Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Thats funny!

I wasn't complaining, I was offering suggestions  -- and not all of them are directed toward Knoxville Raceway, many of these are things that MOST racetracks need to do to become relevant with the "casual fan". 

If I wanted to complain about how bad things are, I sure wouldn't have come on here to list them, and off the top of my head can't think of anything that they currently do/have that is HORRIBLE.

RE-READ my original post.  The TITLE is:  SUGGESTIONS to improve fan amenities @ Knoxville and other venues.  If you are taking them as complaints then that's on you.  I was hoping for some dialogue between fans on what they think would help ENHANCE their experience and bring NEW FANS to the racetracks. 

IMO - making the racetracks easier to do business with is one of those things, being more handicapped accessible or having handrails is another.

Some of the GREAT things that Knoxville has done the past few years to help ENHANCE the fan experience are:

APPS for smartphone users to get line-ups (hopefully this will get expanded in the future to include a QR code so fans in the stands can access direct feeds from the cameras to make being at the track a more enjoyable experience (this is something that the NFL, MLB, NASCAR and others are doing currently or working on to make BEING THERE more fun than watching at home).

Bottled soda (makes the lines move MUCH faster at the concession stands) - although I'd prefer fountain soda, this move made SENSE and was a SMART BUSINESS DECISION as fans don't want to stand in line when racecars are on the track

Posters/pocket schedules - I've seen more schedule posters and pocket schedules the last 4 years in BUSINESSES, cubicles at work, and other locations than EVER before -- these are advertisements in non-traditional places

re-vampled restrooms (going to urinals from the troughs in the men's restrooms) - Hopefully the women's restrooms were equally or more upgraded than the men's.  Maybe someday there will be hot water to wash your hands too, but I know everything takes time and $$$$ to do.

concrete under the stands - I remember when I was a kid and it was just dirt under the stands, if it had rained at ALL during the week, your shoes would get almost ruined.  Most people visiting for the first time are AMAZED at how modern the raceway is compared to others they have visited.

Avenue of Champions and Event Banners on back of grandstands and now outside turns 1 & 2 - These are visual only, but it gives the entire facility that "BIG EVENT" feel for everyone that walks onto the grounds or drives by on highway 14 (for people that only go to Iowa Speedway that come through Knoxville, it gives them something to notice and say to themselves: "hey, we should check this place out, look at those banners and how cool that place looks"

There are a MULITITUDE of facility upgrades that can ALWAYS be made at any and all venues (even ones that just got upgraded like Kinnick Stadium, Jack Trice, Wells Fargo Arena, Buccanneer Arena, etc.).  Suggesting what you think would be good additions shouldn't be frowned upon, I would hope that it's something that MOST businesses welcome (isn't that why restaurant chains have comment cards, Wal-mart tells you to go to their website and take a survey, etc.).

Really? how do you think things get changed for the better by someone complaining. If someone is stupid enough to run for the board as long as you have 24 guys that want to run the place youre stupid. i can tell you the old guys have to leave before anything positive will come from that racetrack. they dont want to spend money they just expect people to show up. NOT GOOD BUSINESS!

Many racetracks offer free admission to people from certain towns and counties which would be a good idea for the MARION COUNTY FAIRBOARD to do for MARION COUNTY RESIDENTS to thank them for what they do to make knoxville seem like a great town to visit every year, but oh yeah they would look at it as money lost rather than all the extra people that might actually enjoy themselves and hey maybe come back, but they could care less about that because they expect people to come back. I know i haven't gone much for the last 5 years. partially because i race other places and partially because the experience at Knoxville sucks major butt. Ive spent good money to go to places like Marshalltown and Stuart to watch a real raceprogram put on. No intermission unless theres a reason....like something else going on to pay attention to: for instance candy dashes for the kids or even my new favorite at West Liberty the kids club had big wheel races and the kids got bigger trophys than the race winners and you know what those kids will be back and spending money unlike what will eventually happen at knoxville unless they step it up.

My post isn't Knoxville specific (I should have just said RACETRACKS).

My biggest gripe is the fact that 90% of the fans at most racetracks just bury their head in the sand and don't even try to offer suggestions to their local tracks on what they could do to increase fan support, driver support and the like, they just go on message boards and try to tear down peope that do offer suggestions.

If I get nominated and elected, I'd be happy to serve (as long as it doesn't create a conflict of interest for myself or my wife due to where we work-- yes, being a member of a board can be a conflict of interest and affect your real job).

I have no problem with working hard to make the raceway, the FAIR, or any other local event or cause better (RAGBRAI, The Hall of Fame, Boy Scouts, Kiwani's, Rotary, etc., etc.).  If they asked for my help today I'd help (even without being a part of the board).

Vande if you get elected...push for running super modifieds again.....the homemade type that ran in about 1965.

Nothing seemed faster than watching Jerry Blundy in the blue 33, Hank Smith in the white and red #5.

They seemed super fast....with that much excitement you wouldnt need ...food stands..beer ...credit cards.....

Thanks for the constructive response.  I don't live or work in DesMoines, so no I don't see the media campaign, just a commercial or two near Nationals time during the 10 o'clock news, good to hear that they are marketing Knoxville Raceway, but what about all the other local tracks (I don't even see print ads in the Register for the races at teh State Fairgrounds (and it's IN DesMoines).  I'm trying to take a broader look and not just at Knoxville and sprint car racing, but at short track racing in our state.

Agree totally on the APP - this will be more and more imporatant as the years pass by (people 25 and under have NEVER lived life without a computer of some sort whether it be at school or home--out local school has laptops for EVERY student 6th through 12th grade that they get to bring home from the start of the school year to the end of the school year)  - technology needs to be at the forefront of EVERY racetracks to do list to make sure we ENGAGE those young people to make them FANS for years to come.

My entire point was  to get a dialogue going of what is good and some areas that fans would like to see improvements (for example:  if you drive down from DesMoines weekly, does your family come with you or did they come once and say:  never again until there is (insert the thing that they want) available there.  Without feedback from customers how does a business know what is hurting their bottom line (in this case attendance at short tracks).

To me it's about INCREASING the fanbase.  Knoxville could have the old wooden grandstands, old wooden fences, no scoreboard, the old bathrooms, etc. and I'd still be there every night they race.  But I'm a die-hard fan (and there are less and less of those EVERY year).  I listed things I thought that would ENHANCE the experience (especially for first time attendees) and hopefully make thier first visit one of MANY visits instead of their one and only....

I too feel spoiled by going to Knoxville, but I've gone to other racetracks in Iowa (and in Florida, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Nebraska, Kansas and Illinois) that do some things better than Knoxville does, and do MANY things MUCH, MUCH worse than Knoxville does.  I view the raceway just like I do any other business.  When they stop trying to improve their product, that's when the competition (Barnstormers, Iowa Energy, Iowa Speedway, Iowa Wild, other short-tracks) will start taking away their customers (just like a new HyVee store will take business away from Fareway or vice-versa).  Problem is that it is hard to get those customers back.

I went to the 360 Nationals last year and then the 410 Nationals for the first time this year.  I thought it was a great experience all the way around.   I like the suggestion regarding the handrails.   I also would like to see the big screen located somewhere that I could actually see it.    Honesty though, I think the rest of it could be left alone.   I don't see what the big deal is over debit cards.    As far as I'm concerned, the small amount of time saved at McDonald's by using one matters very little.   Are we really in that big of a hurry that the extra 5 or 10 seconds is a big deal?  I think the PA system at Knoxville is one of the best I've ever heard at a race track, and I really don't care to hear the announcer while the cars are at speed anyway.    Spend a night at one of our tracks in the Dallas area, or go sit in the west side stands at West Memphis and you'll think Knoxville Raceway is paradise.  

As far as new fans go, bring them to the race track and they'll either love it or they won't.  If they love it, I seriously doubt you'll hear "wow, that was great but I won't be back cause I can't use my debit card".     

The good old days (before my time though).....

Right or wrong, agree or not agree hopefully the 'powers-to-be' are reading these posts and take them for what they're worth. One pet peeve of a person I talked to about these ideas today (I had not thought of this, but TOTALLLY agree) is the cigarette butts all over the areas where smoking IS allowed (the midway parking lot for example.) There are places they almost completely cover the ground like a light snow fall. Very low class appearing and feeling to a non smoking new or non smoking regular fan and any potential car ot track sponsor. Buy a damn vacuum, mini sweeper or something and eliminate this eyesore.

"Nearly every race was started on time......"

You mean no more than twenty minutes late??  Why don't they just advertise a later start time instead of constantly being 15 minutes late?

Announcing is HORRIBLE. Tony and mike are great but everyone else is terrible. You cant understand any of the other announcers. Whoever helped during both Nationals was bad. Gibson talks fast and it comes out as jibberish.

Also it's nice to watch the fire and safety crew stand in the concession lines while cars are on the track, hot laps and time trials in particular.

Vande makes more sense than 99% of the people on any racing forum. Positive critisim is never a bad thing. We love Knoxville and it could stand a little tweaking, but there are a bunch of joints that need serious attention. The Knoxville staff was very kind to me last year and helped me with the elevator prior to my knee surgery. Race tracks better get with the times or they will be gone. None of us want that, but there are folks who still think that racing is the only thing in the world.

I just have to say something about the $5.00 add on to use a credit card. I am sure some of you know about "merchant fees" charged by the credit card providers. I would be willing to bet that the merchant fee for Knoxville raceway is close to 1.5%. Last year I bought two tickets to the Nationals for $380.00 and paid the $5.00 fee. The tranaction probably cost them $5.70 so why should I expect them to give me a "discount" because I charged the tickets.

Someone mentioned the "cash back" rewards they get from using their credit cards. Where do you think the money to give you cash back comes from------the merchant fees.

Be happy and pay the $5.00 as a convience of not having to drive to Iowa and pay cash in November. The 800 miles payment for gas is a lot more than $5.00.

By the way the merchant fee is built into the price of anything you buy at a retail store. Just ask if they give a discount for cash. Some mom and pops give a discount but not at the national chains.