Hampton Downs officially in trouble

[Deano]

phone him now and see

Its tempting but abuse over the phone can get you disconnected can't it ?

[steveyb]

Andy Knackerhead is the face of NZTA -

That's not his real name is it? Surely not....

[trustme]

Certainly isn't. It's Andy Knucklehead, has to be when you hear some of the shit he talks.

[trustme]

Am I missing something here, the article talks about raising capital to extend the track, that is not the same as being in the financial do do. Many businesses start off woefully under capitalised & have to seek outside investors to enable growth or they simply stagnate. Is that what is happening here or is there more under the surface
From the little I heard the supercars decision was because Cochrane had more control & hence more profit from going to Puke & the pollies fell into line. Motorsport in general would seem to prefer to see HD developed. Pity the money being spent on Puke was not directed to HD to give us a premier track rather than 2 also rans.

Surely the apartment owners have a body corporate & controls over apartment use to limit using them for commercial gain at the expense of the track owner, seems a no brainer to me

[nzmikey]

The reason the V8's wont go there is because the promotor wont touch the place, the promotor wont touch the place because the best viewing area is the apartments, the apartments are mostly privetly owned so no promotor can stop people going in there, (and their is no major event clause for them to fall back on)

so apartments = no revenue for the promotor, and take up where you would put a heap of paying poeple, he can charge everybody at Pukekohe,

and also Pukekohe is in the supercity, so he can go after the supercity promo budget, Hampton Downs is in the Waikato, he has already bled that budget dry

Sorry you say what now ???


Pretty sure that those buildings are apartments ... I have a mate who used to live there & every year she had heaps of mates come over & stay & watch the racing ..

[FJRider]

I am interested to see how Highlands goes: though its a different model, backed by Tony Quinns dollar.

Motor racing there will be secondary to normal daily use. And unlikely motorcycles will EVER race there.

Vehicle testing will be the primary use for that track. (Summer alternative to the Snow Farm)

[jellywrestler]

Surely the apartment owners have a body corporate & controls over apartment use to limit using them for commercial gain at the expense of the track owner, seems a no brainer to me

even eighty apartments with 20 people per unit which would only be unpleasant in reality is 1600 people out of a crowd they expect of 50 thousand so what?? it's only skirting round the real issue.
i'd pick an average of less than 10 per unit

[trustme]

Yeah I think the apartment thing is a bit of a crock. I heard a long serving motorsport insider say that Cochrane had a whole lot of assets left from Hamilton that he would not be able to use at HD but could flog off to Puke for a tidy sum. The Puke decision was all about self interest to the detriment of motor sport at large . Even Chris Amon came out against it, he felt Puke had reached it's use by date.
HD is the future & needs supporting . Puke is the past.

[Zedder]

Am I missing something here, the article talks about raising capital to extend the track, that is not the same as being in the financial do do. Many businesses start off woefully under capitalised & have to seek outside investors to enable growth or they simply stagnate. Is that what is happening here or is there more under the surface
From the little I heard the supercars decision was because Cochrane had more control & hence more profit from going to Puke & the pollies fell into line. Motorsport in general would seem to prefer to see HD developed. Pity the money being spent on Puke was not directed to HD to give us a premier track rather than 2 also rans.

Surely the apartment owners have a body corporate & controls over apartment use to limit using them for commercial gain at the expense of the track owner, seems a no brainer to me

The thread title was incorrect. However, Str8Jkt posted a news item about the HD guys needing more funds which certainly makes sense.

If HD had have got the necessary Resource Consent it would have been all go for the V8 Supercars. They didn't though. As posted earlier NZTA's anti-HD-as-a-venue attitude didn't help their cause at all.

[Woodman]

No, I dont think corruption is at issue. I think it is the ridiculous amount of political clout weilded by the NZRFU. Way out of proportion to its importance. I never liked rugby, but I started to hate it when it became "professional"

Don't bag rugger because they manage to get what they want. Maybe the other sports aren't trying hard enough? Remember the RWC? Did you see how popular it was? Would even a Formula one or Moto GP get that sort of support from the general public in NZ. I don't think so.

[DEATH_INC.]

Remember the RWC? Did you see how popular it was?

No, what was that?

[HenryDorsetCase]

Don't bag rugger because they manage to get what they want. Maybe the other sports aren't trying hard enough? Remember the RWC? Did you see how popular it was? Would even a Formula one or Moto GP get that sort of support from the general public in NZ. I don't think so.

Mate, I live in Christchurch, even if I was interested in the world cup, (which I am not) there were no games here, and what I really was concerned about at that time was if I flushed my shitter would it end up on the lawn, or would it disappear.

And I really dont know how popular it was with the public at large: maybe if they were rugby enthusiasts, already but it is clear those numbers are declining.

What evs.

[steveyb]

In trouble is perhaps overstating the postion a bit, but there are only three reasons why you go to the market to fund your business and remember, going to the market means that you are selling a portion, however large or small, of your business:
1) the bank won't give you the money, to allow you to retain full ownership
2) operating revenues are insufficient to fund expansion, upgrades, purchases, pay off debt, with retain earnings and allow you retain full ownership
3) you want out, for whatever reason. Generally because you have been in it so long you simply have had enough or you have had enough of seeing your large fortune become a small fortune and you cannot simply close the doors (as is the case in this case).
My gut feeling in this case, and of course only those who know will know, is all three.
It is a huge undertaking for a small group of investors/owners to undertake with minimal state support and it is pretty amazing that they got to where they are. I for one hope that a suitable investor/new owner will come on board with the necessary long term horizon to allow the facility to reach its full potential and continue to operate at a rate that NZers can afford.

[trustme]

Not sure I agree , there are many companies that would not be where they are today without going public. Mainfreight is a good example. It is a very good way to raise capital to fund expansion . Your point 2# is about right , it is nothing to be ashamed of , they are seeking funding to enable expansion.

Banks PFFFFT Blokes who lend you an umbrella but want it back when it rains.

[Zedder]

Not sure I agree , there are many companies that would not be where they are today without going public. Mainfreight is a good example. It is a very good way to raise capital to fund expansion . Your point 2# is about right , it is nothing to be ashamed of , they are seeking funding to enable expansion.

Banks PFFFFT Blokes who lend you an umbrella but want it back when it rains.

There are pros and cons for going public and it also depends on the type of company.

I've met company owners who curse the day they went public. However, I've also met others who were happy but their employee turnover was huge and the company culture was septic. I've worked in both types as well.