The value of experience is not in seeing much, but in seeing wisely.
William Osler
Jan 13, 2015, 6:59am MST Hayley Ringle Reporter-Phoenix Business Journal
Ron Pratte‘s eclectic and extensive car collection will go on sale today at the 44th annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction at WestWorld.
Pratte, a long-time car collector and frequent Barrett-Jackson bidder, is selling more than 140 of his unique vehicles that he housed in his own Chandler airport hangar, said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of the Scottsdale-based Barrett-Jackson Auction Company.
“Ron Pratte is one of our best buyers,” Jackson said during an interview with thePhoenix Business Journal Monday night. “It’s bittersweet he’s selling his collection, but he’s played with them all and it was a dream of his to own these cars. He just doesn’t have the time anymore.”
More than 1,500 of Pratte’s automobilia pieces sold over the weekend.
Click the accompanying image to open a slideshow of some of the vehicles from Pratte’s collection.
Pratte’s collection is the biggest seller for this year’s auction that promises to be the “most impressive automotive extravaganza” Barrett-Jackson has ever produced, Jackson said.
“The car market is on fire, and the good cars are harder to find,” said Jackson, who grew up in the Phoenix area and lives in Paradise Valley.
The world’s largest collector car auction has expanded to nine days this year, added 500 more cars for sale and expects to break attendance records over last year’s more than 300,000.
Attendance is already up 22 percent from last year, with Saturday’s opening day/family value day seeing an increase of 11 percent in attendance over last year, Jackson said.
“A lot of people fly in for this,” Jackson said. “About 90 percent of bidders are from out of state.”
The car auction routinely brings in more than $100 million in direct spending, including hotels and local restaurants, and that’s outside of what the car auction brings in, Jackson said.
The car aficionado said he likes the improvements made at WestWorld, which included a $47 million permanent multipurpose building. Jackson was instrumental in pushing for the renovations, and this is the second year Barrett-Jackson has used the building as its main auction site.
Large tents, which are even bigger this year, house the Pratte and pricier salon collection, and extend close to the permanent building to make it seem like one continuous building, Jackson said.
Barrett-Jackson was the first collector car auction to be taped live on network television. A new partnership with Discovery, Velocity and Discovery International will have the show aired starting today on multiple channels with a new Spanish language telecast re-broadcast around the world.
Also new this year is a second-level added to the temporary Toby Keith‘s I Love This Bar and Grill, a ladies’ lounge and country concerts. For the second year, the auction will also feature bull riding.
So why does Jackson keep his largest auction in Scottsdale? For one, it’s his hometown. He’s been here since he was a year old after moving from Pontiac, Michigan.
The event originally started as a charity auction by his dad, and Jackson said the car auction has raised $67 million for non-profits since it started in the 1970s.
Jackson has pledged this year to donate $1 million to TGen in memory of his dad and brother, who both died of colon cancer.
The auction even boasts two Guinness world records, including the largest temporary structure and the largest marquee, Jackson said.
This year’s auction runs until Jan 18.
Real-time auction information is available online at barrett-jackson.com.
Hayley Ringle covers technology and startups for the Phoenix Business Journal.
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