Next Year's Concorso Italiano Corral

[Bill Kesner]

Hi guys.......

For those of you that attended the Concorso this year, they had a pretty good deal to register your car in the Corral. For $90 if you registered early, you were able to get (2) people with one car in the Corral...versus the $60 each they were charging for spectators. I parked in the miscelaneous section, because there were not enough Cobra's to have our own Corral. 10 or more cars is all they required to have our own section. The Cobra turn out was small, as I've seen 3-times the number at our Saturday breakfasts.

Next year, I'm hoping we can get a bigger turn out, and wanted to pass on the savings to all that plan on attending. Hopefully, the prices will remain the same for next year.

- Bill -

[Jamo]

Sounds like a heck of a deal--worth it just so you don't have to ride the buses.

[Bill Kesner]

Hey Jamo........

The Embasy Suites called, and they want their cone back! You'll have to pass on how you wheeled and dealed that sweet parking spot. Maybe next year, we could make that the reserved Cobra section.

- Bill -

[sambrozy]

Sounds like a good idea to organize a corral for the Cobras.

Stan

[Randy Rosenberg]

I'm in on that...

We sat in the damn traffic (stop'n go) from the main parking area (serviced by shuttles) to hiway 1 for about 45 minutes. It was hot in the direct sun, and neither my snake nor my wife liked it at all.

Next year, it's corral parking! I read that it only took 10 minutes to get from the corral to hiway 1.

See ya,
Randy R...

[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
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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

[Steve Dickey]

Decooney,
I saw your car at the Italian show and out at the track. You did a great job, it looks fantastic.
Steve

[Jamo]

A cobra corral assolutely makes sense! Let's do it.


Bill

I talked to the lady with the red gullwing (btw--she drove that thing all the way from Vancouver!). Slipped the guys out front a few bucks and told the manager that my car gets broken into alot.

[decooney]

It seems I'm not alone in the fact that I can't let go of last weekend yet. I wish I was still there breathing the nice air at Concorso on the course, or at Laguna doing those Corral laps...

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the nice comments. I appreciate it. The time, money, and energy it took to get to where it is today paid off in the enjoyment from the car, and meeting all you guys there...

Hey Jamo & All,
if you want to consume at least one more parking spot at our private little Cobra party B&B in PG, reserve it quick if you are interested... more than 3/4 of the rooms are already gone for 2004.

Go to http://www.centrellainn.com/

We had a great time there this year.