Bobby Epstein of the Circuit of the Americas

This past weekend, I sat down with my longtime family friend, Bobby Epstein. As the co-founder and chairman of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Mr. Epstein has been at the forefront of bringing Formula 1 racing to Austin and, more recently, bringing the X Games to Austin.

For the background story of what the X Games coming to Austin means for us Austinites, please visit my article - Austin: The X Games Are Coming.

Sweet Lemon Magazine: Why was it important to you to bring Formula 1 racing and the X Games to Austin?

Bobby Epstein: It was more important to me to create a venue that brings people together for good reasons: to have a good time, to make good memories, to bond with their friends and family. So, in terms of big events with big impact that are unique, both Formula 1 racing and the X Games fit that description.

SLM: How long have you been working on bringing the X Games to Austin? What were the biggest challenges that you’ve faced throughout that process?

Epstein: It happened very quickly. We found out around the beginning of this year that ESPN was considering moving the X Games from Los Angeles. When we heard that, we thought that it would be a perfect fit for us and for Austin. We have a very unique venue [at the Circuit of the Americas], there’s nothing like it in the world. ESPN said that one of the reasons why they picked Austin was because there’s nothing else like the Circuit of the Americas and it’s built to host things like the X Games. Formula 1, the X Games, and another big event – MotoGP – are just the start of what we hope to accomplish there. The X Games seemed like a perfect match. Austin, demographically, is a young, hip city. Despite the fact that it is the self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World” – and it has a good rhythm like that – Austin also marches to its own beat. And so does the culture of the X Games.

The biggest challenge throughout the process of bringing the X Games to Austin was the competition. Detroit, Chicago, Charlotte, and Austin were the final four candidates after seventeen initial cities. I was never concerned that we weren’t the best match for the X Games. There’s always politics; I think that other cities were perhaps able to write bigger checks than we were able to write, but I think that there is both incredible cost savings with our venue and a great connection with the city.

SLM: This past year we celebrated Austin’s first F1 race – how did Austin react before the event and what changes have you seen in the greater Austin community’s culture and view of F1 and the Circuit of the Americas since that time?

Epstein: Those are two different questions and those are two good questions. In Austin, we saw – prior to the race – incredible fear of what [Formula 1] might do to Austin. We saw fear that the city was going to be turned upside down with nine hour traffic jams… fear of the unknown. People didn’t know what to expect, and I think that the press made a bit of a big deal about everything that could go wrong. By virtue of the fact that they set us up for such failure, I think the success of the event was even magnified because of the city’s low expectations.

Since then, we’ve opened a beautiful amphitheater. It’s truly awesome. We started with F1 but F1 is not the purpose of the facility – it just happened to be the marquee event  that happened to kick [the Circuit of the Americas campus] off. The campus is really designed to be world-class in many different things: the next step after the racetrack was the amphitheater. It seats 14,000 people and we’ve brought in a lot of great acts.

We’ve also been able to leverage the value of Formula 1 in some of the things we do in the community; it helps us raise money for good causes. In the first year, we know that – just in donations of tickets and experiences – we were able to raise $500,000 and more through the various nonprofits in the Austin area. So, between the success of the event and the impact on the community – we started a local Boys and Girls Club in the local school district, we became big tax payers to that school district, the library out there has gotten a tremendous surplus… so, a string of good things, being good citizens – we’ve really changed the attitude towards [the Circuit of the Americas]. We’ve gone from perhaps a negative public sentiment to a very positive one.

SLM: Do you think Austin has been rebranded – on a global scale – as a result of the Formula 1 races?

Epstein: We know that more than one hundred million people – and that is a real number – now know of Austin that didn’t know of it before. That’s global impact. That’s the chance to host and showcase Austin’s strengths through hundreds of thousands of people who come here every year. As a result, we’re seeing increased tourism; some of the demographic that comes are people who might open businesses here or expand their companies to include Austin.

When Sky News does their weather forecast globally and they list global major cities, they do Paris, Brussels, etcetera in Europe. They scroll to Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo in South America. Then they go to North America. We know that – for quite a while if not anymore – they did New York, Miami, Los Angeles… and Austin. We weren’t on that list before [Formula 1].

SLM: On that same line, what changes do you anticipate in the greater Austin culture and the world’s perception of Austin in the years to come, resulting from the X Games?

Epstein: Austinites were key to getting the X Games: when the site selection committee came to Austin, more than 5,000 people showed up just to show their support. That was a true grassroots effort, so we know that the X Games are going to be well-received.

Austin is named with Barcelona, Munich, and Foz do Iguaçu as the host-cities for the Summer – or “non-winter” since we’re not necessarily “summer” – X Games. [The X Games and Formula 1] don’t necessarily attract the same audience. By hosting the X Games, we’re increasing the footprint that Austin makes – on the global scale.

SLM: How do you foresee the X Games impacting Austin’s economic growth… and population growth?

Epstein: I don’t know that it impacts our population growth, although there are so many people that move to Austin every day. That being said, I know that if I were a kid, my parents were considering moving to Austin, and I knew nothing about the city other than that the X Games are hosted there, I might say to myself, “I know that place, it’s an okay place for kids to move.” I think Austin hosting the X Games might make some of the kids feel more comfortable and make Austin a more family-friendly relocation.

We know that there’s a lot of new hotels coming to Austin and a lot of restaurants opening up. I think that the X Games will just further the success of those businesses, but I don’t know if we’ll be the catalyst necessarily. The X Games are a great chance for the industry that both relates to and markets to youth to get together. Those business leaders may not have been to Austin before. I went to Los Angeles this week for the X Games. There were probably over 1,000 people that attended the X Games just because their core business is reaching [the X Games] demographic. So, hopefully, they’ll now come down here to Austin… and maybe they’ll want to expand their businesses to Austin. We don’t know the exact economic impact or the number of businesses that will open up as a result of the X Games, but we do know that thousands of people will come [to Austin] for the weekend of the X Games. That will be good for the merchants, the people in the hospitality industry, waiters and waitresses… and Tyler’s Sports.

SLM: What has been your most rewarding moment since first becoming involved with the Circuit of the Americas?

Epstein: I think it’s an ongoing moment when you see people smiling and having a good time. It’s nice that its not a single point in time.

SLM: When life gives you lemons…

Epstein: You should try to avoid just making compost out of the lemons.

 

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