At the Palmer Events Center Tuesday, new Formula 1 announcements came in quick succession. Not since the announcement of the track itself, nearly a year ago, was so much revealed at one time. It started with a new name for the track, the Circuit of the Americas, or COTA. For the the first time, the public heard from Steve Sexton, COTA’s new president. Previously, Sexton served as CEO of Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.
Then came the announcement of motorcycles. MotoGP, the world’s premier motorcycling circuit, announced a 10-year agreement to bring the sport to the track in 2013. Though he would not elaborate, financial backer Red McCombs said that hurdles continue to impact their progress. “This is a project with many moving parts,” McCombs said Tuesday. “We are not home yet.” In the meantime, renderings released Tuesday were grand in scale. They included a 22-story lookout tower, a banquet hall, a trauma center, and a parking garage big enough to cover three football fields. Officials said the new F1 track would also have space for an outdoor music venue, and someday, a research and development center built in conjunction with a major automaker. They said the track could also be utilized for running and cycling events. At the construction site in Elroy Tuesday, one could see several pieces of heavy equipment plowing through the 900 acres of clay. The Austin skyline could be seen just beyond it.Officials expect the building project to create up to 1,300 new jobs. When completed, they say the track should bring about $400 million into the region each year.