Indoor racetrack hits a wall

No public or private funds have been spent on a $370,000 feasibility study.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
VIENNA -- Plans for an indoor racetrack in Trumbull County have stalled even before getting to the starting line.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, said Friday that Bob Brant, president of Brant Motorsports, has decided to withdraw from the proposed Mahoning Valley indoor racetrack project. Brant, of Morgantown, W.Va., was to have been project developer.
In a conversation with Ryan and subsequent Tuesday letter, Brant explained that his decision is based on factors such as changing market conditions, escalating construction costs and the failure of racetrack projects in other areas of the country.
The speedway, to have been called the Mahoning Valley Motorsports and Exhibition Center, would have cost $300 million to build, was to initially seat 60,000 and be expandable to 120,000 seats.
Alan Knapp, director of the Trumbull County Planning Commission, said none of the $370,000 in feasibility study money has been spent and will all go back to the parties that gave it -- unless some other way to advance the project is found.
In addition to Brant's $65,000 portion of the matching funds, the other sources were to be:
$40,000 from Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
$40,000 from the Western Reserve Port Authority.
$40,000 from organizations including Trumbull 100, Western Reserve Building Trades and the Builders Association of Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.
Brant Motorsports never turned over its $65,000 portion, as had been expected five to six months ago, Knapp said.
Financing
For the project to move forward now would be difficult, Knapp said, because of not having Brant's $65,000 and because Brant was to provide much of the technological expertise.
The county planning commission was deeply involved in efforts to get the project financed. Ryan announced the acquisition of a $185,000 Economic Development Administration grant to fund the $370,000 feasibility study for the project in 2004.
Knapp said he doesn't want to speak for all of the groups involved in the project, such as the port authority and county commissioners, but said, "As far as I've seen, I believe it [the project] to be pretty well over."
Knapp said Public Financial Management of Cleveland, the consultants chosen by the county commissioners for the study, had done preliminary work and started to notice red flags. The consultants had some trouble scheduling a meeting with Brant and also received indications from Brant that the company was thinking of pulling out.
Ryan said he would not hesitate to work again with Brant or any other developer should a similar opportunity present itself.
"While I'm disappointed that we won't be moving forward on the speedway project, it is still important for our community to explore the feasibility of projects that can have a positive impact," he said.
The first government-sponsored study, commissioned for $60,000 by Mahoning and Trumbull County commissioners, found that the idea had merit and that a publicly owned racetrack could run in the black even if it didn't get a big race.
The $370,000 study would have provided a more in-depth look at the market conditions and potential for building the world's first indoor motor sports racetrack, including what would be needed for the 40-acre covered structure, a marketing study, economic impact analysis, engineering and design review.
"The speedway project had the potential to be a home run for this community, and this community was right to take a shot at it," Ryan said.
runyan@vindy.com