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NorthernLight IRL: Tony George comments on 'State of the Series'

12 April 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

State of the Series - Tony George, Bob Reif

GEORGE: "Welcome to all the teams and drivers that are here preparing. Welcome to all of you representing the media. I dont know if this is going to be a state of the series as such, but we are going to talk a little bit about the Indianapolis 500, the Indy Racing League and the Indy Racing Northern Light Series. So theres a lot of interesting things we have in store, and Id like to begin by talking about some of the new things that youll see. Some of you may be in around the last couple of days and taken some of it in, but our major capital program thats been underway for two years is starting to come to conclusion. Its been cleaned up a bit for this week. You know, its going to be full tilt again probably next week for a couple of weeks until we really get ready to open for the month of May. But its been a challenge, building all the new infrastructure into the facility, getting ready for the Formula One race in September. You know, building the towers been a two-year project thats been started and stopped, started and stopped, and started and stopped as we clean up and prepare to receive 300,000 guests. But Im very proud of the effort that all the contractors have put forth to make this, what looks to be a very impressive, brand-new facility. I think within another few years, were going to have a completely new facility with all the rich history and tradition of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway incorporated into it. But its going to be a facility unmatched by any other of the new facilities that have been built within the last few years. It is our largest project. Its cost us tens of millions of dollars to this point, and its not finished. So weve made sure that were investing in the right ways in the future of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Motorsports has grown so much through the decades and were positioning ourselves to be industry leaders going forward. I mentioned the Pagoda, the new tower, thats going to house Mike (King) who, by the way, does a very nice job. Thank you very much. But Mike and the Radio Network and the public address and safety and traffic are all going to be located in there. There are going to be operations that are located in the tower. Of course, timing and scoring and race control eventually will move into the new tower, but theres also going to be a couple of hospitality suites in there, which provide spectacular view of all the grounds and the city skyline. The racetrack itself has been slightly reconfigured. The pits and paddock area, Im sure youll see, is taking on the look of a Formula One pit area. But for the 500 and the 400, were going to have a lot of the same feel that weve always had with grandstand seating that has a similar profile to the lower half of the old tower terrace. Its right along pit road, so the fans can be close to the action and reach over the fence for autographs and what not. So itll have a little bit of a new look, but itll be, I think, very exciting as we kick off the racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the new millennium. On top of the garages that you see are the hospitality suites, which we hope to have open for May. Weve done a good job of marketing them, selling them. Now weve got to make sure we have them to a point people can actually occupy them, but Im sure well get that done. Also, theres going to be some of the accessory buildings behind those Pit Row garages. Theres going to be a new look back there where we have a two-story building, where the old media center was, the restrooms will be up on the top for the most part. Then the accessory rooms will be down below. Obviously for those of you in the media here today, the most interesting construction project, of which there are nine concurrently going on around the Speedway, youre most interested Im sure in the new media center" which youre really going to be lucky if its anywhere near finished because that project has been behind schedule for a long time to the tune of three or four weeks. But Im sure theyre working very hard and itll be better by August and even better yet by September. But Im sure theyre going to work hard to make your accommodations the best they can be. This is the fifth Indianapolis 500 since the inception of the Indy Racing League, probably the third I guess with the Indy Racing League actually sanctioning it. And whether its been the Triple A or the United States Auto Club or the Indy Racing League, one thing that can be said is that all the races have been typical Indianapolis 500s. Theyve been very competitive with very interesting and great stories whether its Buddy Lazier coming from his back injuries in 1996 at Phoenix to win his first 500 or the story of Eddie Cheever who is a struggling car owner but a very accomplished racecar driver" You know, put together a team, an operation that was not only given the opportunity to compete at the highest level but actually had the opportunity to win. And he did. And then of course, Arie Luyendyk winning his second and then leading very spectacularly last year before the very wily veteran made a very rookie-like mistake, you know, in his last race. So theres a lot of interesting stories in the past. Im sure there are going to be just as many stories this year with some of the great rookies we have here as well as some of the veterans who are looking forward to adding their name for the first or multiple times on the Borg-Warner Trophy. The Indy Racing League continues to develop; we had a very successful launch of our second generation, or next generation if you will, of the IRL specifications that have been in place for some four years now. Very pleased with the abilities of our technical staff to be able to manage the needs of the sport from a safety standpoint, from a competition standpoint and from a reliability standpoint. You know, this package we have, it really works. Theres not a lot of aggravation that goes with it, at least none that I experience. It" our goal is to put on an exciting competition on the racetrack so we can all focus on the other things we need to, as far as growing the sport and that takes some time. But its easier to do when you have a very reliable package that works. So as we look to the future, well continue to look at the technical specifications and see what we need to do to continue to massage those and insure that theyre doing everything that we like. We look to grow this series and the number of races. We continue to have dialogue going forward in 2000, trying to put together our 2001 schedule. We have a lot of interest from a lot of racetracks that should allow us to accomplish our goals for 2001. Were very happy with the growth of the series with respect to sponsors. I think a lot of our teams, as obvious in Orlando, it was more apparent in Phoenix and Im sure itll be the case in Indianapolis, that more of our teams are finding funding. Some of it is sponsorship that is non-traditional. The motor sports are very excited to be developing these new relationships and providing new opportunity for people to come into this sport, their companies to get involved at a reasonable level, to realize good value for their contributions to the sport, to help us grow the sport and create more awareness. Theres probably no better case that supports that than our new series sponsor, Northern Light Technologies. I think that were very fortunate to have sort of at the last minute, before we actually started the 2000 season, to bring Northern Light on as a series sponsor. Their CEO, David Seuss, who will join us, as I said, later today is a very enthusiastic partner. He has a great vision.. Hes been involved in growing companies. He s retired. Hes come back. Hes a racer, and he understands the sport. Hes been involved as a driver himself in Tran sAm and he wants to help us realize our objectives. We share the objectives in trying to grow this series, put fans in the stands and take our message out through the traditional outlets, through the media and whatnot, but also through the new media of the internet. So were very excited about his involvement and his companys involvement. And we expect that the 2000 racing season for the Indy Racing League and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is going to be the best ever. So thank you all for being here. And well turn it back over to Mike. MIKE: Were going to ask Tony to stick around and hes going to" I guess we re going to open up the floor in just a couple of minutes for some questions. I also want to introduce a gentleman whos with us here today. And you hear the clich or the phrase that to make things happen, youve got to have good people or good people make good things happen. This is a relatively young man with" what Bob, youre 33? Is that right? Youre 33 years old? With an incredibly impressive resume. Joined the Indianapolis Motor Speedway just a few months ago after a very successful stint with the Miami Dolphins. He understands what its supposed to be like in the big leagues and knows apparently how to get it down. He had not been with the Speedway and the Indy Racing Northern Light Series for more than just literally a few weeks when the Northern Light Technology deal was announced. And in talking with David Seuss, you will hear him say how impressed he has been with Bob Reif and with the way the negotiations were handled. So another piece of the puzzle falls into place. And he is the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and for the Indy Racing Northern Light Series as well, Bob Reif. Bob, if you want to come on up, and Tony if we could have you come back up as well so we could get some questions. And have you and Bob here and get you to share this microphone and we are recording this, so anyone who has questions, well give you the mike.

REIF: Thank you.

Q: Tony, what are the chances of having both CART and IRL events at any particular facility, say particular Nazareth and Milwaukee next year?

GEORGE: Having separate races, separate times of the year? I really dont have a feel for that. You know, theres been a lot of speculation in the media as to what way that might fall at some of the ISC tracks in particular, whether its Phoenix or Nazareth or whatever, but its very speculative, and I dont really comment on speculative things like that.

REIF: I can add to that, that we know where we want to race next year and if someone else wants to race there, thats out of our control.

Q: What are your impressions of the new Kentucky Speedway for the race coming up in August?

GEORGE: You know, I havent been there yet. Ive seen a few pictures, but not very many. They tell me its very nice. Im going to have try to get over there, but I think that the race is going to be wildly successful. I think theres a lot of race fans in the Midwest that" unfortunately we haven t really tapped into. Weve had a lot of race fans from the Midwest go to Phoenix and Las Vegas and Atlanta, but havent" having more racing in the Midwest is something we need to try and do, and I think this is going to be a good start. And it sounds like its going to be a first-class facility. We re going to be looking very much forward to kicking off their inaugural season down there.

Q: Tony, with the season opener and the league opener at Disney and have been there for the last five years, what does it look like for 2001? Nobody knows where its going to be at.

GEORGE: Well, were still working on our schedule for 2001. And were talking to everyone, including Disney. Were working to try to find a suitable date for that event. I think thats a big challenge with an organization like Disney who is in the entertainment business and the theme-park business. They tend to have a lot of crowds, and they have their own needs that they have to manage. You know, its been a great facility for us and we dont want to" we dont want to not race there if its at all possible. So were looking. Were looking to consolidate or condense our schedule a little bit, you know, trying to start early in the year. Maybe not quite as early as January, but certainly early in the year and wind up a little sooner after Labor Day. So again, it may take us a while to get there. Well continue to work on our schedule for this year, and well see where it sorts itself out at.

Q: In order to grow the schedule right now, it looks like youre going to have to have a good relationship with ISC. Whats the relationship now between Indy Racing, ISC and can you say what tracks that ISC owns that you would like to go to?

GEORGE: We do have a very good relationship with ISC, theres no question about that. The fact that we only run at one facility that they operate is a temporary condition, so obviously, first and foremost on our list is Fontana. Wed love to have a race at Fontana and that goes back to the question asked earlier, you know. Could there be two races, each series racing at a common facility? And I dont know but certainly we want to race at Fontana. Or southern California. It may well be the case at some point in the future.

Q: Tony, can you give us a range of races you expect for 2001? Not a full schedule, obviously since youre not going to announce that, but approximately how many? Last year you said this year would be eight to 13. It ended up at nine. What does it look like for next year, just in numbers?

GEORGE: Probably in that same range. Hopefully between nine and 10 to 13 or 14. I think its possible. Its certainly a lot of interest at this point, so well see if we can actually put some of them to bed.

Q: Bob, as where you sit as Chief Marketing Officer, how important was the addition of Northern Light?

REIF: Well, it was tremendous for us. Having the title sponsor and having a five-year television agreement gives a league stability. Now were at the point of growth. So now that weve got a partner like Northern Light, that can see our vision and can access non-traditional media, were in a good position and our teams will find out that Northern Light is going to help us promote the series and do the things that need to happen.

Q: Tony, theres been some talk about the German promoters, talking with you about going over there. Can you talk about that?

GEORGE: Well, we were the first ones that they came to visit when they started looking at building the facility, and weve been in contact with them for the last three years. Three or more years, I think. Now its nearing completion, and the people that were responsible for building the track are kind of winding up their involvement and theyve got someone in there to manage the facility and then actually put together the commercial enterprise. We have had some conversations with them as well as has CART and NASCAR. You know, my interest is" as the series grows, you know, were looking at expanding our schedule and certainly we view the Indy Racing or the Indy Racing Northern Light Series as an international series with international flavor and competition, and racing offshore is something that is definitely going to be in our future at some point. When and wheres not determined, but I did run into Hans over at Nazareth this past weekend and brought back a brochure of their progress to date, and its an impressive facility. Its as they planned to build it. Looks to be a good market in that within 125 miles of the facility they have about 20 million people. So it would not be unlike locating a racetrack in New Jersey. So well just see where that goes. I think that if the right opportunity presents itself, Germany may be in our future.

Q: Mr. George, two weeks ago over at Homestead, Andrew Craig said that they would probably not keep May open again next year like they did this year so that the CART guys can come over here. If they dont do that, given the fact that only a couple of the CART guys have come over here this year" just your thoughts on the whole idea of opening up the 500 to those guys and the fact that they really didnt respond in the way that many of us felt they might.

GEORGE: I dont know how to really respond to that. I think theyve obviously got to make decisions for their business based on their best judgement, whatever that may be. I dont know. But certainly, we plan on having a full calendar of racing activities in Indianapolis in May. I kind of view all the CART car owners as potential IRL car owners at some point in the future. So well continue to do what we do, and Im sure this has been said for the past several months. They need to do what they need to do. You know, what that means for the future, I dont know. But were going to continue to focus as Im sure are they. So thats where that is.

Q: Hows the Joliet facility coming along? Where do you expect it to fall on the schedule for next year? Early summer, late summer, August?

REIF: Well, Joliet is a beautiful facility. And as many people know were in a partnership there with ISC. Were looking at a couple of dates and somebody mentioned the ISC partnership or the relationship and if you think that were in a partnership up the road in Joliet, weve had to spend a lot of time with those folks over the past couple of months. So I think that relationship is strengthening. But were looking at a few dates, and were right now taking a look at the entire schedule. We want to be in a position where we can announce our schedule sooner than we did last year so that teams have the opportunity to go find sponsors, we have the opportunity for league sponsors, people can get their programs together and have a true off-season. So Joliet is going to happen" were looking at two dates right now: one in July, another in September.

Q: Tony, how many" how long until you bump this series up in the terms of races? It seems like its starting to fall off the radar screen of a lot of fans because the schedule, instead of growing has stayed stagnant or this year fallen back. And would 13 races next year be enough to get you bumped up and considered among the majors?

GEORGE: Well, I think" I dont know. Its a very competitive environment out there. I dont know that weve fallen off anyones radar screen. I think we do need more events. We do need to be, you know, out there more weekends a year, more weeks a year with races and were trying to grow that. But you know, I dont feel at all that weve gone backward. The fact that we have one less race or one more race than we had last year or two doesnt really concern me. Were looking for the right opportunities. And just to add a couple of races for the sake of adding them for numbers doesnt make sense to me. Its got to be a good relationship, a good partnership with the venue. So for whatever reason, Nazareth was talked about as a potential race for 2000. It didnt work out mainly because it wasnt a good, a viable business opportunity for one or both sides. So its got to make sense. While theres been a lot of speculation that its not working in Phoenix, I will tell you that it is working in Phoenix and its going to continue to get better. And its working to the point that we feel like were going to have more ISC tracks. The problem you have with CART and IRL operating out there, theyre being played off one another. And theyre playing one another off each other with the promoters and its" you know, creates an opportunity for insanity to sometimes start to fester. So I dont know how long that can continue. But we continue to plan to get stronger and start cluttering up the radar screen rather than be perceived by some as falling off of it.

Q: Bob, do you care to comment on this question?

REIF:: I just think that whether we have nine races or 13 races, whats important to us is consistency and growth. And we had the opportunity this year, we had two opportunities to be in markets. Nazareth was one of them, and Milwaukee was another. Were not interested in doing a one-year deal where we can have an event and then we have to leave town. That doesnt do anything for us and doesnt do anything for our consistency and our growth. We need multi-year deals in place. And thats where we want to be in a position to show everybody that were consistent and here to stay. And that s how you develop a fan base. Thats how you get people to come to the races, because they know youll be coming back year after year. You know, if you look at Phoenix, CART in its heyday wasnt much better than where weve been growing, and weve had 15 percent growth there this year. Were proud to say that. So were proud of where were going and were going to continue to grow it. We just want people to know that.

Q: Either one of you gentlemen can answer this. Should the promotion of a race be done more by the track or the sanctioning body or working hand-in-hand perhaps is the best way in this day?

REIF: Well, Ill tell you, whatever works to sell more tickets" thats what Im in favor of. Im a fan of success. So if we can be successful by getting fans in the stands and we can do it, thats great. But we like people that are big boys and like to promote their races. And in some cases, weve got to do it ourselves. We are very flexible in making things work. And we believe we can sell our product better than anybody else can sell our product. So if we have to help folks do that, weve got the capability to do that. Weve got the right people in the right places to make that happen.

Q: Thanks very much for being here.

REIF: Thank you.

Text provided by Paul Kelly

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