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CONCORD, N.C. -- Almost one month after International Speedway
Corporation's courtship with the state of Washington ended with
a dearth of political support, a developer in neighboring Oregon
is welcoming ISC with open arms.
Oregon Int'l Speedway will break ground on Pacific Northwest Motorsports
Park in Boardman, Oregon this summer. PNMP will feature a four-plus-mile
road course, and developers say they have the land, permits and
political support to build a NASCAR-ready speedway if they can
do so in partnership or with the support of ISC.
"Everyone we've encountered in our quest to get the Oregon
Int'l Speedway project off the ground has been extremely supportive
of the project," said Bill Gardner, a former NASCAR Winston
Cup championship team owner who is the managing general partner
at OIS, in a press release from the development group. "From
the local residents and officials to the governor and state legislature,
OIS is seen as a vehicle for economic development of the eastern
part of the state.
Gardner's DiGard Racing team collected 43 victories in NASCAR's
top series with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison at the wheel.
Allison won the 1983 championship for DiGard.
But whether Gardner can call PNMP a total victory will depend on
whether ISC joins the effort.
The road course could attract several different road series to
the venue, including America's top road-course series, Champ Car,
but it will take a speedway to attract NASCAR Nextel Cup.
ISC spokesman Lenny Santiago said ISC is still very much interested
in the Pacific Northwest.
"Numbers show that NASCAR has a tremendous following in that
area," said Santiago. "It is the second-most- watched
sport in that area, so we are still very interested in being there."
Santiago said the key to any effort would be the area's ability
to offer the necessary infrastructure, such as hotels, restaurants
and other needs for NASCAR visits.
In Washington, ISC sought permission to build near the Seattle-Tacoma
metro area, but plans were rejected by politicians who were concerned
about effects the track would have near those cities as well as
a proposed sales-tax increase to help finance the speedway.
Gardner, who could not be reached for comment beyond the release,
said none of those problems exist in Oregon.
"We have the necessary acreage and zoning, interstate access
and an 8-percent sales tax to support stadium-type financing similar
to what ISC was seeking from the Washington legislators," Gardner
said. "OIS is a complete package. It's everything they are
looking for in a site and provides for a substantially reduced
financial investment on their part over their proposed Washington
financial proposal. ISC and NASCAR could potentially have their
first Cup race in the Pacific Northwest by 2011."
Boardman, which is located with easy access to Interstate highways
84 and 82, is 164 miles from Portland and 280 miles from the Seattle-Tacoma
metro area.
The closest major city to Boardman is Kennewick, Wash., which is
located about 50 miles away and has a population of about 61,000,
but Kennewick is considered part of a "Tri-Cities" area
of eastern Washington along with Pasco and Richland, which both
have populations of about 45,000, bringing the total population
of the Tri-Cities region to more than 150,000.
Boardman is also 80 miles from The Dalles, the end of the Oregon
Trail which is now a growing resort area.
This past month, residents of Boardman's Morrow County voted in
favor of designating a 40-square-mile area as the Speedway Activity
District.
They also agreed on an 8-percent sales tax on tickets and specific
retail goods and services sold within the district. In total, 7.5
percent of the tax revenue will be designated to fund infrastructure
and race-related facilities.
"We'd like to see Morrow County become a travel destination
that will generate jobs and tourism dollars, and we believe that
the OIS is the vehicle to do it," said Oregon State Representative
Greg Smith. |
