The three public companies that operate NASCAR racetracks "reported a tick downward in ticket revenues" in '15, according to Bob Pockrass of ESPN.com. ISC, SMI and Dover Motorsports "combined to sell" $238.8M in tickets in '15, down from $239.2M in '14. The figures include tickets for non-NASCAR events, but NASCAR races "make up a large majority of the ticket sales at the tracks." ISC hosts "20 of the 38 Sprint Cup events," SMI has 13 events and Dover has two. Pocono Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway "are privately owned and do not have to report financial figures." The .17% drop from '14 to '15 "could show some stabilization." Ticket revenues dropped 9.1% in '12, 6.5% in '13 and 2.5% in '14. The '15 figures for the three companies is 49% "below their all-time high" of $467.4M in '07 (ESPN.com, 3/9).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: SMI yesterday reported Q4 '15 and FY earnings info, which showed that overall revenue was up slightly from '14, ticket revenue was essentially flat and debt was down significantly. The corporation, which owns eight speedways and multiple dragstrips across the U.S., saw full-year revenue of $496.5M, up from $484.3M in '14. Admissions revenue was $100.7M in FY '15, down a tick from $100.8M in FY '14 -- a sign of increased stability after significantly sharper drops in recent years, and something the company attributed in part to poor weather on multiple race weekends in '15. The company realized an interest-expense reduction that saw it spend $16.8M on debt service in '15, down from $21.2M in '14. On the downside, the company did take a $63.4M impairment charge for non-tax intangible assets and goodwill, mainly related to the '08 purchase of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Q4 revenue was $87.7M, up from $84.1M in '14 (Adam Stern, Staff Writer).
