Austin F1 Circuit "to cost $180m"

[dpbird90]

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-austin-t...

That's £113m, and I cannot for the life of me see how it'll be possible. When they attempted to revamp Donington, they said it'd be £100m. I know they didn't have the money in the first place, but quite a few people said it's not enough anyway IIRC.
I suppose labour is cheaper in the US though?

[TuxRacer]

Rip off Britain. I guess just like everything else, what you buy there in dollars costs the same here but in sterling.

[Mazda Baiter]

Cheaper labour. No "Britain tax". Maybe, just maybe, Bernie has given the contract to someone with more business accumen than a 10oz slab of lard.

I was talking about Simon Gillett, just in case anyone was wondering.

[jammy_basturd]

Construction in America is a hell of a lot cheaper. I remember a couple of months before Wembley opened, there was a huge stadium that opened in America, and despite being bigger, it was about a tenth of the cost of Wembley!

[Mr_Yogi]

On a similar note, IIRC Japan spent a very large sum on about 6 or so football stadiums for when they hosted the world cup in 2002. The amount they spent of these 6 stadiums however, wasn't much more than cost of one new Wembley

[Nick M]

And I expect that $180M will buy them a hell of a lot more, in terms of facilities at the circuit, surrounding infrastructure, car parks , seating, etc., etc.

[DiscoColin]

jammy_basturd said:

Construction in America is a hell of a lot cheaper. I remember a couple of months before Wembley opened, there was a huge stadium that opened in America, and despite being bigger, it was about a tenth of the cost of Wembley!

Don't forget about the cost of the land itself though, nor the stuff that you have to build for the 'local community' to get planning clearance over here. There is a lot to be said for the cost of building something not in the middle of an area where people will pay a fortune to live in a shoebox...

Whereas Texas - cheap labour from over the border, land that isn't worth much as there is loads of it and cheaper everything to build it from with less tax all around... Of course it is a fraction of the price.

[FourWheelDrift]

Close to the Airport.

[cragswinter]

I don't suppose it's going to be built on a hill or anything is it? When I think of Texas I think of flat & featureless land, should suit a Tilke design down to the errrr,ground.

[davepoth]

According to google Maps, there's land above 600' and land below 500' on the site. So an elevation change of at least 100' is possible.

[Jungles]

cragswinter said:

I don't suppose it's going to be built on a hill or anything is it? When I think of Texas I think of flat & featureless land, should suit a Tilke design down to the errrr,ground.

It's hill country there, so the elevation changes will be significant unless Tilke decides to level the area. I think it's actually in his design brief to incorporate elevation changes though.

Edited by Jungles on Sunday 8th August 01:46

[bobt]

dpbird90 said:

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-austin-t...

That's £113m, and I cannot for the life of me see how it'll be possible. When they attempted to revamp Donington, they said it'd be £100m. I know they didn't have the money in the first place, but quite a few people said it's not enough anyway IIRC.
I suppose labour is cheaper in the US though?

The new track near Pamplona Spain cost 46 million euoros. http://www.circuitodenavarra.com/index.php?idioma=...

It has F1 spec pits and garages, a paddock area bigger than Lemans, and is a great circuit to drive. OK it needs better access from the autostrada, and there are no big stans buil yet and nobig hotels yet, but I can't see the bill doubling for that.