Racetrack a good buy; now, to make it work

Journal of Business Opinion Page
June 26, 2008

Spokane County's planned purchase of Spokane Raceway Park looks to be a shrewd real estate deal at a minimum and a good stroke for business in the long run.

County Commissioners Todd Mielke and Mark Richard agreed to pay $4.3 million for the 198-acre racetrack and three adjoining parcels that include an additional 116 acres on and. The purchase was put off last week because of legal machinations, but those additional acres could provide, at bargain-basement prices, potential sites for a much-needed sports complex and a highly desirable law enforcement training center. Mielke, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, and Airway Heights Mayor Matthew Pederson say that to buy comparable sites else, where in the county would have cost $18.5 million.

We want government to pay as little as possible for land, and at under $14,000 an acre, the county, appears to have agreed to do that. Compare its intended outlay with the $6.3 million, or $100,000 an acre, that the city of Spokane paid for the 63-acre Playfair Race Course, much of which the city now plans to sell.

While thousands of racing fans urged the county to buy Raceway Park, many other residents said the county has no business being in racing. We believe the county shouldn't operate the racetrack itself. Rather, it must bring in a qualified operator to do that. Further, we think that if the cost of bringing the race track up to standard and of cleaning up pollution there exceeds the county's estimates by very much, the county would need to consider converting the track site to other uses or selling it. Such expenses can't be allowed to threaten the county's general fund.

Yet, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the county owning a recreational property it leases out to others to operate. Since 1958, Avista Stadium, where thousands of baseball fans have enjoyed innumerable games, has been owned publicly. If the ball park were in private hands, it's possible it might have been bulldozed by now.

Racing advocate Jim Sloane says the once-notable Riverside International Raceway; in Riverside, Calif.; Ontario Motor Speedway, in Ontario, Calif.; and Westwood Racetrack, in Vancouver, British Columbia, all were closed so their sites could be developed for other uses. Racing "was part of the culture of the community, and now it's gone forever;' he says. He adds that public ownership "is the most likely way to perpetuate motor sports activity:'

Saving the racetrack here and putting in a good operator was what more than 600 people supported in a remarkable public hearing in March and in another 1,200 e-mails. Assuming the county completes the purchase, the racing community must get out from behind the wheel and put its shoulder to the wheel of civic progress to push along the dream of a refurbished racetrack. Fans can help with track cleanup, can raise and donate money, and can attend events, which thousands once did here.

Meanwhile, with soccer-and softball fields in short supply, the county badly needs another sports complex. Also, the sheriff's law enforcement training center, even without a permanent location, has bloomed into a juggernaut as seminars have mushroomed. "It's like mini conventions over and over and over again:' Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Harry Sladich says. He says the CVB has had more calls about the racetrack than anything else in his tenure.

The racetrack's potential to augment business development-from hotel room rentals, to souvenir sales, to the blossoming o fAirway Heights' near by business strip-is huge. We want our community's cash registers to ring with racing dollars, as cash registers do elsewhere. Let's remember what a new facility, such as the Group Health Exhibit Hall, which cost $77 million, can do for our community.

We want our political leaders to be bold, and in bidding for the racetrack, Mielke and Richard-were. Those of us who aren't racing fans need to give their effort some time, while Mielke, Richard, and the racing community work to build a civic asset.