The group has held two events so far and thinks it can do a better job with the Reunion than current management.
- Vintage race organizer Velocity Invitational wants to take over running of the Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca.
- The current operator, A&D, has a contract to run the event through 2023, with an option to go until 2026.
- Velocity promises to upgrade the event, with AstroTurf and other niceties; A&D says it’s classing up the event already
Will the Monterey Motorsports Reunion get new management?
For its first 35 years, from 1974 to 2009, what used to be called the Monterey Historics were run by Steve and Debbie Earle and everything went just fine. The Earles knew everyone in the historic racing community and everyone knew them. They held the Historics at Laguna Seca and everyone was happy. Then, in 2009, the track itself, with the blessing of the County of Monterey (which owns it) took over and ran it until now, first under the management of volunteer group SCRAMP and then under a new company called A&D. A&D has a contract to operate the track until 2023, with an option to continue through 2026.
Then came Jeff O’Neill.
O’Neill, a wine merchant and motorsports enthusiast, put on the Sonoma Speed Festival in 2019 and followed up with the Velocity Invitational last November at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Now O’Neill and company want to take over management of the Monterey Motorsports Reunion and to that end sent a proposal to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors saying just that.
Alfa vs. Porsche at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion last year.
Rolex
“Our goal is to elevate the ‘Reunion’ weekends to the next level, and raise the status of the event overall, to become the best Motorsports event in the United States,” the proposal read, capitalizing Motorsports.
Both sides got 10 minutes yesterday to present their cases to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. The presentations took on a little bit of the character of any political debate, with each side attacking the other’s facts.
“The claim that our event (Velocity Invitational) is half the size (of the Monterey Motorsports Reunion) is just factually not true,” said O’Neill, who got the first 10 minutes. “I want everybody to understand our event in terms of infrastructure: This is twice the size of anything anybody’s done at Laguna Seca, we had 60,000 square feet of tents that we built. That’s 10 times the size of the pavilion on turn three. We also have we had two acres of lawn—nobody’s ever seen two acres of lawn out there.”
Well, two acres of AstroTurf, anyway. O’Neill then showed two slides comparing the entryway to his Velocity Invitational event—with lovely Astro turf, some plants, and a parked race car—to a photo of the entryway for the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, which showed only pavement and a chainlink fence.
Ex-Niki Lauda Ferrari 312 at Velocity Invitational at Laguna Seca last year.
Larry Chen/Velocity Invitational
“So I just, I would ask the supervisors to think about this. We’re making a huge investment. And yes, I did make an enormous investment. And we will continue to, if we are going to make this a world-class event that’s open for everybody. Somebody has to make an investment in this facility.”
Well, A&D announced last year that the County is repaving the track and replacing the bridge at start-finish, projects that will cost roughly $10 million, to go with $750,000 committed to improving the hospitality structure at Turn 3.
Then there were traded stats on attendance. A&D said it had 51,000 attendees at the last Motorsports Reunion, and that Velocity Invitational brought between 8000 and 10,000.
“I guess the one big thing I’d like to say, a lot of the data that’s been given to the board is that they (the Reunion) had over 48,000 visitors. That is fact, I hope it, I hope it is true, because if there really was 40,000 people at the reunion, it would be reflected in the financial statements. It is not reflected in the financial statements.”
Then A&D’s leader, former Monterey hotelier John Narigi, got his 10 minutes.
“I was a bit surprised at some of Mr. O’Neill’s comments, but I will hold my own comments,” Narigi said.
“There’s nothing wrong with the current reunion,” Narigi continued, and then immediately qualified his statement.
“It needs to be upgraded, it needs some new fresh look. And that’s our plan for 2022.”
Narigi touted the featured marque of the 2022 event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, listing several new features that will be added, including something called Café Le Mans, which sounds tasty to anyone who hasn’t ever actually eaten the track food sold in those tents at Le Mans. Earlier, word had gotten out that there will be a Ferris wheel at this year’s Reunion, just like the one outside the Dunlop Bridge at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
“I’m in this for fun. I love cars. I love racing. It would be such a shame to not create the greatest car event in the world.”
In an earlier letter to the County Board, Narigi outlined his position, and the dangers of turning over the track’s most profitable event to an outside organization that would essentially rent the facility from the County.
“It is my professional opinion that the event remains a vital asset of the County, which is the most profitable and successful event annually held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca,” he said.
Ultimately it comes down to business cases. Non-business majors can skip ahead a few paragraphs.
Narigi said that given the available financial data, “…there is a $4.45 million reduction (-53.2%) in NOI (net operating income) after county allocations if the event is outsourced. NOI generated if outsourced is $3,916,403 compared to $8,368,397 with Monterey County maintaining ownership with the event managed under A&D.”
Velocity laid out its financials in its proposal to the Board, offering the following terms in the form of direct compensation to Monterey County:
- 2022: $500,000
- 2023: $750,000
- 2024: $1,000,000
- 2025-2032: $1,000,000 per year annually
Velocity also offered $2 million for “improvements” in the first year, to include a larger hospitality facility at Turn 3. Narigi accused Velocity of “temporary improvements,” which the track doesn’t need.
“Velocity …offers no commitment of capital improvement projects, only a commitment to the event itself,” Narigi continued in his letter to the Board.
Velocity wants to offer a more appropriately luxurious event managed in private hands, in addition to great racing. A&D says it can improve the existing event while making more money for the County.
“It was private from 1974 until 2009, when SCRAMP took it over, and it’s been on a downhill slide ever since,” O’Neill told the Board. “So the notion that it hasn’t been in private hands before is simply not true. It was way more successful when it was in private hands.”
“Today I request that you support… the staff report recommendation to retain Rolex Monterey motor sports reunion as the owner and the direct current management firm A&D Narigi to proceed as the operator for the ‘22 Reunion,” Narigi said at the end of this 10 minutes. “The ‘22 Reunion is less than seven months away. And time is of the essence.”
O’Neill also had a conclusion to his time.
“I’m in this for fun. I love cars. I love racing. The opportunity here is so huge. It would be such a shame to not create the greatest car event in the world. And I’m not looking at it from a profit perspective.”
Keyword: Velocity Invitational Wants to Take Over the Monterey Motorsports Reunion