Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

RACING.AlTHE CROSS~OA~S 'C- -ter2- - - - - - h -ap - Subscription Rale SChedule 1 year 50 issues 25 issues Trial sub. 15 issues $38.00 $1 9.00 $1 2.00 1 year 6 months 25 issues Trial sub. 15 issues $78.00 $39.00 $24.00 MEXICO 1 year 50 issues 6mooths 25 issues Trial sub. 15 issues 1 year 50 issues 6 months 25 issues Trial sub 15 issues . advertising age ncy to go ou t and p romote these events. You can't go out and hire a promotions company to go out and do these events. Honestly, it would be very difficult for the AMA. Another thing to consider is this: What buildings are they going to get? In the 20 years that all of these different people have producing su percross, we have taken events to Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City), Rich Stadium (Buffalo), the Meadowlands (New Jersey), Philadelphia, Pittsbu rgh , Washington, New O rl ea ns, on a nd on and o n . In those p laces, s upercross just didn' t wo rk. We know that, and now we finally have 15 ven ues and mar kets where it is wo rking. Some ma rket s work better than others , of course , but these are the 15 we are going with. The bu ild ings and own this progra m. They are seeking events, seeking pieces of activities that have never been part of their job. They are seeking new territory while the promoters were just seeking protection of the ir old territory. There's been questions or comments about the promoters wanting to take over scheduling. Well, if you look at the contract that the AMA signed with Camel for years, Camel, to be blatantly honest, controlled scheduling an d had the final say on supercross sched uli ng, not the promoter, not the sa nctioning body. So these comments about th e promoters trying to strongarm something away from the AMA are simply not accurate. Were there problems in early discussions for a 1995 sched ule? (Wes t) We'v e always mutually agree d ted . We' re goi ng. Righ t now we're focusing on supercross. Ganson) I think that one of the things that compli cates this issue is, w hat is the inten t of th is ne w co rp ora tion called "Paradama"? I've heard people say that it's si m p ly go ing to be a m a rk e tin g effort. I've heard it's a reorganization to allow the AMA to pursue some for-profit activities, and ye t, in a letter to the su percross promote r s from Tom Mueller, he clearly identifies that the AMA has the intention of being promoters. They are looki ng at the options to promote events for themselves. I think that message cam e through loud and clear that Parada ma would be competing with their current customers. I think tha t's so mething tha t has concerned everyone, including the outdoor National p rom oters and a couple of the d irt track p romoters. We're waitin g to see just what direction Paradarna is going in. How hard do you think it would it be for the AMA to do its own supercross series? (West) (Pause .) The companies tha t are invol ved in s u p e r cr os s - SRO as a n exam pl e, owned by Paramount Communications, Madison Square Garden they produce over 200 shows a year. The other company, PACE, is the largest live entertainment company in the world. Broadway shows, huge concert d iv ision - professional producers of events - it' s taken these people 20 years to get where we are with supercross. It is not an easy product to p romote. I don' t be lie ve .... No, I know for a fact that you cannot go out and h ire an markets that someone else could get are not workable markets. Otherwise, we would be there. How important is it fo r the AMA outdoor Na tional series and the AIRIU.S. SX Series to coexist? (Wes t) It's very important. Hopefully someone at the AMA is goi ng to wake up and say, "Is wha t we're trying to accomplish really worth destroying this whole thing?" I tell you, the feeling that I get in dealing with the folks at the AMA that we are dealing with, is that they are really willing to Scuttle everything that's been built if they don't get their own way. The reason that we left the AMA to contract with Roy and his company to provideus those same services is that we we re n' t willing to sit back and let this whole supercross series be scuttled. That's wha t the AMA was willing to do. We have millions of dollars invested in this program over the years and it is a viable business tha t we are not going to let go away. Ganson) Throughout this whole thing the su percross promoters have not, are not, and will not be asking for anything. that they didn't already have. They have not asked for new events, they have not asked for lower fees, they've not asked for anything. They've always done the ir own television deals with ESPN that are s till in effe ct, they' ve al w ays been involved in the scheduling process, we've all sat on the advisory board and the rules commi tt ee. All the promoters wante d was the protection of a multi-year deal. The other side, the AMA, is seeking things that they don't have. They don' t BillWest (left)and Ray Janson (right). $78.00 $39.00 $24.00 ALL OTHER COUNTRIES th er e's a limited numbe r of even ts that the manufacturers will go to. They're not dealing with us honestly. I've said it before and 111 say it again: I don' t think tha t the Board of Trustees knows what is being d one by the AMA staff. I don't believe that whole Board of Trustees would go along dealing in bad faith and tha t's wha t we've been u p against. Have you thought about going to Columbus (Ohio) and meeting directly with the AMA higher-ups? (West) We 've been told that we can't, th a t they won't meet w ith us. We've been told that we mu st deal with Tom Mue ller and that's been very unsuccessful. I've got to tell you , we're commit- $78.00 $39.00 $24.00 6~ 50 issues FInt Class5enrII:e 50 issues 25 issues Trial SliJ. 15 issues $111.00 $56.00 $34.00 1 year 6 ITlOllll\s 25 issues Trial SliJ. 15 issues $125.00 $61 .00 $37.00 MEXiCO 1 year 50 issues 6m onths 25 issues Trial sub. 15 issues $1 25.00 $61 .00 $37.00 ALL OTHER COUNTRIES 1 year 50 issues 6mooths 25 issues Trial sub. 15 issues $130.00 $63.00 $39.00 1 year 6~ CANADA 50 issues air Mall 5ervIce DOMESTIC Not available CANADA 1 year 50 issues 6 months 25 issues Trial sub. 15 issues $1 40.00 $71.00 $43.00 1 year 50 issues 6 months 25 issues Trial SliJ. 15 issues $140.00 $71.00 $43.00 1 year 50 issues 6 ITlOllll\s 25 issues Trial sn 15 issues $22 7.00 $115.00 $69 .00 ALL O THER COJNTRIES Two year subsaiption prices available upon request. Use the subsaiption order form elsewhere inthisissue of Cycle News, or send your order, including payment lcheclr., money order charge to VISA or Mastercard) , payable in U funds, to: .S. CJ'CIe ..... IIIc. s .... 0\ .... N Q) "'"' 'B o 24 Box_ Attn: CIn:uIaIIon P.D. Loag Buell, CA .-01-0498 PIIone (310) 427-7433 11IU-FREE SUBSCRl'TlOll HOn.IIIIE (800) 831-2220 24 hr. FAX order line CIC (310) 427-&685 (cI1arge orders ooIy. please) upon scheduling. But it's not just scheduling, I tell you . It was the hid den agenda on the AMA side from day one, and that was to replace the promoters with their own company. They wanted to take our business away from us. And you feel that thi s inclu des the outdoor National promoters and road racing? (West) There's not a doubt in my mind, personally, that their current thinking is going to filter down to the Nationals. It started at the top with supercross, it has eaten into road racing and Roger Edmondson's program, and next they'll be into the outdoor Nationals, dirt track and anything else where the can find a revenue sou rce. That's the natural progression. When AIR released its '95 schedule, did you consult anyone else or did you just go with the status quo? (West) We used the same schedule that we had with only a co uple o f m inor changes. Ganson) Let me be honest . No one knows this process better than me. I'm the guy who put the schedules together that were respectable to everyone. We did the supercrosses fi rst and then plugged the .outdoor Nationals in . No one knows this process more intimately than I do. We never ha d a problem in the past in working out ou r differences. Is it suicide for the AMA to schedule an outdoor National against an AIR Supercross?

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