University of Tennessee, Knoxville Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2013 Automobile Races and the Marketing of Places: A Geographic and Marketing Exploration of IndyCar Racing in the United States Andrew James Baker [email protected] Recommended Citation Baker, Andrew James, "Automobile Races and the Marketing of Places: A Geographic and Marketing Exploration of IndyCar Racing in the United States. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2013. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2396 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Andrew James Baker entitled "Automobile Races and the Marketing of Places: A Geographic and Marketing Exploration of IndyCar Racing in the United States." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Geography. Thomas L. Bell, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Ronald Kalafsky, Lars Dzikus, Bruce Ralston, Derek Alderman Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) Automobile Races and the Marketing of Places: A Geographic and Marketing Exploration of IndyCar Racing in the United States A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Andrew James Baker August 2013 Copyright © 2013 by Andrew J. Baker All rights reserved. ii ABSTRACT IndyCar events attract thousands of spectators and over one million television viewers. Additionally, IndyCar is the most elite form of motorsport that races on oval speedways, natural terrain road courses, and temporary street circuits. This research utilizes case studies of IndyCar events contested on each of these three venue types (Iowa Corn Indy 250 – oval speedway; Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio – road course; Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – street circuit). Previous research in figurational sociology, place marketing, and mega-events provide a framework used to identify key similarities and differences among the perceived and observed benefits and costs of an IndyCar race on their host cities and regions. Identification and analysis of key local event stakeholders and sponsors from a content analysis of event souvenir programs, television broadcasts, and local newspaper coverage revealed key differences among the three case study events. Street circuit races rely on a high-level of public support, have a high impact on businesses and residents surrounding the venue, and can showcase a city’s downtown amenities via television exposure of city streets during most of the event. In the case of St. Petersburg, the festival atmosphere and high speed of IndyCar racing in their downtown streets has been part of a process of re-inventing the city as it sheds an image of a quiet city with mostly older residents and has been successful attracting both visitors and residents to downtown. Oval speedway events rely on high participation of private, local event sponsors that are marketing their good or service mostly to local race fans who, for the most part, stay only at the speedway on race day. In particular, the Iowa Corn Indy 250 provides a platform for local, corn-based ethanol promotion of their product in high-performance race cars. Road course races attract a greater number of weekend-long, on-site camping motorsport enthusiasts and participants as these events are more a celebration of the automobile industry, and in particular, the Honda assembly plants that employ thousands of nearby Ohio residents. The results from this research provide key lessons for other current and potential IndyCar venues across three different venue types. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page CHAPTER1 Introduction.............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Questions and Design .......................................................................... 1 1.2 Relevance of Study ............................................................................................. 6 1.3 IndyCar Racing Venues: Street Circuits, Road Courses, and Oval Speedways . 7 1.4 Rationale for Case Study Site Selection ........................................................... 11 1.5 Geography of Motorsport ................................................................................. 16 1.6 My Connection to the Research Topic.............................................................. 20 CHAPTER 2 Figurational Sociology and IndyCar Series Events .............................. 22 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 22 2.2 Figurational Sociology ...................................................................................... 24 2.3 Origin and Diffusion of Modern Sport: Figurational Perspectives .................. 26 2.3.1 Sports Media Complex .............................................................................. 27 2.4 Figurations of IndyCar Series Race Events ...................................................... 29 2.5 Sanctioning Body .............................................................................................. 30 2.5.1 INDYCAR Today ...................................................................................... 35 2.6 Automobile Industry and IndyCar .................................................................... 38 2.6.1 American Honda Motor Company............................................................. 41 2.6.2 Ethanol ....................................................................................................... 42 2.7 Media and IndyCar ........................................................................................... 43 2.7.1 ABC/ESPN ................................................................................................ 49 2.7.2 Versus/NBC Sports Network ..................................................................... 49 2.8 Corporate Sponsorship and IndyCar ................................................................. 50 2.8.1 Corporate Sponsorship and IndyCar Today ............................................... 54 2.9 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................. 56 CHAPTER 3 Place Marketing, Mega-Events, and Motorsport .................................. 58 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 58 3.2 Place Marketing ................................................................................................ 59 3.2.1 Who are Place Marketers? ......................................................................... 60 3.2.2 Place Marketing Strategies ........................................................................ 61 3.3 Mega-Events ..................................................................................................... 64 3.4 Economic, Tourism and Commercial Impacts of Motorsport Events .............. 68 3.4.1 Increased Economic Activity and Job Creation ......................................... 69 3.4.2 Attraction of Visitors ................................................................................. 70 3.4.3 Promotion of Local Companies and Industries .......................................... 72 3.4.4 Key Concerns of Economic, Tourism, and Commercial Impact Analyses 73 3.5 Political and Administrative Impacts of Motorsport Events ............................. 74 3.5.1 Enhancing the Image of a Place ................................................................. 74 3.5.2 Political and Administrative Costs............................................................. 76 3.6 Social, Cultural and Psychological Impacts of Motorsport Events .................. 76 3.6.1 Increased Local Pride and Community Spirit ............................................ 77 iv 3.6.2 Negative Social Impacts of Motorsport Events ......................................... 78 3.7 Physical and Environmental Impacts of Motorsport Events ............................. 80 3.8 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................. 80 CHAPTER 4 Methodology and Data Analysis: Part 1 .............................................. 82 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 82 4.2 Case Study Event Venue #1: Streets of St. Petersburg .................................... 84 4.2.1 Origins of Event ......................................................................................... 84 4.2.2 Sanctioning Body and the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg ............................ 86 4.2.3 Title Event Sponsorship of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg .................... 88 4.2.4 Television Viewers .................................................................................... 89 4.3 Case Study Event Venue #2: Iowa Speedway ................................................