MOTOR SPORTS House OKs bill for racetrack

A Valley site would keep Ohio race fans in the state, the lawmaker said.
By MICHELE C. HLADIK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- The door was partially opened for an indoor motor racetrack in the Mahoning Valley after the Ohio House of Representatives approved legislation needed to make the project possible.
House members voted 86-11 Tuesday to change Ohio's definition of sports to include motor sports. The bill must still be approved by the state Senate.
Changing the definition under Ohio law could allow funding through the Ohio Arts and Sports Facilities Commission for a proposed indoor motor racetrack planned to be built near the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
The commission awards state money for sports stadiums and cultural arts projects across the state.
"The project could fundamentally change the economic and social makeup of that economically depressed region," stated state Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th, who sponsored the legislation.
"The motor sports industry is one of the most popular and fastest-growing spectator sports in the United States," Stabile Harwood said.
She said annual motor sport event attendance exceeds 17 million people.
Kansas City example
According to Stabile Harwood, the Kansas City Speedway, completed in 2001, created more than 2,000 construction jobs and at least 1,500 full-time jobs for area residents. She said it also attracts race fans and brings in significant tourism dollars to local businesses and throughout the state.
Stabile Harwood said the Valley location would keep Ohio race fans from leaving the state for the entertainment and the site could also be used for concerts and trade shows when not used for racing.
If Harwood's bill is enacted, developers of the proposed motor speedway near the airport would still have to apply for state funding.
Brant Motor sports of Morgantown, W.Va., is exploring the development of a 40-acre, indoor raceway on a 600-acre site adjacent to the Youngstown-Warren airport. Current plans call for a 3/4-mile oval with initial seating for 60,000 people and expandable to 120,000, developers say.
There would be 42 acres under a 400-foot-high fabric dome roof, according to developers.
But not all Northeast Ohio legislators believe the commission should use its state funds for a new racetrack.
Opposition
State Rep. John Hagan, R-Alliance, said he believes it is wrong to use the commission for this type of project and it dilutes the purpose of a commission originally designed to assist the arts in Ohio.
"When we stretch [the commission], you start to wonder where the limits are," said Hagan, who voted against the bill. "It's opening a door we don't need to open."
Hagan said he would rather see the project funded through the Ohio Department of Development. He also questioned the economic progress the one project would bring to an economically challenged area.
He said he would never begrudge an area its economic development, but he would like to see it happen in a more meaningful way. He added there are also many reasons the area is economically depressed and this could help the issue but not solve the problem.
The legislation now moves to the Ohio Senate for consideration.