State in running for auto racetrack with seating for up to 80,000

By Jane Hodges
Times Snohomish County bureau

	Tim Sheldon
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The Washington group — which as of Friday included state Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch; Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon; and possibly Lt. Gov. Brad Owen — will watch cars race by at speeds approaching 200 mph and bask in the roar of the crowd at the Florida track.

But more important, members of the group will meet with track-development executives from International Speedway Corp. (ISC), which built the Daytona International Speedway, to discuss how a track capable of hosting large-scale NASCAR events could rev up Washington state's economic engines.

ISC has visited Washington several times since September to review prospective sites in Snohomish, Kitsap and Thurston counties where it could build a roughly one-mile track with seating for up to 80,000. ISC told local officials that a track could generate $87 million in annual revenue as well as $58 million in state and local taxes and create 160 permanent and more than 2,000 seasonal jobs.

	Aaron Reardon

ISC has not named a specific site it wants to use. Snohomish County leaders have proposed a site near Monroe, one between Arlington and Marysville and a third in Darrington. A group from Kitsap County has recommended sites including one near the Kitsap-Mason county border. Thurston County has also proposed a site.

The company acknowledges it is interested in Oregon as well as Washington. There are indications, though, that ISC is particularly serious about this state. The company quietly has begun preparing to pitch the business case for a track to Washington state leaders. It hired local law firm Preston Gates & Ellis last fall to learn about state business laws, and met with representatives of Gov. Gary Locke in mid-December.

Earlier this month, ISC hired lobbyist Mark Greenberg, who also represents NASCAR sponsor Anheuser Busch, in preparation for a Feb. 27 state Senate hearing at which Greenberg and ISC officials will explain how a track might operate in the state.

"These hearings are for us to hear from (track) proponents and discuss the economic ramifications," Sheldon said.

The trip to Daytona isn't the first ISC track visit state officials have made. In October, executives from Snohomish and Kitsap counties went to ISC's Kansas Speedway to attend a race and learn how Kansas and Wyandotte County worked with ISC on a deal.

There, state leaders approved speeding up $40 million worth of already-budgeted road projects and also passed legislation to allow for $95 million in tax-increment financing and new forms of bond financing.

Sheldon said it would be premature for legislators to discuss parallel legislation in Washington during the 2004 session, since ISC has not disclosed a preferred site here. He noted the upcoming Senate hearing is mostly educational.

However, he said that after this year's session adjourns, a legislative committee will discuss track-related bills that could be introduced during 2005 if ISC makes a decision.

In the meantime, local business leaders who have formed a "Checkered Flag Task Force" to help with the ISC pitch are funding a $25,000 study to provide more financial details about a track's potential.

Jane Hodges: 425-745-7813 or jhodges@seattletimes.com

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