[decooney]

My car was in the Concorso corral / English section. It was a nice event, once inside. We just received a follow-up notification and stated improvements for next year since this was the first time at the Fort. Here is a copy of the post-show letter if you are interested to see what they said... See Ya. Duane
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An Open Letter to All Concorso Italiano 2003 Participants

Wow! 950 Italian Cars, 650 non-Italian Corral cars, 130 Vendor booths, close to 400 Ferraris, and well over 10,000 people made this year's Concorso the "best yet."

Janet and I want to personally thank all the Exhibitors, Corral participants, Sponsors and Vendors for their continued support, and a special thanks to all the spectators who came out to see the cars and be part of the Concorso.

As with any new venue, there are bugs to iron out. We recognize there are important strategic and operational changes needed to streamline the Concorso in our new location.

We are pleased that many of you took the time to provide us with feedback on ways to improve the event, and we are listening very carefully. We know you love coming to the Concorso and that you want it to remain that special event you have come to know and look forward to attending each year.

With your feedback, and with what we observed firsthand, we have identified several problem areas listed below which we will do our very best to solve.

The good news was the outbound traffic. Many of you said it was a 10-minute drive from the property to Highway 1. That is quite an improvement from Carmel Valley, where it took 45 minutes to an hour.

IMPROVEMENTS FOR 2004

A. Eliminate inbound traffic 45-minute wait (not acceptable).
We propose the following solution for next year's inbound traffic to cut Motor Pool Parking in half or less than half. This will make the bus lines a ten-minute wait, instead of the 45-minute wait some of you experienced during peak hours (for this I sincerely apologize).

1. Offer parking for 1,000 advance spectator ticket holders on the Golf Course property (parking lot "A" entering from the south side off of Coe Road. Please note this could not be done this year as Coe Road was under construction and there were detours in place).

2. Offer parking for 1,000 to 1,500 advance spectator ticket holders on the Golf Course property (parking lot "B" entering from the west side off of Monterey Road).

3. Park 700 Media and Sponsor cars on Golf Course property in parking lot "C" entering from the main entrance at McClure Way.

This will leave parking for 2,000 cars at the Motor Pool Parking Lot and - given the same amount of bussing - should solve the problem.

B. Redirect inbound traffic.
Redirect all Motor Pool incoming traffic from Highway 1 to the 12th Street exit (one exit north of Fort Ord Main Entrance). This will take all the Motor Pool spectator traffic away from the Exhibitor, Corral, Vendor, and Sponsor traffic coming in from the Fort Ord Main Entrance.

C. Ferraris were jammed in too close together.
This is a problem that never should have happened. Ferrari owners may have noticed the five beautiful acres of lawn on the other side of the golf cart path (the 1st Fairway) that just sat empty. The Ferraris were supposed to be placed there should the need arise. I was horrified when I saw your beautiful Ferraris parked in such a manner and take full responsibility for not communicating this clearly to those who were in charge of parking the Ferraris. Next year all Ferraris will be parked 15 feet apart.

D. Port-a-Potties - not enough and not serviced.
1. Next year we will have twice as many Port-a-Potties.
2. Next year Port-a-Potties will be serviced as a condition of the contract.
3. Deluxe toilets will be available for those with Fast Break Plus and VIP Media tickets.
4. Better placement, easier to locate, signage.

E. Better signage.
Better signage overall - to and from the event, on property, etc.

F. Better speaker placement & volume control.
The speaker volume was too loud in some areas of the field. Field speakers will be used only for music in the morning and for announcements.

G. Information & first-aid trailer on property.
This will be located at the entrance to the green with staff who are familiar with the Concorso Italiano and the layout of the event.

Best regards,
Frank, Janet & Concorso staff