ISC Prez: 'exploring new options for what future of hospitality looks like'

International Speedway Corp. continues to fight macro economic headwinds as it looks to restructure operating costs and reposition the company around its most profitable events. Third quarter revenue fell 7% and profit was off 18% at the racetrack and motorsports giant, but executives expressed cautious optimism with regards to the sponsorship space.

ISC President, John Saunders, remarked on the state of sponsorship at the company:

"Corporate partnership activity remains robust with continued demand for our events from corporate America. This year, we sold our entire available inventory for our NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series events and our IndyCar events. For 2011, we have six entitlements either open or not announced for the 21 Sprint Cup events and six entitlements either open or not yet announced for the 15 Nationwide events."

ISC, Saunders said, is experiencing higher volume of sponsorship deals. Even more critical, ISC is maintaining its price points according to the call.

"...the pricing is stabilizing. It's not up, it's not going down year-over-year," he said. "And so we feel pretty good about that."

When asked more pointedly about hospitality, Saunders said ISC is rethinking the modern concept of corporate entertainment.

"That area of the business continues to be somewhat challenged. The volume is down year-over-year, and we are exploring new options with what the future of hospitality looks like in our industry," Saunders said. "And – but – it continues to be a component of the corporate mix that is challenged."

source: Seeking Alpha