown around this entire time, the developer originally told the city council they were going to put $90 Million into the property with about 1400 lots available. That makes each lot COST $64k to be ready for sale...WITHOUT profit.

Latest number thrown out in the Houston paper they said $55 Million. That gets you in the $39k per lot...before profit. Typical developments in the area are selling lots for $30-35k after profit. The number of lots has gone down as well from all the scuttlebutt here in town.

If they are going to be competitive with the lots being sold closer to town, they will have to get their per lot COST down to around $20-25k...and get at least 1250 lots sold. That's $25M all in and you have to keep in mind they already have about $7M skin in the game, leaving them $18M to get ALL of the work done before they can sell LOT #1 if they are going to do a MUD.

If they can't get those numbers down to this, there is no reason whatsoever to put money into the deal. If you could get them to agree that they MIGHT make $5k per lot, for about 1250 lots, that gives them a profit $6.25M.....and it's a risky bet to sell the entire property within 5 years...or even 15 years. If you walked in the door and offered $8M cash tomorrow, you would likely own a racetrack. They get their original investment out of the deal and walk away with a couple Million dollars for sitting on the property for 18months. If you put the purchase package together similar to what bluebonnet is doing for the $10M all in price, you end up with a race track with 45 weekends booked and cash to spiff the place up a bit...maybe even all new paving and restroom upgrades. Spend the next 10 years entrenching the track into the fabric of the local economy and it will not go anywhere....EVER.

[mach1]

I get the feeling that, given their lofty aspirations, this won't be the last time they encounter a "complication" with the project.
Hopefully after all of the complications are worked out, the new will be worn off of COTA and we can race there for a reasonable amount of money.

[ShadowBolt]

What we should do is everyone stay away. Wonder what would happen to the owner if he had a track with no dates filled for the next six months? But that will not happen.

JJ

[Fbody383]

wicked front straight and sideways holy shit braking into T1 no matter which way you go. . . plus it's a 2+ mile roval with near airborne status and potholes and shit. Real airborne status has been achieved.

Matt, what's it cost to do the removal of the concrete stands and make hillside seating/amphitheatre?

[RichardP]

But... But I have T-shirts that say I was at the last event. What am I supposed to do with those?

I'm not surprised that the development is running into problems. I was worried that they wouldn't figure it out before they started demolition and messed up the facility. Then we would have an unusable ghost track taunting us for a decade or more...


Richard P.

[Supercharged111]

Real airborne status has been achieved.

I'm not so sure I want to pay that fee, k member and a arm every time?

[BryanL]

Lienart is famous too.

http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/demolition-of-texas-world-speedway-delayed-until-the-en-1705913430?utm_campaign=socialflow_jalopnik_twitte r&utm_source=jalopnik_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

I saw it on Twitter.
Spell my name right now that I'm famous-Leinart. Of course I'm famous-I won the last CMC race ever at TWS! Well-maybe that won't be the case anymore but I still did a 360 on a cooler lid in the parking lot. They should have put that on the top of the page. I did like the first two comments to the story at the bottom, too.

Matt-you have been saying the same things for awhile and numbers don't lie-good stuff-but the government doesn't care about making a profit so they could still fund the deal. They also use different accounting than corporations. I'm cuirous-how much does it cost to rent the track for a weekend? I'm curious how much revenue the track brings in throughout the year.

[AI#97]

Real airborne status has been achieved.

Matt, what's it cost to do the removal of the concrete stands and make hillside seating/amphitheatre?

I have heard rumors of $1M to $3M to remove the concrete stands and the entire hill which probably included the track surface as well. Also heard rumors for years that it would take $10M to clean the site of the track which sounds high to me and again, those are rumors that have been around for years. However, take that $10M off the $18M I mentioned earlier and that leaves you $8M to put down all roads, electrical distribution ($$$ Copper prices are high as hell and you have to convince College Station Utilities to put the copper in...good luck!) sewers, water lines and meters (1250 of them), build the park you promised CS, all dirt work keeping in mind the entire outer loop is solid rock. Then figure in development costs for design, management and profit and you start to see how the deal makes no sense but hey, it isn't my money so what do I know? I suppose you could sell the MUD bonds to help pay for it all over the years but that is a SERIOUS gamble when there was less than 200 building permit applications in all of Bryan/CS for homes last year....and most of those were probably for the myriad of apartments....again a rumor I plan to investigate.

The way I look at it is if the "hiccup" was no big deal, they would have mentioned what it was and moved on. If it's a deal breaker, you keep your mouth shut to keep the money men involved and opposing interests from sabotaging the deal. If it's a small issue, you say what it is and play it off and maybe someone hears the story and offers to help. It's a poker game. To be a good player, you have to know how to spot a bluff.

Biggest issue you have to look at is that it is a HUGE development project. It would be HUGE for even a place like Houston. Getting all the "planets to align" with the City, State, environmental and other parts to fall into place is a MASSIVE undertaking. Time will tell. The part I found encouraging was the statement that if the issue isn't resolved quickly, it is likely the track will operate for a longer period of time. That is good news for us.

Anyway, it's all speculation and none of us have the money to change the course of events or are part of the deal to know all the details. All we can do is enjoy the track while it is still open and maybe convince the Owners that the current and future best use of the property is as a racetrack.

[AI#97]

Spell my name right now that I'm famous-Leinart. Of course I'm famous-I won the last CMC race ever at TWS! Well-maybe that won't be the case anymore but I still did a 360 on a cooler lid in the parking lot. They should have put that on the top of the page. I did like the first two comments to the story at the bottom, too.

Matt-you have been saying the same things for awhile and numbers don't lie-good stuff-but the government doesn't care about making a profit so they could still fund the deal. They also use different accounting than corporations. I'm cuirous-how much does it cost to rent the track for a weekend? I'm curious how much revenue the track brings in throughout the year.

track rental ranges from roughly $15k to $18k for a weekend depending on what you need for EMS and Cornerworkers. Pretty standard for all Texas tracks with the exception of Harris Hill which is a little cheaper. Hallett is down right CHEAP compared to TX tracks. COTA is $50k per day last I heard but hopefully that changes over the years.

I think, and I could be wrong but the track was rented at least 45 or 46 weekends a year for the last couple of years. You got the math you need from there.

[blk96gt]

Looks like NASA is penciled in for Oct. 17-18.
http://www.texasworldspeedway.com/the-track/track-schedule.html

[Rob Liebbe]

Awesome, TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

On a separate thought;
I wonder if the Bluebonnet Raceway guys are looking at the possibility of picking up TWS instead of building in Brenham/Chapel Hill. TWS has an established track, acceptance from the community, and plenty of room to develop garages, RV parking, etc.

[Pranav]

...and now it looks like it will continue on until Q1 2016:

"We got an email from TWS yesterday stating that they maybe open through March of next year.

We were asked if we wanted the weekend of March 12-13 and we said yes.

So save the date. Track Guys Final Round Up Part Two March 12-13, 2016.

As soon as we know we will let everyone know for sure. We may add Friday for solo drivers again.

Look forward to seeing everyone on track again next year.


Dell R. Hughes
Track Guys Performance Driving Events"

[Suck fumes]

That owner is not never going to be able to sell it with his current plan. So i see it beig open for a while.

[AI#97]

Awesome, TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

On a separate thought;
I wonder if the Bluebonnet Raceway guys are looking at the possibility of picking up TWS instead of building in Brenham/Chapel Hill. TWS has an established track, acceptance from the community, and plenty of room to develop garages, RV parking, etc.

that is the current scuttlebutt. I had an hour long conversation with Charles about 5 months ago and told him he should bail on Brenham and just make an offer on TWS....Then build it up and entrench it in the community so nobody wants to go near it with housing and make improvements to keep the 45 weekends a year booked. Maybe that will happen but it's all hush hush. BBRC did get a $6M credit facility in place to hopefully match with private funds. In my honest opinion, $12M would buy the track tomorrow if not $10M.....but that is just my opinion.

Considering lot values in the area, he can't spend more than $24M to hopefully make $6M-12M on the whole deal....if the current money backer took $12M tomorrow, they doubled their $6M investment for sitting on it for 24 months...If you read their website, that is their usual business model for a development. The $90M and $50M numbers they have thrown around in the last couple years would have lot prices more than DOUBLE the going rate in BCS area.....math don't work.

Crossing fingers and hoping TWS lives forever!

[Pranav]

How much $/weekend would it take to fund purchasing of the track, improvements, upgraded staff, etc, and still keep investors/lenders happy?

[Rob Liebbe]

But we had a final race weekend party already!!!!

Glad to see some signs of life.

[Pranav]

Good afternoon Race Fans

Club Track Holdings suspended its construction plans for a replacement track in April while in purchase negotiations with the ownership of TWS.

This ongoing process is complicated by the economics of the land values, which combined with the growing housing needs of College Station has substantially increased the cost of TWS remaining a track.

The existing track ownership has been cooperative in the process while remaining focused on creation of a subdivision while our intent is to save the facility for future generations. While both sides are striving to create middle ground there are still differences.


Details of the negotiations remain confidential. However, if successful, they will result in a complete rebuild of the famed road course, paddock, and additional support facilities. There would be multiple commercial opportunities for related industries, an on site hotel, kart track and numerous garage condos including the previously reserved Pit Row suites.

Additionally we would be offering home and residential condo sites overlooking both the track and College Station.

There would also be an offering of external commercial sites to interested companies.

If these negotiations fail, development plans continue to build a world class replacement on a previously selected site. This site has been vetted for sound issues, and is easily accessible to each of our primary markets.

Working with the existing TWS ownership the opening of the replacement track will be coordinated with the extended closing date of TWS.

Either way, it is the mission of CTH to ensure our racing community continues to have a quality facility in the Houston, Austin, San Antonio triangle.

For now we ask that you join us in continuing to wait for negotiations and timeline events to mature. Naturally if TWS does not close there is no need to build a replacement track.

We anticipate some direction by mid spring. In the meantime let's all continue to enjoy the extended time that TWS has remained open.

[Pranav]

Starting this song & dance again, is it for real this time? PDS newsletter I got:

BIG BIG NEWS!!!!
Greetings! There is a lot going on at TWS and with PDS. Please read!

OPEN TRACK DAYS
OTDs are open for registration now. Friday May 19 before the WRL event is open to all cars and qualified drivers (solo-rated or comp license). Friday May 26 before the SCCA event is open to all race-prepped cars whether they are racing SCCA or not. www.clubregistration.net.
There will be more scheduled into the Summer, stay tuned...

NEW CDI AND REGISTRAR FOR PDS
If you have been at a PDS recently you know that David and Levica Smith have done a stellar job moving the program forward. But all things change and they will be giving up their spots to another great couple, Mike Globe and Pam Fitzgerald. most of you know Mike and Pam, please give them the same great support that you’ve shown to David, Levica, Martin and Denise!

TWS IS CLOSING. WHAT ABOUT PDS?
Most of you know that TWS is scheduled to close in December 2017, and all signs point to that being a solid date. TWS has given World Racing League permission to begin co-marketing the PDS with WRL in advance of PDS becoming a WRL-operated event after the track shuts the gates. If you love PDS, don’t fret. We will continue with the same people, same staff, same mind-blowing track time… just the new logo above and different tracks.

PDS GOES SPRINT RACING!
This is an awesome by-product of the marriage with WRL! if you already race OR want to make a super easy transition from DE to wheel-to-wheel racing, PDS will have two new programs to make that happen.
START YOUR ENGINES - PDS will start hosting sprint races during DE weekends, starting with the Mustang4Challenge cars from Harris Hill. They are looking for a new home and PDS will open two sprint race sessions in the Saturday schedule. Don’t worry, we’re extending the day a bit so that no one loses track time, and the last DE session still kicks off at 4:36p! We are also opening this up to other 4-cylinder race-prepped cars with limited engine mods as well. Spec Miata is a prime candidate. Civics, vintage Triumphs, BMW 318 - if it has 4 cylinders and has been built to a major club/series safety specs, it can probably race with us! This program is easily expandable to more race sessions without impacting DE time, and we can even open it to more cars if there is interest. More details will follow, but the basic driver and safety requirements are already written into the World Racing League rules. Bottom line - if it’s built to race with someone, and you have a comp license or are rated Yellow or higher you can start racing. This will be offered as both an add-on to your PDS weekend, and as a stand-alone entry as well for those not running in the DE sessions.
WRL LICENSE - PDS will begin issuing WRL licenses. The process is simple - anyone rated Yellow or higher can apply for a license, get a check ride and attend a safety classroom on PDS weekends. This includes Blue students making a check ride to Yellow.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERING FOR THE TWS EVENTS!
TWS is closing, this is your last year of access to our beloved track! Fall dates are limited so take advantage of the Summer PDS and Open Track weekends as well!