Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

[Danimal1]

This message is directed to my fellow box seat holders, anybody that cares to climb on board, please feel free.

I understand that RARA has a proposal in their 2006 box seat ticket prices that will require a fee for delivering an ice chest to the box during the "event". Please contact me so we can rectify this situation and continue to perpetuate the continuity of a semi-seamless adventure during air-race week.
Regards,
Danimal

[C-96 Cathy]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

If you add up the cost of the 6 or so coolers that come to our box alone in one day then add on the extra day charges we are talking about doubling the cost of a box. I don't understand the logic behind this ridiculous pricing structure. Charge five a day per cooler and you would still make a mint. The $100 charge is , I guess, designed to be prohibitive in order to keep the spending "in house" instead of down the street at Scolaris.

[Wild Bill Kelso]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

The $100 charge is , I guess, designed to be prohibitive in order to keep the spending "in house" instead of down the street at Scolaris.

One of the Air Races biggest supporters in the area. Walk into almost any Scolari's in Reno and you will find a team photo. Hell even their bags had Rare Bear on them last year. I just don't get it. I just wait for RARA's karma boat to sail some day.

[Tim Jones]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

Got my ticket letter in the mail yesterday.

We're going to have a couple of larger Ice Chests this year.
We have two boxes side by side. With the pricing structure they've come up with, split with 20 people, it will work out to about $2.50 per person per day.

Kind'a sucks, as the high original cost of the box seats allowed for the coolers and prefferred parking. We lost some of the parking, now vague control of coolers. I don't know yet what it means for bags of snacks. I'll be on the phone soon.

However, there's no better show, it's a once a year blast, and I don't know how much longert it will last.

I'll be on the phone soon.

Tim / C-99 & C-100

[hattend]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

So I guess the $20 a day in tips I was paying for cooler delivery/pickup will no longer be necessary?

Now, I will need to get with my box members and tell them they have to pay extra up front?

RARA is sure looking for new ways to screw up a good thing.

Don

[ignomini]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

I can see arguments over the number of chargable items slowing down the unloading and delivery process even more.

Now, the evil genius in me says any of you who regularly get a box in the front row should just give up and quit (thus those of us perennially in the second row have a chance to move up).

No way I'll ever defend RARA, but compared to a good Formula 1 auto race seat, Reno box seats are still a bargain, especially with the parking thrown in. What other four day event/sporting venue allows you to bring your own "adult beverages" and two stroke blenders. By the way, next time I want to see a blender powered by a smokey old R-985. No more of those wimpy leaf blower motors!

[Race 29]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

I've seriously wondered. Even though the box seats are up front, How is the view? Given the nature of Stead's "rolling hills", I've been in the stands behind the boxes and thought that it couldn't be as good as a view as from the top of the stands directly behind them, when they paid less.

Don't get me wrong, I'd seriously pay more than reserve seating to keep from having two guys I don't know squish me from either side!!

What's that smell??
Race 29

[ignomini]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

Hey Race 29. Funny you should mention the view. I'm always thinking it would probably look a lot better from the stands. Our row two box is behind the "we like to stand during everything" family. I've got a whole collection of blurry head shots.

The up side is I can sit in a chair with a back, set down my pack full of camera gear, and ask the the flirtatious beer lady to bring me a cold one.

Life is a series of tradeoffs.

[hattend]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

You sit behind us? Come on over and have a margarita!

Don

[Danimal1]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

I see a "new" item has been added to the cooler situation.
Size restrictions...
MAX CAPACITY OF 72 QUARTS........... And still $100

http://www.airrace.org/2006TicketPricing.php

[AAFO_WSagar]

Box Seat Cooler Answer from RARA

When you guys get "mad" at RARA or any other race promoter, I guess it's part of my job to try to get the "story" out in an unbiased manner.

I decided to ask Mike Houghton about the cooler issue and got what seems to be a pretty clear cut cost/benefit reason explaining the new costs to box seat holders.

Mike has given me permission to reprint the content of the email he sent explaining the decision by the board regarding the fees for the coolers.

**begin letter**

Wayne,

Each year the RARA Board struggles with controlling costs and balancing them against revenues so we can remain financially in the black. This has been a more difficult task this past year as uncontrollable costs have escalated (i.e. Fuel, insurance, security and contracted labor) and some revenue opportunities have diminished ( loss of several parking areas). Although we remain barely in the black after last year we needed to take steps to offset costs with revenue wherever we can.

The Executive Committee specifically has wrestled with the Box Seat Cooler issue for years. This was further magnified after 9/11 as it is viewed by some as a security problem. The costs to RARA to provide the service have escalated dramatically from it's inception ( we pay the non profit organization for their efforts to deliver coolers and to manage the parking lot). The loss in vending revenue has also impacted our vendors at more than an estimated $25,000 per day. As in 2002, we considered eliminating the coolers completely, as no other fans are permitted to bring outside food or beverage through the gates, but decided to impose the per cooler handling fee instead, to have the users of the service cover the costs to provide it.

We felt this was the most equitable way to manage this area. If you want a cooler in your box, you can still bring it into the event and have it delivered. The costs associated with it are covered by the users.

The cooler delivery crews are working for their non profit organization and RARA is paying them well to provide the service.

The fee ends up being a $2.00 per ticket per day charge to cover this cost. I hope this gives some answers to questions about the fee.

Michael J. Houghton
President/CEO
Reno Air Racing Association

**end letter**

[C-96 Cathy]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

Many thanks to Wayne for providing us with a way to vent. However I did feel it necessary to write a letter to RARA just to have something "in the file". My 14 year old son does better math than RARA! I guess they figure only 1 cooler for a box to arrive at the $2 figure. So here is my suggestion - anyone who drops a cooler off has to pay $2, $1 for bags of chips,etc. or stuff that isn't heavy. As a guess a few would say it isn't worth the hassle but most would happily comply as we pay at least that much in tips.

[Tim Jones]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

$2 per person per day sounds reasonable. Until, you try to get a few drinks and some general munchies for ten or more people in one mid sized cooler.

If two people teamed up per cooler, (total five cooler passes for ten people = $300) it's $6 per person per day.

The creative math can be you friend or your enemy........

But, I'm going...

[hattend]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

Yep, we'll have 5+ coolers as well. This really won't cost any more than the tips we have been giving in past years but I want to know if they are also going to take our tables, chairs, blender, etc out to the box or will we be getting a hassle at the gate entry?

These are questions I will be asking when I call to pay for my box.

Don

[Jay]

Re: Box Seat / RARA (SERTOMA) Ice Chest Delivery

Yep, we'll have 5+ coolers as well. This really won't cost any more than the tips we have been giving in past years but I want to know if they are also going to take our tables, chairs, blender, etc out to the box or will we be getting a hassle at the gate entry?

These are questions I will be asking when I call to pay for my box.

Don

Hattend --
I think alot of people have these same questions.
If you don't mind, Please post what you find out.