Michigan takes the lead in responding to fans' needs

Curtis: It's our responsibility to ensure a great experience

By Roger Curtis, President, Michigan International Speedway
February 12, 2009
09:43 AM EST

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You've seen the headlines. A perfect storm has been building in our economy and no industry is safe -- especially sporting events, where discretionary spending by ticketholders has been cut back by even the most enthusiastic of fans.

And yes, NASCAR fans are cutting, back, too, and have had to make some tough choices these days.

Roger Curtis

Unfortunately, this is not new at Michigan International Speedway as we have seen our share of storm clouds over the past three years. It didn't take a jobless report to tell us what we already knew: We had to do something to make our sport and our venue reasonably priced, while also investing in improvements for our fans.

I, like most of us at MIS, grew up a race fan. So it is with sincere belief that the fans make our sport. Embracing the fans and listening to the fans is not a burden or an inconvenience; it's what we do. Reaching out to fans is natural and it's easy.

Through countless surveys with fans, to camping with fans, sitting in the grandstands with fans and riding the trams with fans on race weekends, and even to the hundreds of e-mails to askthepresident@mispeedway.com, we took your comments and ideas to heart. We have been able to use your ideas and suggestions to drive our business plans for the future of MIS.

This started with improving our traffic. With great help and cooperation from the Michigan Department of Transportation, the State Police and local townships, we have made significant progress in making traffic better for our fans and we'll continue to work on making traffic better for our fans. If you have noticed the improvements getting into and out of the speedway, please tell your friends.

Next, we made improvements for the fans, by the fans! We took your "wish list" and invested nearly $30 million during the past three years on upgrades -- and we are not done yet!

We have replaced old grandstands with larger, wider seats with seatbacks and more legroom, and blanketed the entire facility with directional signage to help our guests find their way around the 1,400-acre speedway.

We have installed a new, state-of-the-art sound system and built an LED scoreboard to make the races more informative, fun and interactive.

We have installed electric in some of our 9,000 campsites and have built a permanent shower and restroom facility in one of our campgrounds.

The improvements did not stop with big projects. We've built trails, paved tram roads, added free concerts and much more.

Now, more than ever, it is important to set aside the tired rhetoric about blame, gimmicks and blackouts and come together to focus on the only reason we are all here -- you, the race fan.

We also have strived to improve the "little" things, including our guest services. A Fan Advisory Board and a Fan Advisory Network have been established to gain even more insight and input from our fans. We send out newsletters, e-mails, and podcasts to our fans. Special conference calls will be conducted for our first-time guests to learn more about the race weekend experience. We have engaged some of the popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to help spread the word to our fans. Track ambassadors can be found in all of our campgrounds. In the coming weeks, we also will be rolling out a Fan Appreciation program.

And of course, we have recognized the need to make attending the races more affordable for our fans. Last fall, we lowered ticket prices in 25 percent of our reserved seats and established two general admission grandstands for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events. Tickets in those GA grandstands are $40, and we also allow children 12 and under free in those grandstands when accompanied by an adult.

In addition, we are working with our concessions company, Americrown, to come up with value meals to help our fans. We will continue to allow our fans to bring in their own food and beverages and we will continue our long-standing tradition of free parking.

Though we don't control private businesses, we have been reaching out to our local Chambers of Commerce and area hotel owners to look at affordable pricing options for our NASCAR events. We feel strongly that race fans shouldn't be gouged by businesses.

We can control this: camping at MIS. We are doing all we can to keep prices flat, all while adding amenities for our fans. We are also opening our campgrounds earlier in the week without raising prices so you can stay longer at MIS and truly make our racetrack and the beautiful surrounding Irish Hills a summer vacation.

However, no matter what we do to the facility, the reason fans come to a NASCAR race is to see our heroes -- the drivers. A lot has been said about the drivers lately, and though MIS can't speak for all tracks, and we have admittedly not worked with all drivers, I can emphatically say that those that have helped us, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Casey Mears, Johnny Benson and Tony Stewart, have been fantastic. Every one of them, Tony Stewart in particular, has given their time and energy to truly interacting with media, track sponsors, even our track staff, and most importantly, our fans.

Now, more than ever, it is important to set aside the tired rhetoric about blame, gimmicks and blackouts and come together to focus on the only reason we are all here -- you, the race fan. Working together, we can create rich interactions that are rewarding for the tracks, the drivers and the fans; balancing fans' desire to connect with their heroes, while respecting the drivers' jobs and personal lives.

MIS is blessed to have incredible race fans that have made MIS a special place. Many of you refer to our speedway as "NASCAR in a national park." You have told us that no matter what, you will always come to MIS because it is more than a race; it's tailgating, it's camping. It is an event, a tradition, an experience with friends and family.

We understand what our fans are facing and we do not take you for granted. Even though we all have a tough road ahead of us, we're not content to sit still and wait. Many of our fans have made tough decisions and great sacrifices to come to our NASCAR races. I won't deny that we, too, have to watch our expenses and there is no doubt we won't be able to do everything we want for our fans. But at a time when some businesses are cutting back and reserving cash, MIS is enthusiastically continuing to invest money, time and energy into our facility and into your experience.

Much has been made of the fans that are not coming to the races. At MIS, our focus is on the fans that are here. And no matter how many fans come to MIS, we firmly believe it is our responsibility to do all we can to make sure you have a great experience while at our racetrack and that you never regret your decision to spend your summer with us.

We may sometimes make mistakes, but we take great pride and passion in striving to create lasting memories for every person, every time.

Thank you to all the drivers for your recognition of all the fans. And thank you to all the fans that support us in the seats and at home. We appreciate your dedication and loyalty to MIS and to the sport. We could not do it without you.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.