NHRA Getting More and More Mainstream
Written by David Lamm · February 9, 2006
An announcement came out today that the NHRA’s most storied strip of asphalt is getting luxury boxes on top of its grandstands. The race track? Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. That’s right, the old Pomona Raceway has been renamed to reflect a corporate sponsorship and now luxury boxes are not far behind. Stick and Ball Sports have been doing it for years so it is refreshing the NHRA is getting their slice of the pie.
NHRA.com: New look in store for Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Quick! Name the original names of these NFL football stadiums: Invesco Field, Monster Park and Qualcomm Stadium. Hard isn’t it? That’s because corporate names on our sports facilities have invaded our everyday language that we tend to for forget the original names. (For the record: Invesco Field is the former Mile-High Stadium in Denver, Monster Park is the Former Candlestick Park in San Francisco and Qualcomm Stadium is the former San Diego Stadium in San Diego) In the over commercialized world of auto racing where the sponsors’ logos are more recognizable than the drivers themselves, there should be no nostalgia towards wanting the old names back. Pomona Raceway was renamed to reflect the new sponsor, The Auto Club of Southern California, and there was no uproar. Why would there be. Dragster and Funny Car are essentially 300 mph billboards touting anytyhing from motor oil, tools, beer and even men’s cologne. Now the recent announcement regarding the addition of luxury suites at the famed dragstrip should be met with applause.
The NHRA is catching up to the rest of the sports world in realizing that although tickets sales are great, sales of luxury suites are where it is at. Go to any modern sports facility built within the past ten years and take a look around. Luxury boxes seem to dominate the landscape. Corporations that can afford to buy them are the tail that wags this dog. Now that the NHRA can see the benefit of having luxury suites at Indianapolis Raceway Park, it makes perfect sense to apply that knowledge to Pomona. The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway already has luxury boxes along the grandstands and those seem to be a cash cow. I do not have the financial statements from LVMS but trust me, Bruton Smith does not build amenities unless they can turn a profit. Last time I checked, Bruton Smith wasn’t at the bottom of the freeway offramp holding a cardboard sign that reads, “will work for food”.
It’s 2006 and the days of parking your motorhome at the 1,000 foot mark and camping and tailgating all four days might be numbered. Corporate hospitality areas could force campers and RVs to be a thing of the past; only mentioned in stories that start with, ‘back in the day…’. The NHRA should be commended for taking this step and recognizing the trend of corporate dollars very well may improve the racing experience for all involved. Let’s just hope the influx of money will be used to increase race purses, improve conditions at member tracks or market the sport beyond its current appeal. Now that corporate naming rights and luxury boxes are already here, could a lucrative television contract be far behind?
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The news about putting luxury boxes at Pomona is great, as I wondered about some of the rumors that Pomona was on a short leash, making it into a parking lot again. I’m certain the extra funds will be put back into race purses - I guess you can dream.
I’m happy overall but its the have’s having more and the have-not’s not.
Will,
I appreciate your contributions to our web presence lately. I agree with you to a degree that the sportsman racers will never see a “direct” impact from the money gained by the NHRA. However the indirect impact of making the NHRA a more mainstream and financially viable company can only mean good things for providing the weekend warriors with a place to compete every weekend.