The USGP does not exist anymore because the Indianapolis Motor Speedway didn't want to kowtow to Bernie Ecclestone and pay $30mil every year after spending hundreds of millions on the track. So places like Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and China now host Formula 1 races but the "Racing Capital of the World" doesn't. Even though car manufacturers (at the time the largest sponsors and team owners) wanted two races in the US. Spa-Francorchamps, one of the most storied tracks on the calendar, was left off a couple times in the past decade. Silverstone, the vaunted host of the British Grand Prix consistently since 1950 (Britain is arguably the capital of Formula 1), almost lost their slot to Donington Park.
Melbourne is spending $336mil to refurbish their tennis complex so that they keep the Australian Open instead of it going to Sydney. Melbourne has hosted the Open for over 20 years.
Is it so easy no to up and move such an established event as a Grand Slam? Isn't Melbourne itself an integral part of the brand of the Australian Open? The city is famous for its love of sport and the Open viewed as perhaps the most accessible of all of the Grand Slam tournaments. Indianapolis had the largest attendance of any Formula 1 race for most of the years there was a race there.
What message is there to possible host cities if rights holders only go for those who are willing to pay for the short term benefits? Is there no establishment anymore?
