The Cooler Policy Debate Heats Up as Robert Staley and Corey Latham debate the New Cooler Policy that Many tracks have been adopting ... Then Langley Austin jumps in on the Debate and tells us who he thinks is right!
By: Robert Staley ~ rob@race22.com
By: Corey Latham ~ corey@race22.com
A few of my comrades and I have recently discussed race track policy on bringing outside food into the track.
This debate was sparked in major part by the Orange County Speedway announcement that outside food and drink would be banned in 2008. Some think it's the worst idea in the history of man. I have my own ideas about the matter.
First of all, I have never determined which race track I would go to on a given weekend based on quality of food, food prices, or ability to bring outside food in. This is pertaining to me only. A race track doesn't just cater to me and those who share my views. Any given track must figure what it needs to do to make the most profit. A compromise based on the needs of all fans must be determined to make the most of what a track has to offer.
In other words, OCS has apparently felt that it would be in their best interest business wise to prohibit outside food and drink. I'm sure if attendance is severely affected that they will reverse the policy. The change could affect the admission price, purse structure, sponsorship opportunities and more in either direction.
The bottom line is the final answer. Some tracks would die without letting outside food and drink come in. Some feel they're not getting enough bang for their buck in operating a concession stand. It all depends on the individual track. This is part of why so many tracks have closed. It's just too big a headache for some people. There are so many options to weigh, and a food and drink policy is just one.
I hope, after watching OCS sit idle for two years, that the new food and drink policy will not be the track's killer. I hope that the OCS staff has done enough research on this matter to make the right decision. The racing there was excellent in 2007 and that's what they're betting will bring in more folks in 2008.
Those of you who go to a track to take your own food and drink or prefer a certain track for the quality of such have a legitimate gripe. But I and many others prefer to make a track choice on who has the best racing.
Alright, it seems that Rob Staley has a debate to be had with me about the cooler situation at certain tracks. In the words of Samuel L. Jackson, "Please allow me to retort".
With the way attendence is for local racing these days, something needs to be done for a good promotion, something to put people in the stands. Not allowing coolers in the track is not the answer. I know, I know, racing is the only sport that even allows this type of thing to take place, we should be grateful. So what? It has been going on since day one, and stills goes on at all the major levels of racing, and they have not seen a need to stop it, they are making money hand over fist. Your local track is just that, YOUR LOCAL TRACK. It's not the rich snob people you see at the Cup race, it's people just like you and me. I'm not rich by any means, heck i'm not even really secure. But I do love racing and I usually bring the kids with me, they love it too. This is where the problem starts.
This is totally my opinion but I believe it to be right. About half the people sitting in the grandstands at a local track on Sat. night live paycheck to paycheck. I still have to at times. Bring the misses and two kids, your already paying $20 for gas (at least) and at least $25 to get you in the stands (most tracks kids under 12 are free, if not your paying out the wazoo). Packing a cooler to keep everyone happy is an essential thing, and a coveted thing by all racefans. Kids usually get bored at races (it happens) so they want something to eat or drink to break the usual. This gets costly if your not packing a cooler with snacks or drinks. We are your meal ticket tracks, like i've said before, you can't live off the back gate forever. Some tracks do it but thats another story for another day.
The main point is for the tracks to look at the stands. There already is nobody there. Will taking away a money saving freedom from your paying patrons make the attendence better? Of course it won't, what exactly are you thinking? Todays racefans are nothing like they used to be, the slightest chance of rain, the whole point of driving, the cost of gas and tickets, they all contribute for what todays wannabe racefan is......lazy. People want to see a race, but with todays TV and all the other things to do, the slightest downside makes people not show up. Banning coolers is not the way to go. I'm not speaking for me, well, maybe I am, but this whole idea has no positive at all, I could care less what everybody argues, the proof will be in the puddin. And that will be the track owners looking in the stands and wondering where everbody is. I'll tell ya where they are, they are sitting on the couch drinking their $8 12 pack, eating chips and hotdogs from the grill, wondering why they couldn't afford to go to the race, but still getting a fix from the television. Come on tracks, get a clue.
COOLER POLICY DEBATE ... WHO'S REALLY RIGHT???
Ok, it looks like my two friends Rob and Corey are on opposite sides of the fence on this Cooler Policy debate, but the sad part is I find both of them to be .... right.
Ok, so your asking how could that be ... I can answer that question. Rob is right "real race fans" don't make their decision of what race to go to based upon a cooler policy, but at the same time Corey is right spot on that you can look at the stands and see a trend, not just a trend, but a problem ... there's no one up there. Well, with that being said if there isn't anyone up there in the stands now ... who does the cooler policy really affect???
The only people the cooler policy really affects is the family and friends of the racers ... and that's most of the people who you find in the stands at race tracks today ... even at Bowman Gray Stadium where the track draws an average crowd of over 10,000 people per week. Take a look at the local messageboard for Bowman Gray Stadium, www.itsallamile.com, all of these people are for the most part family or close friends of the racers. You can really tell how close these people are to the racers by how personal they take things on the messageboard.
Anyways, don't lead me down the subject of Bowman Gray Stadium and that messageboard ... I could talk about that for a long while. Back to the cooler policy, it's got to be a tough decision, because you we are the only sport that allows coolers in and despite Corey's thoughts that it's done to the highest level of the sport and it is, that doesn't mean it works for the "local tracks" as he calls it. Local tracks are being beat up everyday, every couple of weeks the tracks get a new expense, theirs always repairs and there's no one sitting in the stands to help pay for this.
Corey says they can't survive off the back gate ... how wrong you are. They've been doing it for so long, things aren't going to change and the back gate is the only means to survive. I mean lets make a comparison to Minor League Baseball ... the Minor League team consist of what three dozen players at most and each team has that many and they play ball ... and honestly from what I've seen with the local team we have, the Salem Avalanche here in Salem, VA, not many of the players live in and around Salem or the Roanoke Valley unless simply to play the game there. Then look at Minor League Racing, known better as Late Model Stock Cars, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, U-Cars and more ... all of these racers live in the area, they pay a lot of times more money than they make to go racing and then pay to get in the track most of the time $20 to $30 per person with a minimum of three to four people going to the track with them.
Minor League Baseball players don't pay for their equipment, the baseball club does, they don't have to pay to play ... in fact they get paid to play ... how can anyone use this comparison when talking about local racing. Think about it this way, if our Minor League Racing was like this, the tracks would supply the cars, drivers would earn their spots to be on the race and you would know every week who would be racing and the drivers would get a paycheck not having to spend their paycheck to go racing and still end up at the local cash advance to take out a 300% interest loan and get further and further behind. So, if racing was just like Minor League Baseball there would be a whole lot more fans, because a lot of the people you would find in the pits normally would be sitting in the stands and we could be like every other sport.
Ok, I get it, we're not like every other sport, certainly as I've pointed out we're nothing like baseball and so Cooler policies aren't the same for us as they are in other sports and they shouldn't be ... if your going to charge the heck out of the people in the pits, maybe race tracks should save the families of the people helping to keep them in business(i.e. the racers and crew members) and allow coolers. Coolers don't hurt concession business, because if someone is looking to save money by bringing in a cooler they more than likely won't be willing to pay three or four dollars for a hamburger or bologna burger and two or three dollars for a 20oz. or smaller soft drink.
If people really won't to know what the cooler policy does to race tracks take a look at Motor Mile Speedway ... they have been known to charge little to nothing(a lot of times nothing) to get into to the track, but ban coolers and they can't draw a crowd to save their life. I mean if three hundred people show up, up there the concessions probably would run out of food within like fifteen minutes. There are several other great examples of how this policy has failed the track in more than one way.
If tracks really want a solution ... they should charge less to get in, then allow a very small cooler and have BETTER food ... it will sell them everytime ... of course maybe they should also promote their track and they could draw more fans and wouldn't have to make many other changes. However in my friend Rob's defense he may be right spot on as he is referring mainly to Orange County Speedway changing their rule for this year ... OCS may be one of the few tracks that could get away with this move ... their in a very good economical area where as other tracks who have failed such as Motor Mile Speedway and Franklin County Speedway are not.
Only time will tell and unfortunately this is a very delicate situation which has to be handled by each track individually and if it doesn't work maybe they should abandon, but it's up to them and ultimately its up to them to decide how much money they want to lose.
WE ARE ...
LATE MODEL STOCK CARS!
The Great Cooler Policy Debate ... By RACE22.com Staff
WE ARE ...
LATE MODEL STOCK CARS!