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No issues with the France family or any other business deciding who they will and will not sell their business to. The issue is the lack of transparency in that process until it was done. Seems like someone who represented a group of individuals would first feel a fiduciary responsibility to inform the group (NPG) that they have been given the opportunity to individually purchase the rights from DMG and they intend to do so. That way the NPG could have at least made the decision to contact DMG directly with another representative, or decided not to, but at least would be fully informed.
I actually think this was an important point that was missed on the podcast. GH isn't saying that the DMG sale to MXS was wrong or not fair, but instead is saying that the way in which it was done was very suspect. Trust me, GH operates like a business as well, so decided who to do business with and who not to do business with is something we decide on a daily basis. No issues with the decision DMG made...but a lot of issues in the way in which it was handled on the NPG "Representative" side.
Initial contract proposals called for 3500 tickets to MXS, not 500. Also, they would "sell" many of those tickets directly in front of the main gate near the pro-pit entrance. So basically, they were a preferred, more easily accessible ticket seller AT OUR TRACK and were selling a premier ticket since they allowed All-Day pit access.
Again, they are selling many of these passes. They aren't used exclusively to "build the sport" or make sponsors happy.
This was not a deal breaker and was actually already agreed to by GH. We were fine with the 3 year term once they explained the reasoning. The deal didn't happen because of the issue of ticket allotments to MXS.
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Millville making $1.5M at their national sounds like a great chunk of change for a single day event. No doubt. But to me the real question is how much is MXS making off the same national weekend? If the value split is one-sided to MXS, that changes the whole picture IMO.
Yes, 100% agreed. GH has to maintain great relationships with local businesses, neighbors, etc...which is why GH would always take them into account with tickets. But these were not comps coming from the MXS allotment, these are tickets that GH would provide since we are the local track. MXS doesn't care about the neighbors when they are in town for only 72hrs. Again, the thousands of tickets going to MXS were NOT being used for locals/neighbors.
The podcast really tries to give it in one shot. Obviously, a lot of history to cover. At the end of the day, the final issue that could not be agreed upon was the number of tickets that MXS wanted vs what GH thought was reasonable to hold an event.
Are team passes part of the MXS ticket allotment numbers?
Just to clarify, that is not how MXS is using their ticket allotment. They are using them to prop up their own series sponsors and team packages that they have SOLD as well as allowing people to purchase those same tickets at the front gate of GH by the main pit entrance. They aren't using the tickets to grease the wheels of surrounding businesses and neighbors. MXS is at GH for 72hrs per year, do you think they care about those people? GH is the one who takes care of those people from our own tickets.
The series "hard card" is sold to teams and riders by MXS, with all profits going to them. This would be considered an "admission" ticket by GH and part of the 3500 allotment they wanted. Go to our website and we have a breakdown of how they are sold, what they cost, etc...
Has anybody been to any National and seen MXSports staff standing out front selling their own tickets?
Sorry @GlenHelen, but that seems quite the stretch.
What about the time Bud/you guys sold tickets to fans promising them a high five or whatever from the riders instead of allowing the riders to proceed directly to the Podium as they need to?
What about the claims that you want to sell your own VIP areas aside from the standard ones MXSports has?
What about the claims that you want to sell your own sponsorship areas aside from the standard ones MXSports has?
Why can 11 other tracks keep working with MXSports year after year after year after year yet ya'll can't seem to work it out?
After listening to both of these back to back it's very clear what the issue is. Bud wants to be more than just a track owner, he's hung up on the NPG ordeal. He wants to have a seat at the table so he can run the national at GH the way he wants. That may have been the case back when we had to call an 800 number to get the results of pro races. But in the era of finally having a decent TV contract and SX conjoined to MX under one championship we can't have track owners acting independently and needing special concessions.
Bud then again contradicts himself in the podcast by saying "it's not about the money" yet instantly jumps to "that's $200k in tickets!"
I'm by no means a big DC fan, but Bud needs to understand something very clearly. MX SPORTS DOES NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO PROFESSIONAL MOTOCROSS. DMG owns the rights to pro motocross, MXS leases the rights to pro MX for $1 million from DMG. DC didn't backdoor NPG by securing the lease from DMG. NPG lost the fucking bid and the Coombs family put something together at the 11th hour to secure the series from DMG. Bud acts like like there weren't other suitors (YOUTHSTREAM) trying to secure the lease from DMG. It's extremely obtuse and disingenuous of Bud.
Bud, you own GH. Be an awesome track owner and run awesome races at YOUR TRACK. Stop meddling in wanting to have a say in the SERIES. NPG LOST, you put your bid in and fucking lost. Move on!
Lastly, AMA Pro Racing isn't owned by MXS. The address for AMA Pro Racing is in Daytona, Florida and is at the same address as DMG.
Who are they selling the tickets to? The general public or to additional race team members, riders family and additional sponsor members?
FF to 2:07:10 in of the podcast an Bud even says it himself. It's like he wanted the Coombs' to come back to the NPG leadership and put something together with them. I don't understand why Bud doesn't get that the NPG bid was a losing bid? There is no more fiduciar duty MXS owes to NPG.
We have heard from some people who have gotten tickets from MX sports that were neighbors in this thread. I do think that MX sports cares if they will be able to hold a race or not. If You are not allowed to be there for those 72 hours at all than it makes sense to be considerate. And somebody who gets in for free, is still going to eat and spend money in other areas.
At the nationals I went to around that time, Racer-X was selling subscription's to the magazine that came with a free ticket and all day pit pass. Or just the all day pit pass.
If all the other tracks are giving MX sports the same # of tickets, Why should Glen Helen not do the same?
If it is a nonnegotiable thing for other tracks too, I feel that it is good on MX sports to not be flexible for one track , if the others are not allowed to negotiate the amount of tickets , it is only fair. If I tell every one of my customers that I can not budge on one of my requirements , and there is one that wants me to , I feel like it would be disrespectful to the customers who have all agreed.
To me it sounds like Bud/Glen Helen is just bitter and doesn't want to let MX sports be involved . That is just my opinion and I am not saying that You guys do not have the right to feel this way. I totally understand being upset about Davies sister and the NPG and DMG deal. That could have been handled differently . And to me it feels like that is the true reason Glen Helen is not holding a national. The personal dislike for Davey and his Sister because of the way they got to be the series promotors. And the other things are just excuses.
Thank You for coming on here and posting in an official capacity . I really do wish that the national could come back to GH. I have a small private riding area and I am so jealous of the elevation that GH has. Thank You for doing the hard work to keep an iconic track alive all these years!
The NPG/DMG/MX Sports deal is just a red herring. Bud is still trying to litigate that 15 year-old issue in the court of public opinion, but that is not the reason GH doesn't have a national.
What is NPG?
National Promoters Group
Pit Row
This thread seems to be mostly about the MXSports and Glen Helen drama, but let's not forget about the rest of the interview.....
I want to thank Bud and Lori for the first part of the interview where they talked about the history of the track, how it opened, what is was before, how the hills were built, how Jody helped design it, leasing it from the county, vet/REM track being built first before the main track... etc. This is history that I have been interested in for a long time.
I want to thank Bud and Lori for keeping this place going for so long... while making money and not making money. Glen Helen is a great facility for locals and riders from around the globe to come ride and race at. It's amazing they can acommodate 5 events on the same weekend. That's a lot of service for enthusiasts of different offroad race backgrounds.
Some of my earliest memories are from going to SRA races at Glen Helen and Carlsbad with my dad when I was like 5-6 years old. I grew up there and raced lots of GPs with SRA during my formative years and countless practice days with family and friends.
I didn't know they hosted the LA Tough Mudder and Los Angeles Mud Run events. I found a map of one of them and it looks similar to the old SRA GP tracks... I would never want to run that. yikes.
Whoa, some of these obstacles look more unsafe than dirt bike racing... looks like they used the Yamaha Downhill as a slip-n-slide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=SjTFe7QVH3k
I guess I should have been more specific. How are they associated with the Pro Motocross series?
I'll try to address as best I can in order of your questions.
Ticket sales - Have you ever been to an event at GH and seen the giant white tent that says "Industry Services"? That is where they are sold.
High fives for VIPs - Never happened, plain and simple. The "parade" by the fence line was simply for a little bit of fan interaction that GH felt would be nice for the sport and those fans lining the fence. It wasn't a VIP area and there was simply never any "high five" promise sold. Actually kind of comical that people think that.
VIP Areas - This wasn't an issue. GH hosted the "Holeshot" club experience for many years and was agreed upon by MXS. Never an issue from either party that I am aware of.
Sponsorship Areas - Not sure what this is referring to, although historically the NPG negotiated their own sponsorship opportunities in addition to participating in series sponsorship dollars. Of course, that all changed with MXS and from that point on I am not aware of any issues on either side about MXS or GH not cooperating on what happens at the track on event days regarding "sponsorship areas".
Why can't it work for GH - GH can't speak for other tracks as to what deals they have and why they do or do not have a national. We are just here to clearly explain WHY GH couldn't come to terms with MXS as it works for GH raceway. Some of the reasoning may be that GH has the ability to "hold out" for things that we think are critical for our long-term success, as well as the long-term success of MX in general.
The reason this all came up again is becuase we felt the need to respond to DC's comments on the podcast.
Now that the series is 11 races, if you could add Glen Helen, who gets the boot? How do you justify that to other track owners? It won't be non-performance because MXS get so much money up front. It's seems hard for them to lose money on a national.
NPG was or is all of the track owners/national promotors . It is a group of all the individual track owners. It was started as a way to get all of the rounds of the nationals to work together and be on the same page . To try and bring a more uniform look to the series, etc.
Any rider or team member that has family/friends come and visit head to the Industry Willcall tent generally near the entrance. Those tickets are charged to the family members and friends. I believe these are the tickets GH is talking about. I can understand their issue that they set aside tickets for the riders and teams friends/family and then MXSports turns around and charges for those....
I have a couple points on this. It seems that this is probably how things have been for a long time, with teams' riders, staff AND friends and family, plus MXS vendors and sponsors, other industry people, and retired riders and retired industry people always asking for tickets. This seems like it's a pain in the butt for everyone, but having that allotment probably keeps the wheels turning, so to speak, and allows everyone to focus on the main work at hand. I can only imagine what it takes to run a national from all parties.
I haven't seen tickets being sold separate from the main ticket booth at an event, but to me that would seem like buying from a scalper!
3500 tickets seem like a lot, but I would bet there's quite a demand on those tickets, and that at the end of the day, there aren't many extra.
If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't worry about that quantity. I would however ask for it to be in the contract that they're not sold to the general public, and certainly not at the front gate, then leave some room for discretion, knowing that like in any event, no one is going to want to police this closely, and that there are going to be a few people getting in for free that aren't necessarily qualified to. I believe that's the case with any event.
Anyway, I really hope the last details can be worked out. I've been to 4 nationals at Glen Helen, and it's always a great time with epic battles!
I appreciate you engaging with us.
Glen Helens nearest residential neighbors are about a mile, mile and a half away and are buffered by the freeway noise. The closest businesses are prisons and the sheriffs department training center. Glen Helen doesn't really have to make nice that way. If you have been there you would see all the signs of track sponsors and that is who I believe GH would take care of for a National.
But, as a businessman, I am always trying to maximize my opportunity so if I could make 1.5 on the national alone, I’m stilling doing the same extras that weekend to make 2.
Pala
I agree with you so long as the “extras” don’t cost you 500k.
There is a breakdown of how and who can purchase those tickets on our website.
Bottom of the page on the second document. MX NATIONAL — Glen Helen Raceway
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