LVMS chief Richie Clyne finally slows down long enough for an in-depth interview

Friday, July 31, 1998 | 11:34 a.m.

In the 22 months since Richie Clyne opened the $200 million Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his state-of-the-art racing facility has hosted the five largest sporting crowds in the state's history.

Topping the list was last March's hugely successful Las Vegas 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race, which attracted a sellout crowd to the 107,000-seat Speedway and drew rave reviews from the participants and mixed reviews from spectators, who battled long lines both on the access roads and at the restrooms.

In the ensuing months, the Speedway has been the center of myriad rumors including its imminent sale, the possibility of landing a second Winston Cup race and adding a CART Champ car race.

In his first in-depth interview since the inaugural Winston Cup race, Clyne addressed those issues. He confirmed for the first time that he is involved in talks with CART officials, to bring the premier American open-wheel racing series to his 1.5-mile superspeedway.

Q: It has been nearly two years since the Speedway opened. Are you happy with the course you're on?

A: It's great and getting better. It's kind of like having your own city; you're never finished because as soon as one project is done, you start another. At one time, I had eight or 10 projects going on at one time because we were under a deadline. But currently, we've got several projects going on and lots on the drawing boards.

Q: From where you originally started, how close are you to completing the facility?

A: Of the original design, I'd say we're probably 90 percent done. The industrial park should be wrapped up here in about 45 days. We've already got several tenants moved in or in the process of moving in.

Q: From the racing perspective, how close is the new drag strip and any other projects to being completed?

A: The drag strip will be next, that should be done by early spring. The next project after that will be our two-mile road course. Last week we just completed the rough construction of our new motocross track. Rich Winkler, who is world-renowned for building motocross tracks -- he's the Arnold Palmer of motocross (designers) -- we contracted with him to come in and build the ultimate motocross track here in Las Vegas. That should be finished up here in about 60 days. We're doing extensive planning and designing right now for phase two of the industrial park. The first phase that we just completed is 1.5 million square feet.

Q: How is occupancy coming along with the first phase?

A: It's going pretty good, we're right on time. The thing with that is that you've got to have it built and prove to them (tenants) that it's not a dream, that it's going to happen. That's their livelihood; when people start moving businesses, it's not like buying a race ticket. They want to actually see that the building is there and it's everything we said it is -- and it's more. There are more amenities than we originally anticipated (because) as people ask additional things, you build additional things.

Q: What are the plans for the second phase of the industrial park?

A: The second phase we're working on right now will be an additional two million (square feet), but that will be built out in sections and phases.

Q: Do you have any concerns about the status or future of the Speedway?

A: Just keeping the customer happy and sending everybody home happy. They've got to leave not only the Speedway happy, but they've got to leave Las Vegas happy. They can come here and have a great day at the track and then have a bellman upset them and it's going to taint Las Vegas in their minds. Same thing if you have a great bellman and have a ticket usher here (upset them). They've got to go home with a total package of being happy.

Q: Are you happy with the interest and involvement the local business community has taken to the Speedway?

A: The entire resort community has backed us 100 percent because we're helping them, we're bringing them a new client that normally would not have come to Las Vegas. It has opened the door for all the casinos to get a whole new array of customers.

Q: I recall you once saying that one day you want to step back and not be involved in the day-to-day operations of the track. Now that Bob and Gary Bahre (former president and vice president) have left the Speedway, what do you see as your role?

A: Now that we've got everything up and running and I can see what our plans for the future are, we're probably two years away from that (stepping back).

Q: You've been so busy for so long building this facility, is it still fun?

A: Yeah. It's not just promoting a race, you're still involved with construction, you're still involved with management so there are several different hats you have to wear during the daytime. Until you get the complex to where it's just a general manager's hat, I see two more years, seven days a week, 15 to 18 hours a day.

Q: It never gets old?

A: Every day is another challenge.

Q: Looking back on it, do you think that perhaps your plans were too ambitious, that you took on too much too soon?

A: I guess not, I did it. I guess I have to re-phrase that: I guess not, we did it because it was the entire team, not just myself.

Q: Does it bother you that there is a lull in the Speedway schedule between the NASCAR Winston Cup race in March and the motorcycles and Indy Racing League in October?

A: Not really. If you look at the history of the industry for the last 80 years, they only ran one race at Daytona or Indianapolis. They only run two major races now at Daytona, so we're fortunate because we run a lot more than probably any other race track in the world. With all the University of Motor Sports schools here, our tracks are busy seven days a week, year 'round, where most tracks in the Midwest and the East Coast can't do it because of inclement weather. We're fortunate enough to have the resort town that warrants it with all the conventions coming to town.

Q: But it seems like this would be a great venue to run a summertime night race. Is something like that in your plans?

A: June, July and August are virtually impossible because of the heat. It was never designed for big spectator crowds in the heat. What we're looking into on some of the short-track systems is either starting our season a little earlier and run it a little later and not race in July and August. One, it could give the racers some time to spend with their families during the summer and it'll also get us away from the terrible heat that we've had this year.

Q: Other tracks run events in the dead of the summer. It seems that a premier event would still attract a good crowd even if it's 95 degrees at 8 o'clock at night.

A: I look at it this way: If I was a tourist coming to Las Vegas and I could stay in a nice, cool casino or go out in 115-degree temperature like we've has the last couple of weeks, I think I'd probably stay in the casino.

Q: Speaking of crowds, you took some heat from IRL president Tony George last fall for not doing enough to promote the race. Did you take exception to those comments?

A: It was different management, so it wasn't directed at me, of course. All I can say about the IRL is just sit back and wait until (race fans) see this year. In two years, we'll have people standing in line to buy IRL tickets like they do (Winston) Cup tickets.

Q: What is it going to take for the IRL to get to that level?

A: Education. They've been putting on some great races ... and CART has been putting on some great races, too.

Q: Which brings us to the first rumor. The talk around the garages at some of the CART races is that CART and Las Vegas Motor Speedway have been talking. Is there any truth to that?

A: I'd like to have a CART race here. But it wouldn't be one or the other, I'd like to run both. I'd like to run CART in the spring and IRL in the fall. They (CART) have a gap in their schedule between Florida and Japan, and that would be perfect.

Q: Are you having talks with CART?

A: I talk to everybody, all the time, about everything. But, yes, we've had conversations, there's no doubt about that.

Q: From the two series' standpoint, would there be a conflict having a CART race and an IRL race at the same track?

A: (Laughing) No, because I told both of them I'm a non-denominational church and I'd like to have everybody come and pray here. Basically, we're in the tourist industry and we're doing something else to bring more tourists to Las Vegas -- and that is the bottom line.

Q: Could you have been any happier with the way the first Winston Cup race weekend went off in February?

A: You don't see no frown on my face.

Q: But, obviously, there were some concerns from the fans' standpoint in terms of traffic and inadequate restroom facilities.

A: If you'll notice, (the additional restrooms) are already finished. We learned a tremendous amount from that race. We learned about the parking egress problems, concession problems -- I shouldn't call them problems, I call them challenges. We learned a lot of little tiny things and that's what really makes for a good event. I was extremely happy with the Cup race, the overall outcome. When they yelled out, "Gentlemen, start your engines," there wasn't one person sitting on Las Vegas Boulevard and not one person sitting on I-15. Everybody was sitting in their seats and that's how you tell if you have a successful event, (if) people are not sitting and waiting, coming in on the 20th lap. Because no matter what you do to that fan, you've lost him.

Q: Could that be part of the reason attendance at last year's IRL race suffered? By some estimates, there were 15,000 to 20,000 people sitting out on Las Vegas Boulevard and I-15 when the inaugural IRL race started. Do you think you lost a lot of fans from that first race?

A: I'm sure we did. Anything that leaves a sore taste in somebody's mouth isn't good. It's like a little kid; you can step on a kid once but if you give him 10 ice cream cones, he still remembers you stepped on him. It's an educational process (and) we've got to educate the locals how great Indy-car racing really is.

Q: Getting back to Winston Cup for a minute, is there any chance of Las Vegas getting a second race?

A: I wish I knew tomorrow. You'll know when the tickets go on sale. Honestly, I don't foresee it in the near future. NASCAR said they have never seen a city get behind an event like Las Vegas did.

Q: At what point does it become feasible to expand the seating at the Speedway?

A: We can expand to 315,000 if you wrap the whole track.

Q: Do you have to get a second Winston Cup date before you can even think of expanding?

A: At this time, I'm real comfortable with what is there now.

Q: You were never guaranteed a Winston Cup date when you built the Speedway. Did you really expect to get a race as soon as you did?

A: Yes. I just felt if I built the best facility in the world, we'd get it.

Q: Another rumor making the rounds is that Ralph Englestad (LVMS co-owner) is in ill-health and may be looking to sell the Speedway. Can you shed any light on that one?

A: He was lifting file cabinets with me (last week), if that tells you anything. That's unbelievable; I've heard the reports, I've seen the newspaper articles.

Q: So what about the rumors of the impending sale of the Speedway?

A: Ralph Englestad is a businessman (and) if somebody paid enough money for anything, it'd be for sale. But the track is not for sale and it has never actively been for sale.

Q: What about a local group's plans to bring a Formula One race to Las Vegas? Can that have a positive effect on the Speedway even if the race is not run here?

Q: You'd have to wait and see how history is written there. I think you're going to see a Formula One (race) run in America, but I really think it'll be at Indianapolis. But that's been talked about for three months, so there's nothing new there.

Q: Are you of the mind that if you don't run an F1 race at the Speedway, you'd not rather have it run in Las Vegas?

A: We're not talking about a NASCAR Winston Cup (race) that's going to fill the town. Really, it has got to be proven first. It didn't work at Caesars Palace, it didn't work in Phoenix.

Q: Is an F1 race an event you would like to have here at the Speedway?

A: I'd like to have it here, but I wouldn't like to have it here and lose 10 or 15 or 20 million dollars. My ego isn't so big where I've got to write a check for $20 million so I can say I have a Formula One track. I'd like to (have a race), yes; we have the facility for it. But somebody is going to have to write a check for big money no matter where it's held.

Q: It sounds as if everything is running smoothly out here. Any complaints?

A: No, so far everything is on course. Now that we've got a few races under our belts, we're not going to have tunnel vision on just putting on the races anymore. We're going to start doing a lot more surrounding the races to provide fans with a total experience. Starting with the (AMA) motorcycle race (in October), you're going to be seeing a lot more of that.

archive