28 Downtown Blocks to Close During F1

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

Seems like they could have found a way to keep the F1 activity concentrated around the F1 racetrack instead of closing Downtown.

It is in Del Valle. lol

I somehow don't think the airport and surrounding farms have the same entertainment value of downtown's many entertainment districts. I don't think that the celebrities and the big money, big spenders that come to F1 events will be satisfied with cow-tipping.

For large scale events, Austin's greatest value is in its entertainment districts downtown. Which is why most every event shuts down downtown. Bat Fest, ACL, Pecan Street or probably the best comparison would be the ROT Rally which is out at the Expo Center. It also shuts down downtown. Austin's entertainment industry is downtown. To expect us all to pick up and move out to some rural patch of grass outside Austin is unrealistic, when their party can just be held in the part of the city we all already are and was built around it.

[passionatearts]

Originally Posted by atxcio

They want to feature Austin and it's qualities (music, food, etc)... and there isn't really much around the track business-wise. So having the festivities downtown really helps the local places and musicians. It's kind of like the ROT rally, where they are based out at the Expo center but have activities (and street closings) downtown.

I would imagine as more gets built out around the track, and the on-site amphitheater is complete, perhaps more festivities will happen there...

I'm glad that they want to support the local businesses and downtown, but it just doesn't seem like Austin has the infrastructure downtown yet to constantly handle events of this size and scope several times a year.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

I'm glad that they want to support the local businesses and downtown, but it just doesn't seem like Austin has the infrastructure downtown yet to constantly handle events of this size and scope several times a year.

and yet Austin does in-fact handle events of this size and scope several times a year. . .

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

I'm glad that they want to support the local businesses and downtown, but it just doesn't seem like Austin has the infrastructure downtown yet to constantly handle events of this size and scope several times a year.

The reason for the downtown festival is because it is the one part of Austin that does currently have the infrastructure for it. I doubt it is to support local.

They are building a large (15k capacity) amphitheater @ COTA that they went with Live Nation out of Los Angeles to book for it rather than Austin's C3 Presents. The amphitheater they are building is called The Tower Amphitheater. It will not be done in time for this year's F1 race. Actually quite a bit of COTA isn't planned to be done with this year's F1 race, and there will still be a lot of construction continuing after the F1 race. COTA should be done by next year though.

Here is what the Tower Amphitheater will be like when done. It is planned to help with traffic after the race. So that everyone is not leaving the track at the same time, but will also hold events during the rest of the year.


COTA UNVEILS

Here is its progress this week.


Circuit of The Americas - Home of the Formula 1 US Grand Prix | Nov. 16-18, 2012 | Austin TX

And here you can see it kind of in the middle of the track to get an idea of where they are building it.

[AustinTx78660]

Originally Posted by Onedarkrose

It's not snobby or pretentious at all to call our future guests eurosnobs. Hello, kettle.

How many Europeans do you know? Have you ever been to Europe, or even outside the US or maybe even outside of Texas? You sure don't sound like you have ever been anywhere - else you wouldn't write such nonsense.

Right now, you are just showing your complete ignorance ...

[Onedarkrose]

You're funny. I have lived in Europe. When I was little I lived in Germany. I lived in London when I was 19. I taught English in Alexandria, Egypt and Yokohama, Japan. I've been to many more countries. I love travelling and fully intend to open up a hostel after I finish grad school. I write these things as a well-travelled person. Do I need to post a picture of myself with the the former Prime Minister of the U.K., Tony Blair, from when I was an intern at the Labour Party? That's why I get so frustrated with Austinites sometimes. Having experienced life in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and of course in North America, I don't understand this city. I just happen to be extremely aware of what occurs around me. Yes, there are pretentious Europeans. I dealt with many who didn't want to deal with me because I was black (Madrid - has a large population of African prostitutes especially around Gran Via and it was assumed I was one and Italy is having issues with Ethiopians, so I was treated accordingly), but I have had experiences like that here in Austin too.

What I don't get is why I'm being called ignorant for essentially saying that we should be welcoming to our guests. What is wrong with being hospitable? Being polite to visitors is stupid? Been around the world and I still will never understand this thinking.

Honestly, it was very difficult to go from a country where people are considerate of everyone else around them to then coming back here where many people are "Liberaltarian." I'm over it, but I do recognize that there is a certain ideology in this city just like in every other city. I love studying people, so I try to be observant.

By the way, did you happen to pick up on the sarcasm of my prior post? I guess I should have added to the end of that post.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Onedarkrose

...I love studying people, so I try to be observant.

Me too.

I'm not well traveled (Internationally) but I do enjoy meeting people from other countries and quizzing them about the differences between the U.S. and other places, and perceptions of the U.S. and its people.

Yesterday I was with a buyer family from Israel all afternoon. We were in my big Chevy truck. I asked if there are many pickups in Israel. Yes, but mostly small ones. Is this valuable info? Probably not, but I like learning these little nuggets. Also learned that politics is essentially the same in Israel as the U.S., when you get right down to it.

Also interesting to here from others, no matter the country, how "Americanized" the world is becoming, even in places that purportedly "hate" us. And also how America is still the destination choice of so many, if they could live wherever they want.

Still, if I travel to Europe, I would want to experience it as a guest or visitor and would not want a restaurant to "Americanize" their service for me, or treat me "like an American". I would hope foreigners coming to Austin want to experience the true Austin, not the accommodating altered version designed just for them. It's a fine line I guess, but when in doubt, we should all just be ourselves.

By the way, did you happen to pick up on the sarcasm of my prior post? I guess I should have added to the end of that post.

Sarcasm is best when not identified. I love when my kids say "wait ... is that a joke? I can't tell if you're serious".

Steve

[passionatearts]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

The reason for the downtown festival is because it is the one part of Austin that does currently have the infrastructure for it.

Maybe compared to the rest of Austin, Downtown is the best-equipped for large-scale events, but I'm still not convinced that Austin's Downtown has the kind of infrastructure right now that's needed for regular large-scale events.

For example, I attended a few SXSW events last year, and common complaints I heard from SXSW visitors was the lack of good public transportation in Austin, poor highway infrastructure, and lack of hotel space Downtown. These are all serious issues that will hopefully solved within the next 5 - 10 years. In the meantime, we have a Downtown that's getting better but is still not at the level needed to handle the huge influx of people we get from SXSW, F1, ACL Festival, etc.

Considering all these factors, however, Austin has done a remarkable job in handling all the visitors.

[BevoLJ]

Ya, I totally agree. It seems that it is building the hotel space now, so that should be solved soon. But I don't know that transit will ever happen. I sometimes get the feeling that people would rather complain about the problems regarding transit/traffic than see them solved (or pay for them). And another that I hear pretty often, which I could agree with, is that there aren't enough of the ACL, a SXSW class event to justify many of the expensive solutions. Which is probably true. But that is kind of one of the things where we would wait until life has become unbearable (which we are near today) to justify a solution that by the time that the solution is implemented it far from sufficient. The people and organizations in Austin live life and do things @ lightning speed. The city government on the other hand takes 20 years to argue something before spending another decade of actually doing anything [exaguration, lol].