Questions about the future of the Verizon IndyCar Series race at the Milwaukee Mile now revolve around “where, not whether, it will land” on the '15 calendar, according to Dave Kallmann of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Andretti Sports Marketing Managing Dir Kevin Healy, whose firm promotes the event, said, “We’re still working with IndyCar on the date, but it will be in the final three again.” Kallmann noted the end of the IndyCar schedule “is tied to Labor Day,” and the State Fair’s dates “run parallel to the holiday.” A race weekend on Aug. 22-23 next year “would allow for two races” following the Milwaukee IndyFest with a Labor Day weekend conclusion. ASM also has “stepped up race promotion” during the State Fair. But Healy said that “how much of that exposure will translate to sales is unclear.” Rebuilding the Milwaukee IndyCar event “has been a year-to-year project” taken on by ASM in '12. This year’s race was “the first time the organization has publicly confirmed before race day that the following season’s event was set” (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 8/16). In Milwaukee, Rich Kirchen notes ASM “will not release attendance figures" until later today. But the weather yesterday “was ideal for fans after rain hampered attendance the previous two years.” ABC Supply Owner Diane Hendricks, whose company signed on as title sponsor of the race this year, “was hoping for 35,000 to 40,000 compared with about 28,000 last year.” Kirchen notes a “big positive for the financial success of the race and ensuring its return in 2015 was the addition of ABC Supply as the naming-rights sponsor” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/18).
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? Hendricks said that she was "thrilled to step forward” as title sponsor, but “more Milwaukee-area and Wisconsin businesses will need to join the sponsorship ranks to ensure the event’s long-term staying power” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/16). ASM Owner Michael Andretti said that it is “too early to say if his company will seek to continue the event after the contract expires after next year’s race.” Andretti: “We still have to get (attendance) up to really go beyond next year.” Andretti also noted that a “proposed new event at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La., is close to being finalized next season.” Andretti: "We’ll be announcing something soon. We’re extremely excited about that event. I think it’s going to be way bigger than anybody thinks it will be.” Andretti said of the date for the NOLA event, which has not yet been revealed, “We’re going to be happy” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/18).
