International Speedway Corp. owns Daytona International Speedway and eleven other tracks that feature NASCAR Sprint Cups Series Races. (LAT Photographic)
International Speedway Corp. has seen revenues drop 13.6 percent and has reported a loss for the first six months of its 2009 fiscal year – the loss mostly attributed to a write-down of $55.6 million for struggling merchandise arm Motorsports Authentics.
In releasing its financial statement for December 2008-May 2009, ISC said it has seen admissions revenue drop 16.5 percent, motorsports-related revenue drop 8.7 percent and food, beverage and merchandise revenue drop 33.7 percent. Admissions revenue for March-May (including NASCAR Sprint Cup weekends at Martinsville, Phoenix, Talladega, Richmond and Darlington) was down 18.2 percent.
ISC expects overall admissions revenue to drop 15 percent for the year, ISC President John Saunders said during a conference call with financial analysts Tuesday morning.
Advance ticket sales have been down about 25-30 percent, ISC Chief Financial Officer Dan Houser said, as people buy tickets later. For the month prior to this past weekend’s Coke Zero 400, ticket sales were 22 percent ahead of last year, Saunders said. More than half of those late-ticket buyers are new ticket buyers, ISC officials said.
The weighted average ticket price for 2009 Sprint Cup events decreased approximately 5 percent from March through May and overall is down 1 percent from 2008, Houser said.
ISC is looking at other ways to generate more admissions revenue, including fewer tickets sold as part of weekend- or season-ticket packages.
“I anticipate that for the next year at certain events, we will unbundle ticket packages as well as adjust prices in other sections of the facilities beyond just the entry-level tickets,” Saunders said. “This is a high priority of our management team to optimize attendance and revenue generation in what we expect will continue to be a challenging economic environment.”
