Miller Motor Sports Park will close

That is sad news. I have never been but heard this was a great facility. More and more of these places disappearing.

 

With Larry and Roger's passing I don't think any of the other Millers have an interest in operating the track anymore. This is the new LHM group, if the company isn't profitable it's getting chopped.

I don't doubt that a buyer will step in, hopefully with a good management team. Get some bigger events back with TV rights, and at least break even short term. The bigger events used to be on Saturdays then they switched them to Sundays. Let's face it, this is Utah and those events should be on Saturday.

 

Very disappointed to learn this but I felt the writing was on the wall when ALMS dropped from the calendar.

This is my "home" track (five hours away) and was one of my favorite tracks to go to.

Do you really think a buyer would step in? I figured they'd just bulldoze it and sell the land. Isn't there talk of building a prison next door?

 

A great track, worth the 800 mile drive great facility.

I think Lemons will do the last race in October. Will be there.

Kai

 

I think the family brought in a new CEO to run the business and Greg stepped down. I am sure we will see some other projects go away as well.

I hope that the track can live on. I learned to heal toe there from a former F1 driver. I also learned about snap oversteer going through the Attitudes.

My other concern is what will happen to the Shelby/Ford collection. Some great cars there that are always fun to see..

 

That collection could easily pay for the land if they wanted. Or an island I imagine.

 

"Miller family removes Tooele location from prison relocation list"

Miller family removes Tooele location from prison relocation list | KSL.com

 

Hmmmmmmmm, so are they playing hardball with their lease?

"If you let us keep the land the track is on for free, we will not let them build a prison on our land."

 

I doubt it. I imagine it's more "we can make more money developing properties on the land than selling it to the state, and the Motorsports park is losing us money so we are cutting ties to it."

 

Any news on this? I haven't heard a peep....

 

This is the latest I have seen. Loosing 2 million a year is not a great business plan.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CEAQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.deseretnews.com%2Farticle%2F865628232%2FSource-Miller-Motorsports-Park-to-cease-operations.html%3Fpg%3Dall&ei=YjShVaa2CYmuogSikb34CA&usg=AFQjCNGWmvhoKBOb2B8_TNd7Nqq4yCKjow&bvm=bv.97653015,d.cGU

 

Please, the track lost money from day one.

The economics of running a race course of that size and scope in that geographic area are not favorable.

 

Years ago, my family looked at purchasing a track. The economics were poor, but the land development/selling off could have made the deal worth it. Of course, that meant no additional expansions, which wasn't a great option.

What supported the operation, though, was the on-going security driving courses they offered for government clients. Without that kind of a steady stream of recurring revenues, tracks that rely on daily rentals by teams for testing and weekend warrior car clubs aren't likely going to make it. Not easy to build that kind of a business in UT. Much easier when you're in the midst of the diplomatic corps scene.

Maybe the most well-established, paid-off tracks can make it, but finding buyers for them won't be easy, either. Most buyers will have to lever up considerably to finance the purchase price, and that means debt service.

And, owners will need to figure this out before they pass, too. The families will have to lever up just to pay estate taxes due to the appreciated values.

Never driven at Miller, but I hope it doesn't go the way of PPIR. But, it seems they all struggle at some point.

CW

 

Here's my thoughts written out as a novel.

If the Millers really were driving (no pun intended) it into the ground, then taking them out of the picture could be a good thing. From a rallycross perspective, I can tell you that we used to rent out one of their dirt parking lots for events at a reasonable price. Sometime after the passing of Larry those rental prices went through the stratosphere, making it impossible for us to hold an event there. I heard of similar experiences from other car clubs and vendors. It almost felt like they did not want any grassroots events being held there. They also started charging for parking to make a few extra bucks.

Sunday events. Everyone knows that it's difficult to hold Sunday events in Utah. But that's exactly what MMP started doing. After the first two years almost all of the major races were held on Sunday; ALMS, Grand-Am, etc. And then Miller says they just aren't getting enough spectators out to the races. Utah Jazz home games are almost never on a Sunday, same with Real Salt Lake. Bike races, marathons, parades; almost always held on Saturdays because they know they will get more involvement.

I personally don't think the location is a big issue. I know so many people who take their ATVs and boats and drive for hours to get to their destination. Which brings me to my next point, Utahns are willing to spend money on recreation. I have neighbors that easily spend $20-50k on boats and UTVs plus travel expenses, taking multiple trips to Moab, Lake Powell, etc. every year. Comparatively the Miller track is in their back yard.

There's a lot that the track has done right too and I hope that continues after new ownership steps in. I'm happy that Pirelli World Challenge is back again this year and I hope we can get some other series coming like IMSA.

 

I always felt the marketing was pretty poor. They often touted bringing world class racing but it seemed like they were emphasizing it as world class racing for Utahns as opposed to selling it as racing that people from all over the country should come to. MMP people would always seem surprised when I told them I was from Idaho, you know, the state directly to the north.

I'll be at the PWC race this year. It's a bit sad since it'll be the track's swan song.

 

It's being bought by the Chinese......

Miller Motorsports Park's New Chinese Owners Plan To Keep Racing In Utah

 

We will have to race BYD and Cherry cars, lol.

Kai

 

Some good information here Save Miller Motorsports Park

 

Thanks for sharing this Yoda