By Michael Smith , Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal Int'l Speedway Corp. posted losses of $31.7M in Q2 and $6.6M for the first six months of the year, citing decreases in revenue from admissions, hospitality, sponsorship, and food and beverage. Additionally, ISC reported a $55.6M writedown against troubled Motorsports Authentics (MA), the merchandise giant it jointly owns with Speedway Motorsports. Admissions revenue continues to trend downward by about 15%, ISC said this morning on its earnings call, while sponsorship numbers are off 16% and hospitality is down 20%. In breaking down the ticket sales trends, ISC President John Saunders said advance sales are off 25-30% compared to last year, but ticket sales closer to the event are improving. For the three weeks prior to last Saturday's Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Int'l Speedway, ticket sales were up 22% over last year. More than half of the late ticket buyers are new customers, the company said. "The lower entry-level ticket price is proving successful," said Saunders, who added that ISC will continue to look at price reductions for '10. Those price cuts are expected to extend beyond the entry-level tickets. The reduction in admissions revenue is a result of lower ticket prices, increased unemployment rates and the recession, Saunders said. With the most recent writedown, ISC's half of Motorsports Authentics now has a value of $19M, sharply down from the $122.5M the company paid for its 50% share in '05. Given MA's inability to drive mass apparel and memorabilia business, Saunders said MA will focus on its core competencies of trackside distribution and diecast car manufacturing in the future. "The business of designing, marketing and distributing merchandise has been challenging beyond the tough economy," Saunders said.
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