EZ-Ups and VIP Sections Ruin the Fan Experience

I will say, I was very happy that hangtown actually forced people to take their ezups down this year in the no ezup zones.  But the zones that allowed them, I'm not sure anyone actually watched the races, because you could hardly see anything.  

The VIP sections do block a lot of old school prime spots at many of the nationals.  

Yeah, EZ ups suck.  Put on some friggin sunblock and suck it up people!  It was very satisfying to see it enforced at Hangtown.  The nerve those people had was insane.  3 people under 1 EZ up blocking the view of 30 or 40 people behind it.  It got to a point where people were arguing with Sheriff deputies about taking down their EZ ups, haha.  The law won  

Pretty ridiculous today, some guy beside me had a damn setup that looked like the Taj Mahal, the thing took up about a half acre of real estate, they gotta start cracking down on these people 

Enshitification of the fan experience to sell VIP.

I wouldn't mind some sections where it's allowed as long as it's far from the fence. Hangtown is rough without shade all day but the fence lined with EZ ups is ridiculous.

I would imagine in a few years Ezra will slap a vip sticker on a porta jon and charge $500 for it. Haven’t been back to Budds for a few years now because of this (and train horns in my ear)

Meanwhile in Arnhem. Went VIP for a few years.l, but the seating area (€10 extra each day) has a better view then the more expensive VIP option. Multiple screens with live view of MXGPTV. Feeling sorry for the American fans, you guys deserve the same treatment

Flat track in Arnhem infrastructure everywhere I’m guessing the viewing was better at Budds  even with the OP’s issues

I don’t go to many nationals anymore but when I do I just pay the extra for the VIP seating. That would be hard for a family of 4 or 5 though, but it’s usually just me and a buddy of two because my wife would rather watch with me at home on TV. It won’t change though until people quit showing up. 

I was at Unadilla last weekend, first national since 2016, and the EZ Ups, towers, TV screens, VIP areas, and fence line banners completely sucked. I saw multiple instances where there were EZ Ups with 2 people under them, it was bad. The banners along the fences are pretty tall as well, there were lots of places around the track we couldn't watch from cause my kids couldn't see over the banners.

Gonna need you to aware me to all these tracks with better viewing than Budds. You can see 80% of the track from the infield grass area.  The EZ-ups absolutely sunk, no argument.  Why wouldn't you bring a chair with you to a national? I was at the race yesterday.  Had a blast

We got a spot on the fence at Pala and cut a couple zippy’s to lower it for the younger ones 

I've been going to the Washougal national since 1983. This year was probably the last time. $75 to barely see the track.

Trying to watch Hangtown without any shade is tantamount to torture.

VIP seats are well worth the price of admission. Got to hang with Stewart’s mom and Shimoda’s grandparents back there over the years.

EZ-UP Zones need to be established and enforced at EVERY national track. It’s going to lead to a lot of physical fights between fans if they don’t do something about it in the off season. The VIP areas aren’t going to go away and more people will bring tents next year because the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” mentality will set in.

Ironman, now that place got destroyed by the VIP sections IMO. It went from one of my favorites to barely being worth attending IMO. The track itself, I like. traffic ain't bad, parking is good, food is good, but it ain't what it once was as far as viewing the track and being able to move around.

Red Bud is the crown jewel from a fans perspective. 

When we went to Redbud this year, I told the wife I will be pissed if there is a sea of EZ-UP's. Luckily their security was on point and made people take them down, including large umbrellas. Those that wanted to use them, needed to be up on the perimeter, which were already claimed. I hope the EZ-UP enforcement follows this example. My wife and I used the Redbud and FMF umbrellas we purchased there some years ago for shade. 

I have been looking at the VIP for Redbud, but have not met one person that says it's good or bad, as far as the money that they charge for it. Is it worth it? 

On the far hill there was a line spray painted on the ground that said no EZ ups and people ignored it or didn't see it and it wasn't enforced. Some were even putting EZ ups under the trees so it ruined the viewing in the shade! Selfish behavior with no regard for anyone else! 

Hangtown was freaking ridiculous. You pay your ticket fee, show up, and you have to peer through a bunch of EZ-Ups at a piece of the track the size of a postage stamp. This sport really disappoints me sometimes with that type of ignorance. I don't know if I will go next year. Imagine you go to a football game and other fans block your view. That would never happen because that sport is run by professionals.

Simple-don’t let them in the gate. Get to the gate with an ez-up, your choice is to either walk it back to your truck or surrender it to the track security. Any that slip through are immediately confiscated.

They can donate them to a good cause like local kids’ sports and activities after the event.

Shouldn’t take more than a season of folks losing their place in line or a 1-300.00 (or more) ez-up for this crap to stop.

The promoters are trying to nudge you into paying for the VIP zones.   Right now they are establishing a baseline for how much people will pay. They are using the bulk of the customers to induce demand.    It's like the Skip the Line/Speed Passes at amusement parks.  

I was at Hangtown, after practice the stewards came thru and asked people to take down the ex-ups. A few came down

Then the sheriff came thru and compliance went from 50% to 100%

The VIPs for MXON at Ironman ruined it.  I hope they never go back there I'm not going if so.  It sucked for viewing compared to Red Bud, Millville or Thunder Valley 

The worst part is that they changed a very cool part of the track to do it.

Been attending races in the So Cal sun since the 1970’s. Part of the expierence is getting there when the gates open and staking a claim to provide some shade. I agree Ez Ups lining the fence is a bummer. Hangtown has many terraces that allow Ez Ups while still allowing direct at the fence watching. More of this setup may make more people happy. 

I would like to hear from someone who brings a EZUP to the races, how do they justify it?