That's troublesome since NASCAR is looking to shake up its schedule by moving out of some venues with two races.
Track ownership is working with local officials on a new marketing strategy that will help the speedway hold onto its fall race. A new package for the October race includes two tickets to three days of events, a hotel room for two nights and transportation to and from the track on race day, all for less than $500. There's also coupons for area restaurants.
The first tier of packages, which went for $325, sold out in 13 days, and more are available for $350. At most other races, those amounts wouldn't cover the hotel bill.
``We're really offering fans one-stop shopping for their entire weekend,'' Clark said.
So far, about 75 percent of the people buying these tickets will be making their first visits to the track. If longtime fans continue their support of the track, Atlanta should see a surge in attendance, and it couldn't come at a better time.
Last month, NASCAR announced changes to its 2004 schedule, taking a race away from North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham and giving it to California Speedway in suburban Los Angeles. The decision was based mostly on the declining attendance at Rockingham, which seats only about 60,000 and hasn't sold out in years.
Although Atlanta regularly has six-figure crowds, there's still thousands of empty seats. Other tracks, such as new venues Kansas and Chicago, don't draw as many people even though they sell out, but they're in previously untapped markets for NASCAR.
``We know we have to keep performing,'' Clark said. ``But at the same time, we're a top-10 market that NASCAR needs to be in. We need to have races here.''
That's especially true if the new ticket plan continues to bring more people. Clark points out that his speedway not only fights other tracks for fans, but other sports. With a date in late October, this year's Georgia 500 will compete against a full slate of college football, NFL games and, possibly, the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs.
``This is a very competitive market,'' Clark said. ``That's why it's important to draw fans from outside the Southeast, which hopefully these ticket packages will do.''
So far, so good. Donald Wildasin, who lives in Dover, Pa., never thought about coming to Atlanta until he saw an ad for the ticket deal. He mentioned it to his wife, and she told him to make sure the price was legitimate.
``That's the first thing I did,'' he said. ``When they told me it was the price for two people, I said, 'Damn, I can't believe this.'''
The same went for Cathy Snyder, who was looking for a 40th birthday present for her husband, Gary. The residents of Plant City, Fla., are race fans, but they'll be making their first trip to see a NASCAR race.
``I didn't know what it might cost, but when I saw it, I couldn't believe the price,'' she said. ``It's the perfect birthday gift, since we've never spent any time in Atlanta. We've just driven through it.''
The biggest part of the deal is the discounted price for the hotel room. Through the Henry County Chamber of Commerce, two local hotels are offering their rooms at these rates.
Normally, they'd cost about twice as much as the $69 or $79 they'll cost for this race.
``I hate the gouging part of it, and this will be good for the people in Henry County,'' said John Chauhan, a part-owner of the local Microtel Inn & Suites. ``We're still making a nice profit on these rooms, and this is more fair than some people do it. That's what's important to me.''
Other tracks have programs in place to help fans find cheaper rooms, but none offer the total package like Atlanta.
``We're in a little different situation,'' said Mike Smith, a spokesman for Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. ``We have pretty limited lodging here near the track, but we have Greensboro (N.C.) and Roanoke about 50 minutes on either side of us, and they're so far away that the rates don't go up that much.
``But being able to do what they're doing at Atlanta, that's a great idea.''
Still, ticket sales aren't the only factor in Atlanta keeping both its races. It's owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc., one of five tracks the company manages, and NASCAR has said that SMI could transfer dates among its facilities.
Atlanta, Lowe's Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway host two races apiece, and Texas Motor Speedway, Infineon Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway only have one race.
``That's never been discussed,'' Clark said. ``And I don't think that's something we'll ever do.''
http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/7/176638