VIENNA TOWNSHIP Indoor racetrack plan stalls over funds

Paying for the track in its first years is a problem.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
VIENNA -- After a loud start, the drive to build an indoor auto racing track in this Trumbull County township has been stalled by unanswered questions and poor government finances.
It's been nearly nine months since a $60,000 study financed by Mahoning and Trumbull counties glowingly endorsed the racetrack plan -- or, more specifically, endorsed another study of it.
There's been nothing since.
Consultants concluded that the 40-acre track -- billed by the promoter as the first of its kind in the world -- would cost $300 million to build and would pour $100 million annually into the local economy.
Who would pay?
Exactly who would pay for the facility, and how much, the consultants didn't say.
It is a subject on which the developer, Brant Motorsports of Morgantown, W.Va., also remains mum.
Local officials say they don't know, either.
"There are a lot of questions that have to be answered, if we have the resources to answer the questions," said Reid Dulberger, vice president of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, who coordinated a local look into the proposal.
Buying the next study from the same consultants, Public Financial Management of Cleveland, would cost more than $100,000 and presumably get some of the questions answered.
Public Financial ended its public presentation of the first study with a sales pitch for a follow-up.
However, some officials say they are reluctant to shell out more money without a better idea of how much they will be asked to pay for the track itself, or how they might get that money back.
Allegheny example
When Brant sought to build the indoor racetrack in Allegheny County near Pittsburgh, the company sought $100 million in public funding.
There is an assumption that to make the project happen here, Trumbull County, Mahoning County or both would have to come up with that kind of money, presumably by selling bonds using county property as collateral.
"Tell me where the money would come from, what the stream of revenue to Mahoning County will be," Mahoning Commissioner David Ludt said. "Are we going to put the taxpayers of Mahoning County at risk to help the taxpayers of Trumbull County?"
It would be premature to discuss new taxes or fees before more studies are complete, Dulberger said. The counties' share of the project would eventually be worked out through negotiations with Brant.
Company officials did not return calls for comment.
Both counties have to be on board to make the project go, Trumbull Commissioner Michael O'Brien said.
"This has got to be a multicounty project," he said.
If the racetrack is built, it would result in more property and sales tax revenue for Trumbull County -- perhaps even enough to make bond payments, according to an internal Trumbull County analysis -- but Trumbull would still find itself millions in the hole as it waits for the tax money to start rolling in.
According to the analysis, the county could "relatively safely" expect property and sales tax on the racetrack to cover annual payments on a $25 million, 30-year bond.
That's based on the consultant's estimate that race fans will spend $100 million a year here.
None of the money would be collected while the facility is being built, estimated to take about two years.
During that time, the county would have to make more than $3 million worth of bond payments if it borrowed $25 million.
On a loan of $100 million, payments over the first two years could be almost $12 million.
Commissioners say they don't even have the $100,000 to study the proposal further.
siff@vindy.com