Saturday in Milwaukee
08-01-2004 | 06:33 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Registered
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 5,650
Likes: 2
From: Lake Murray, SC
Saturday in Milwaukee
Powerboat racing could have bright future here
APBA Offshore back in town
By DAVE KALLMANN
Posted: July 31, 2004
Jim Poplin, president of APBA Offshore Racing, sees an underserved market brimming with fans eager to experience competition ordinarily seen only on the coasts.
Chuck Collins, a lifelong Milwaukeean and local marketing specialist, sees an exciting event able to draw crowds to a gem of a lakefront park.
In other words, "potential" is a key term in talking about powerboat racing as the sport makes its second appearance in Milwaukee.
"With what we did last year here, the volume of e-mails I've gotten since January, it's a no-brain situation that we had to come back here," said Polin, who took over as president of APBA Offshore after leading its safety team.
The first GMC Milwaukee Offshore Gran Prix last year appeared as a curiosity, with unfamiliar spectators milling about Veterans Park among millions of dollars worth of sleek, fast boats, being educated by their owners and crews. Organizers were generally pleased with the crowds despite minimal advance publicity.
Still, as much as returning made sense for the Pro Grade National Series, it wasn't simple.
Addressing the concerns of the various groups that use the lakefront and Veterans Park is tricky. Meanwhile, APBA Offshore management changed, and again the event was slow to get off the ground.
Still, with a local team hunting sponsors and coordinating with the County Parks Department and area businesses, Collins believes the event is one that can succeed.
"You've seen and I've seen events at the lakeshore that come and go," said Collins, president of Best Marketing, citing Maritime Days as an example.
"But this is an event. This is a race. I liken this to having a Milwaukee Mile for boats at the lakefront."
Among the improvements Collins hopes pay off is a larger area that includes displays of boats and recreational vehicles, mobile suites and a kids' play area. Also the crane used to place the boats in the water has been moved from the Milwaukee Yacht Club to the seawall, where spectators have a better view of all the action.
"The crane area (is) restricted, but just to see a 40-ton crane lift this 40-foot boat is just phenomenal," Poplin said.
Overall, the dry pits and north turns just off the park provide one of the series' more spectator-friendly courses, Poplin and others say.
"They get to physically see and touch the racers, rub their hands down these hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollar boats and be part of the show," Poplin said.
"They almost get to feel the reverberation of the engines, and if the wind is blowing just right, you just might get a little spray."
The recent upheaval in powerboat racing resulted in a smaller field of boats this year, especially at the top.
Just one twin-engine, twin-hull Super Cat is racing, compared to about a dozen last year, and the Super Vee category for high-powered traditional V-hulled boats has four entries.
Also, a $7 admission is being charged this year.
"They didn't last year," Collins said, "but if this event is going to succeed, it obviously needs to make its budget."
A couple of thousand spectators enjoyed Chamber of Commerce weather Saturday and watched TKO's Obsession out of Massachusetts, owned and driven by Harry Turner and throttled by Walter Collins, edge RMS Motorsports in a side-by-side finish in the first race of the weekend.
Competition continues at noon and 2 p.m. today. The race village opens to the public at 10 a.m.
Poplin hopes attendance builds throughout the weekend as it did in APBA's first appearance.
"I remember last year on Sunday being in the helicopter and I looked off to the side in the corner of the park, and I didn't know where these people had come from, but they were gobbed in there," he said.
Looking further ahead, organizers are working with Milwaukee County to firm up a three-year contract extension that will help the event build momentum with fans, vendors and advertisers.
"I've had a lot of corporate interest here; four or five major Milwaukee and Wisconsin corporations are interested in supporting this thing," Collins said. "It'll enable us to promote and market it a lot better if we know that it's coming."
Jen Youngblood, a rookie driver from Nashotah, believes big-time boat racing can thrive in Milwaukee and that if the event can grow it'll be good for the area.
"We get to show outsiders that Milwaukee isn't just what they see from TV shows of the '70s," she said.
"We have something here that is an absolute gem, and financially, I think this race is really going to infuse a lot of money into the Milwaukee economy. Off-shore teams spend a lot of money . . . on food and recreation, and they bring a lot of family members and go shopping."
APBA Offshore back in town
By DAVE KALLMANN
Posted: July 31, 2004
Jim Poplin, president of APBA Offshore Racing, sees an underserved market brimming with fans eager to experience competition ordinarily seen only on the coasts.
Chuck Collins, a lifelong Milwaukeean and local marketing specialist, sees an exciting event able to draw crowds to a gem of a lakefront park.
In other words, "potential" is a key term in talking about powerboat racing as the sport makes its second appearance in Milwaukee.
"With what we did last year here, the volume of e-mails I've gotten since January, it's a no-brain situation that we had to come back here," said Polin, who took over as president of APBA Offshore after leading its safety team.
The first GMC Milwaukee Offshore Gran Prix last year appeared as a curiosity, with unfamiliar spectators milling about Veterans Park among millions of dollars worth of sleek, fast boats, being educated by their owners and crews. Organizers were generally pleased with the crowds despite minimal advance publicity.
Still, as much as returning made sense for the Pro Grade National Series, it wasn't simple.
Addressing the concerns of the various groups that use the lakefront and Veterans Park is tricky. Meanwhile, APBA Offshore management changed, and again the event was slow to get off the ground.
Still, with a local team hunting sponsors and coordinating with the County Parks Department and area businesses, Collins believes the event is one that can succeed.
"You've seen and I've seen events at the lakeshore that come and go," said Collins, president of Best Marketing, citing Maritime Days as an example.
"But this is an event. This is a race. I liken this to having a Milwaukee Mile for boats at the lakefront."
Among the improvements Collins hopes pay off is a larger area that includes displays of boats and recreational vehicles, mobile suites and a kids' play area. Also the crane used to place the boats in the water has been moved from the Milwaukee Yacht Club to the seawall, where spectators have a better view of all the action.
"The crane area (is) restricted, but just to see a 40-ton crane lift this 40-foot boat is just phenomenal," Poplin said.
Overall, the dry pits and north turns just off the park provide one of the series' more spectator-friendly courses, Poplin and others say.
"They get to physically see and touch the racers, rub their hands down these hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollar boats and be part of the show," Poplin said.
"They almost get to feel the reverberation of the engines, and if the wind is blowing just right, you just might get a little spray."
The recent upheaval in powerboat racing resulted in a smaller field of boats this year, especially at the top.
Just one twin-engine, twin-hull Super Cat is racing, compared to about a dozen last year, and the Super Vee category for high-powered traditional V-hulled boats has four entries.
Also, a $7 admission is being charged this year.
"They didn't last year," Collins said, "but if this event is going to succeed, it obviously needs to make its budget."
A couple of thousand spectators enjoyed Chamber of Commerce weather Saturday and watched TKO's Obsession out of Massachusetts, owned and driven by Harry Turner and throttled by Walter Collins, edge RMS Motorsports in a side-by-side finish in the first race of the weekend.
Competition continues at noon and 2 p.m. today. The race village opens to the public at 10 a.m.
Poplin hopes attendance builds throughout the weekend as it did in APBA's first appearance.
"I remember last year on Sunday being in the helicopter and I looked off to the side in the corner of the park, and I didn't know where these people had come from, but they were gobbed in there," he said.
Looking further ahead, organizers are working with Milwaukee County to firm up a three-year contract extension that will help the event build momentum with fans, vendors and advertisers.
"I've had a lot of corporate interest here; four or five major Milwaukee and Wisconsin corporations are interested in supporting this thing," Collins said. "It'll enable us to promote and market it a lot better if we know that it's coming."
Jen Youngblood, a rookie driver from Nashotah, believes big-time boat racing can thrive in Milwaukee and that if the event can grow it'll be good for the area.
"We get to show outsiders that Milwaukee isn't just what they see from TV shows of the '70s," she said.
"We have something here that is an absolute gem, and financially, I think this race is really going to infuse a lot of money into the Milwaukee economy. Off-shore teams spend a lot of money . . . on food and recreation, and they bring a lot of family members and go shopping."
Milwaulkee was great last year!!
