NASCAR steering clear of Centralia
Monday, February 19, 2007 11:33 PM PST
By Don Jenkins
Printable version
E-mail this articleOLYMPIA --- Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday said a Florida-based company rejected her suggestion to consider building a NASCAR track near Centralia, and that competition from two planned horse parks could jeopardize her support for a 7,000-seat equestrian center near Winlock.
Speaking at her weekly press conference, Gregoire commented on proposals to build a $368 million racetrack in Kitsap County and a $55 million to $80 million horse arena along Interstate 5 at Exit 63 in Lewis County.
The governor’s remarks on the NASCAR proposal renewed speculation that the track could end up somewhere besides International Speedway Corp.’s preferred site in Kitsap County.
Gregoire said she met Friday with Kitsap County lawmakers, who oppose having the track in their area.
"They were a resounding 'no,' " Gregoire said. “I can't see the political support to make NASCAR happen at the location that it's currently being proposed in Kitsap County."
International Speedway scouted around Washington and Oregon before obtaining an option to buy 950 acres in Kitsap County.
Senate and House committees today will take testimony on a proposal to help finance the track with $188 million in public funds.
Gregoire said the track might be more politically acceptable if it were built on land near Centralia that TransAlta Corp. will donate for economic development. Lewis County lost 600 jobs when TransAlta closed its coal mine late last year.
“I have said to the NASCAR people, 'Why don't you take a look at Lewis County?' " Gregoire said. “They said it doesn’t meet their criteria.”
Gregoire said she suggested Lewis County because land is available and the county needs jobs. “They need economic development, and I think their legislators would embrace the idea,” she said.
Lewis County Rep. Gary Alexander, a Republican, said he attended a NASCAR race two years ago in Kansas City and was impressed by the business the event brought to that city. But he said NASCAR has never revealed a serious interest in Lewis County.
“They’ve always indicated they wanted to be closer to Seattle,” he said.
Alexander said the road leading to the TransAlta property would need major improvements to make the site suitable for a racetrack. “The question that comes to my mind is the transportation challenges,” he said.
International Speedway Vice President Grant Lynch told The Associated Press that racetrack developers will continue pursuing legislation, which does not specify the track must be built in Kitsap County.
The only site under consideration is Kitsap, he said. Asked about free land in Lewis County, he said, "That would be very advantageous," and noted that the legislation would allow that site if Kitsap eventually falls through.
Whoa to Winlock center?
The proposal to build an equestrian center east of Winlock has been progressing through the Legislature, gaining favor with Senate and House policy committees.
But Gregoire said the proposal has competition from the Washington State Horse Park near Cle Elum in Kittitas County and the Enumclaw Expo Center in King County. Both are publicly-owned facilities with ambitions to grow.
“I don’t think we can afford three rodeos,” the governor said. “If we keep the conflict going between three, the chances are we end up with nothing.
“I think people ought to come together,” she said.
The Cle Elum and Enumclaw plans don’t include large indoor arenas for concerts, dirt-bike races and other events.
Alexander, who introduced a bill to secure public funding for the Winlock arena, said he was surprised that the governor pitted the three projects against each other.
“I didn’t know there was a conflict,” he said. “Our project is a project that I think stands on its own merit.”
Centralia businessman Larry Hewitt said the Winlock arena would not compete for business with the two horse parks.
”I don’t think the governor’s statement is representative of what it’s all about,” he said. “They are going after different parts of the market.
“The local horse clubs are not our marketplace,” Hewitt said. “Our basic premise is we need a big facility to bring in regional, national events.”
State lawmakers a dozen years ago authorized a state-owned horse park for riding competitions in Cle Elum. Organizers secured land only recently, and Gregoire included $3.8 million in her capital budget request this year to begin building outdoor arenas.
“We’re ready to rock-n-roll,” said Todd Trewin, chairman of the board that oversees the park.
Long-range plans call for building a 1,000-seat indoor arena if funding becomes available. But Trewin called the Winlock arena “a totally different venue” that should be grouped with a proposal by the Seattle SuperSonics to build a multipurpose arena in Renton.
“To me, what they’ve got to compete against is the deal for the Sonics,” he said.
The city of Enumclaw recently acquired the King County Fairgrounds and is studying how to turn the property into a horse park.
Enumclaw, however, has not asked the governor’s office for financial support, Gregoire’s legislative director, Marty Brown, said.
Backers of the Lewis County proposal are asking lawmakers to approve diverting about $300,000 a year in sales taxes from the state general fund to pay construction bonds. The public would own the building, but it would be managed privately for a profit, Hewitt said. Revenue from events would pay most of the debt, he said.
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