Grumpy McTrumpy

When I was at Fitchburg I noticed something which I thought was significant. I could be wrong about this (since I am often wrong about stuff) but it seemed to me that if you hold a criterium in a downtown location that is lined with restaurants, bars and other businesses, those places would expect to have a good day no?

No.

We had to walk the entire length of the crit course just to find one food establishment that was even open. A lot of them were either closed or out of business. Once entering said establishment we expected to find the place packed. Nope. Plenty of room in there. Very few spectators were watching the crits.

Now, granted, this was in the morning, before the "Pro" races, but it was a major national holiday and few people had work that day. Were they going to come out in droves one hour later just to see the professionals race an event which, to the casual observer, would look almost identical to the many races that just happened? Where would they eat, with all of the establishments sporting locked doors to the public?

There was a communication from the race promoter several weeks before the event indicating that the "Longsjo was in trouble". Financial woes, lack of volunteers, etc.

I fully understand why.

And now, I just heard that the inaugural Tour De New York has been cancelled on the same year that it managed to make it onto the USAC Pro Tour calendar. The Tour of Missouri has also gone belly-up.

So I propose a thread to discuss this phenomenon. What other races are in trouble? Are any of them doing really well? Is it lack of sponsorship interest? Too much negative publicity about cycling? The economy at large? American brains being unable to process anything but stick-ball and car racing? Lycra?

This affects amateurs as well, with Fitchburg being a major example, and the Tour de New York also had amateur events planned.

Quel

As a more positive example: the Capital Crit was canceled last year because their main sponsor backed out due to the financial crisis. So it skipped a year, but they just put it on again yesterday with some good success. Their problem this year was that the end overlapped with the start of the world cup final, but it still had a good crowd.

AngryScientist 

I'm no expert either, but i think its a combination of things basing off the economy at large. All (most) companies are gun shy right now, tightening their belts with less "discretionary" spending on things like charities and sponsorships. people are spending less everywhere. businesses are closing everywhere, and the bike racing scene appears to be just another victim.

my present employer used to be very generous with charitable contributions and sponsorships when times were flush, the pull-back is startling. most of it is based on fear of the unknown future, i assume lots of the big companies follow suit.

i dont think the american public is concerned with ANY cycling press, good or bad. i would rule that out as a factor.

MadCity Cyclist

A large part of sponsorship losses is due to the economy, for sure. I think that bad cycling press is almost irrelevant. Loss of good press from all of Lance's wins (face it, the Tour de France is the only race 99% of non-cyclists can name) is probably more important.

grolby

It doesn't help that Fitchburg in general is a pretty economically depressed city and has been for years... but that's still beyond what I would expect in terms of local businesses. I was at the race a couple of years ago to cheer on my friends after a busted bike ruled me out of racing it myself... there were plenty of spectators for the Fitchburg State circuit race, and from what I understood, the crit was going to be even bigger. So this drop-off has been in the last couple years. The effect of this recession is astonishing, especially when you're fairly isolated from it by a steady, secure, well-paying job. Reality bites. Best thing we can do is hope for a recovery; under these conditions, bike racing has a serious uphill battle to fight for sponsoring interests.

Grumpy McTrumpy

the bizarre aspect of it is that it's essentially free money for the local economy. People don't have to buy tickets. Businesses don't have to donate in order to profit from the event. They simply have to open their doors.

I realize the economy sucks, but how does that explain why there were so few people willing to come out and watch a free sporting event? While we were having lunch the men's cat 2 race was on (11:30 start). You'd think people were finished nursing their July4 hangovers by then and would actually come outside. Is it really that much more interesting to watch television? It was lunchtime by then and the kid's play area was deserted. It was sad to see all of this stuff set up for little children that were not even there.

I think there were more locals honking their car horns at us while we were warming up, getting angry that we were impeding their progress than were out watching the event. Were they on their way to something truly important?

bdcheung

I blame the promoter(s).

There are tons of ways to involve local businesses and bring out local residents to a bike race. Stream of consciousness here but:

1) Put together a coupon book that feature retailers/restaurants/whatever along the race route and in the area. 5% off this, free dessert that. Distribute coupon book to racers in their race packets, distribute to locals both at the establishments ("Hey, thanks for visiting Fat Al's BBQ. Here's a coupon book with a bunch of discounts for this Saturday, and there's free entertainment too. Yeah. Bunch of adults riding bikes in spandex. Should be a hoot!"), door to door (if it's feasible), or even drop a mailing a week or so to local residents (within the zip code or surrounding zip codes).
2) Do something other than a bike race. Are there local gyms? Get them out to host a free fitness class. Bring out a moon bounce for the kids.
3) Raffles and giveaways.

there are tons more ideas but this is a gist.

gsteinb

amateur athletics are not a spectator sport unless there is blood relation to a competitor

timster

To add to that list, good announcing can help too, especially in a crit.

A few non-bike savvy people I have talked after some crits said they enjoyed the announcer explaining what was going on. Otherwise it just looked like a bunch of people riding bikes around the block. Understanding what's really going on can make it more enjoyable to watch.

bdcheung

Absolutely.

Grumpy McTrumpy

ok, fair enough. my examples involved non-professional events..

here are some pics from the pro men's race. I have not been able to find one shot with a good-sized crowd in it.

this is right by the S/F line



after the last turn, heading up towards the S/F line. there are a few spectators watching.

Grumpy McTrumpy

I guess you haven't been to F'burg, since they did a lot of this stuff. The kids play area had one of those bouncy thingies. It was empty, as I indicated in the previous post. We were given a packet with lots of coupons in it.

bdcheung

Nope, never been to Fitchburg.

Are we talking about Fitchburg's attendance problems specifically, or amateur races in general?

Grumpy McTrumpy

yes

saratoga

Georgia, obviously. That race had title sponsor $$ issues the last two years it ran, but yet drew thousands of people who helped the small towns along the way. Moving the finish to dowtown ATL was the best move they made and attendance was huge there in both 07 and 08 compared to 06- the last year it finished in Alpharetta.

The NRC crit in Jacksonville, FL. 2007 was the last time there was an NRC race in FL IIRC.

On a more local note, the crit we started in downtown Tampa last year drew at least 50% more spectators this year. Fortunately, that has the attention of the mayor and the downtown Tampa partnership who both want to see the race grow. Business owners sent letters to the mayor's office praising the event and its promoters for doing such a good job and bringing in additional business on an otherwise dead Saturday afternoon.

furiousferret

Honestly, this country doesn't really understand bike racing and like anything people will only show up to see the best, which is why the ToC does so well.

The sport being popular is almost out of the sports control, just like soccer. I guarantee you if espn and other news media shoved cycling down America's throats it would get more attention. Also you need to think about what entices it for spectators; since we are all cyclists we'd race, but why would someone watch?

It would also help for these races to establish some history and get a foothold. The Redlands Bicycle Classic has some finance issues but its part of the towns identity now. Of course creating the brand is easier said than done.

mattm

What constitutes "major" or "big"?

NRC?

agoodale

Did they have a kid's race to go with the play area (see below)?

+1. I've helped to plan the Tour de Murrieta race in CA for the last few years. My responsibility was the vendor expo and the kids race.

Here is what I've come to understand about our race: Unless Lance Armstrong is going to show up the general public could care less about watching a bike race. The only way to get people to come and stick around is to make it a community event. We hold a popular Kids Race that is heavily promoted. Among other things, flyers go out to every Elementary classroom in the district. The Kids Race brings the families which helps us attract local sponsors and vendors for the expo. The vendors then help support the crowd by providing something to eat and browse through before & after the Kids Race. We also have 2 free Kids moon bonce things that also help retain the crowd. The Pro race is scheduled directly following the Kids race so the crowd sticks around for the most professional racing of the day (hopefully).

Our club can hold a successful bike race without all the above. But, almost no one would come to watch. Getting local government and business support is much easier when you can get the community behind your event.

A few pics from last year...

Kids Race


Early break in the Pro Race

recon455

I would love for ESPN to have Cycling over VS. They even have billiards. BILLIARDS.

VS is channel 603 on DirecTV. Below 600 is adult channels, and around 603 is more 'Merica hunting and fishing shows. No regular person is going to get down to 603 without finding something to watch, and then watch "Cycling." ESPN on the other hand is 205 or something, in the same block as every good channel on TV.

Grumpy McTrumpy

not sure if it would be called that. there was a "boys and girls club junior champions ride (2 laps)" and then a citizen's race (5 laps) in between the 3 and 2 race. I didn't see those.

Grumpy McTrumpy

Chris Thater had a much better attendance last season. I do speak with the promoter on occasion and I think part of the reason was the inclusion of a stage and live bands playing throughout the day. The fact that most of them were amateurs and undercutting pro musicians like me notwithstanding, it was a good thing for the event.

When he told me what his band budgets were and the number of bands, I did some internal math and then held back laughter. However, I can see it from a promoter's point of view and he probably did the right thing for the event in general.

El Diablo Rojo

Ex just helped to set up a downtown crit in North Texas..spectators were 5 deep the shops, restaurants and hotels were packed. When Austin had it's spot on the NRC you had to walk for blocks to get to the course because the parking was all full. Perhaps it's a North East thing?

Grumpy McTrumpy

could be a rust belt thing.

ZeCanon

Here, the big races are faltering while underground racing has exploded. Well, not exactly underground, but not USAC or ACA (local governing body) sanctioned.

In Fort Collins, we have over 40 days of local racing throughout the season between a spring short track (mtb) series, summer crit series, summer 'track-style' racing series, summer xc mtb series, and fall 'cross series. None have entry fees over $10, and all of them bring out people you would never see in a USAC race. The short track and cross races are huge, drawing hundreds of participants.

Local governments, as well as our own governing body, make promoting races far more expensive than it should be. Without sponsor dollars, those costs are placed on participants. Higher registration fees lower participation - again raising costs.

The local races mentioned above have little to no costs. Minimal insurance costs, no police necessary, and more importantly the promotors are NOT trying to turn a profit. In fact, all the profits from the crits, short track, and cross races goes to the high school mtb league here in CO.


What's my point? The big races are working under a fundamentally flawed structure. Their costs are too high to be sustainable. They aren't interesting enough to woo me away from my super fun local $10 races. They need to get local government on their side, get police donated (here the po po are $75/hr/man), get nice cheap permits, and find great courses.

El Diablo Rojo

We have a couple of promoters here that are making a living promoting bike races. They are raising families, buying homes and basically making a career out of promoting bike races. Their secret seems to be the cheap permit/great course formula.

Some places though don't allow for the cheap permit option..SoCal for one, hence the over abundance of crits. Getting a permit for a RR in SoCal is stupidly expensive.