Auto buffs get revved up
Barrett-Jackson launches second run at Mohegan Sun
Mohegan — Barrett-Jackson’s latest ode to internal combustion commandeered Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday, the famed car auction company parading some 200 collector cars, a few motorcycles and a couple of tractors before thousands of bidders and spectators.
More of the same was scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
Starting at 1 p.m., vehicle after vehicle was driven across the “auction block” at one end of the arena floor, their attributes extolled by an auctioneer’s patter and on video screens hanging above either side of the block. It took barely two minutes to dispatch a 1956 Volkswagen Beetle, the bids steadily climbing from $2,000 to $11,000. A 1940 Packard 110 Club Coupe that had been restored to like-new condition went for $21,500.
“This is the day you can get some deals,” a more-than-interested observer, Kevin Brown, the Mohegan tribal chairman, confided.
The event, Barrett-Jackson’s 2nd Annual Northeast Auction, seemed to cement the Scottsdale, Ariz.based company’s relationship with Mohegan Sun’s owner, the Mohegan Tribe, which plans to host future
Barrett-Jackson auctions in an $80 million convention center linking Mohegan Sun’s Winter Garage with its Earth Casino and Earth Tower hotel. The ongoing expansion was undertaken, in part, because of the success of Barrett-Jackson’s inaugural Northeast auction at Mohegan Sun in 2016.
“Last year Craig Jackson and his team brought nearly 100,000 people to the property over three days,” Brown said, referring to Barrett-Jackson’s chairman and chief executive officer. “I remember on Day One when we looked out at the crowd, he was completely blown away . ... We added a day this year. We’re adding an expo center next year.”
This year’s extra “Preview Day” was Wednesday, when fans began streaming into the arena in the morning to view the cars up for auction and to bid on hundreds of pieces of “automobilia,” including model cars, service station signs, restored gas pumps and the like. Several car manufacturers hosted “thrill rides.” A ballroom gala capped the night.
“Last year’s response to the auction was tremendous,” Jackson said Thursday via email. “We’re seeing that same level of excitement this year. Much of that is because we offer the kind of experience that only Barrett-Jackson can deliver at a destination similar to what we offer in Las Vegas. Right now, Mohegan Sun is the perfect place to satisfy that demand.”
Jackson said the convention center, when completed, will enable Barrett-Jackson to “evolve” and auction sponsors to expand exhibits showcasing their products and services.
Barrett-Jackson, which puts on auctions annually in Scottsdale; Palm Beach, Fla.; Las Vegas and Uncasville, has committed to staging its Northeast event at Mohegan Sun through at least 2020.
The company expects to auction more than 650 cars over three days this week. A spokesman said no information about total sales or attendance figures would be released until after the event ends. After the 2016 Northeast auction, it was announced that sales of 552 vehicles had topped $26 million.