After a protracted battle to have it’s plan for a NASCAR track accepted by the community and the public officials of Staten Island, International Speedway Corp. announced on December 4th that it had scrapped plans to build a track on Staten Island, stalling NASCAR's dream to bring a race to the New York area.
"While we are disappointed that we could not complete the speedway development on Staten Island, our enthusiasm for the metropolitan New York market is in no way dampened," Lesa France Kennedy, the president of ISC, said. "We continue to view the region as a prime location for a major motorsports facility."
France Kennedy heads ISC, the publicly traded sister company of NASCAR - which was founded by her grandfather and currently chaired by her brother, Brian France.
Both companies badly want to expand NASCAR into the New York metropolitan area, and moved toward that goal in 2004 when a subsidiary of ISC paid about $100 million for a 440-acre former oil-tank farm on Staten Island. The company later bought another 236 acres to gain the necessary land for a racetrack.
In all, ISC said that it has spent about $150 million on the project.
But the proposal has been met by severe resistance, including a a hotly contested April public meeting in which tempers reached dangerous levels - forcing police to end the meeting over safety concerns.
The Board of Directors of the Staten Island Board of Realtors, Inc. had established an official position, prior to the announcement that the proposed NASCAR/ISC Automobile Race Track for Staten Island was not itself a benefit or a detriment to the community. In a report prepared by the Board of Directors, but not released prior to the ISC announcement the position paper stated, in part:
“The infrastructure and planning issues are more significant and must be defined and codified before this organization can render an opinion as to the appropriateness of this project. We feel it would be irresponsible to issue an opinion before these and other questions are completely answered.”
“…The main point of concern was whether the track would benefit the community in the immediate vicinity of the site or the island in general. It was the position of the Staten Island Board of Realtors, Inc. that the issues presented here must be addressed before the merits of the development plan can be assessed. The individual issues are significant and require study to determine whether the “track” is good for Staten Island. The track itself is less relevant than any one of these issues. These issues evoke the calls for and, historically, the condemnation of urban planning and renewal. The NASCAR track is essentially a large-scale commercial development with a very specific purpose, to be a national mass-media event that could occur anywhere due to its dedicated fan base. This being said, the question, “Why here,” begs to be answered…”
“…the questions are to the appropriateness of the implementation scheme and benefit to Staten Island. The potential benefits of the Staten Island site were addressed in our evaluation. The benefits involve a greater recognition for Staten Island and the opportunities that this might bring as the island is noticed...”
“The NASCAR organization should be commended for the amount of effort expended to address all of the potential issues of such an operation interfacing with the Staten Island infrastructure and lifestyle. This being said, it is necessary to look at other communities where NASCAR/ISC has sited such facilities. Relevant professionals and community leaders were contacted in these communities to discuss the effects of such an operation. Regardless of the size or character of the community, the NASCAR operation elicited nothing but praise for how it constructed, operated and addressed traffic problems (more on this later). These communities range from small towns to established warm weather resort areas. In many cases, NASCAR is an economic boom or a compliment to a recreation community. It should be noted that many of these communities base a good portion of their economy on the American travel and recreation industry.”
“…No such massive and visionary road construction was planned for or would be tolerated by the Staten Island community. Also missing in any of the transportation proposals is the efficient regional interconnectedness with the roadway and mass transit systems of the metropolitan area in such a manner as to yield a daily transportation solution for the island.” “…NASCAR should be commended for its plan to use a mass transit solution that would probably require adjustments when implemented but would function. Their organization has a stake in not failing to deliver on its promises and it is certain that the surrounding area would not be left with a transportation nightmare during an event. In some other communities where NASCAR/ISC has located tracks, the roadway network has experienced major renovations and expansions to address these needs. This leaves the community with a tangible benefit during the non-race days. The Staten Island track would yield no such benefit.”
“Track and track related economic opportunities abound in the areas immediately surrounding the tracks we investigated. These range from major commercial development, hotels, other major recreational facilities and even significant residential development. In other communities, NASCAR has created a major area economic event and is highly welcomed and appreciated for such. It is difficult for us to see how the NASCAR plan would yield any such benefit in Staten Island. Other than the modest retail mall that will generate some retail job gains, there appears to be no other major economic or “quality of life” gain for the community. Even the traffic plans for the three week-ends per year when NASCAR will operate the track ensure that economic benefits will be derived by surrounding communities where fans will be housed and parked, not on Staten Island.”
“In response to valid concerns about the potential for a logistical nightmare, NASCAR/ISC to its credit created an island within the island.” “…Staten Island would consequently reap little or none of the race day and preceding opportunities due to the well-intentioned and honorable efforts of NASCAR to make sure that the surrounding community does not even know a race is happening on a particular day unless they are fans. Consequently, Staten Island’s economy would not benefit from this event. There is of course no opportunity to expand the employment base significantly for the previous reason and for the fact that this track will not be operational most of the year. The use of precious land for the purpose of creating regular and numerous opportunities for employment and economic opportunity would serve a community like Staten Island better since it allows the advancement of the concept of working closer to home. This is concept is quite relevant to Staten Islanders who have some of the longest commutes in the nation.”
“…Although it is sometimes difficult for many Staten Islanders to perceive, the tax base of Staten Island is a part of the Greater City of New York. Any tax revenues that resulted from the NASCAR operation would be deposited in the general coffers of the city and be allocated as the political establishment protocols define. Any plan to guarantee future governmental spending or establish dedicated funds suffers from two problems. The structure of the proposed future governmental allocation, by definition, allows for some uncertainty in the guarantee. In addition, the yield of these investments is much too low for the community. Adjusted for inflation, the amount of funds allocated to Staten Island will be unnoticeable. In addition, NASCAR/ISC’s generous offer to make certain road and infrastructure improvements are a one-time and small contribution in the light of the massive size of this operation. These improvements do not address the long-term needs of a growing community that is improperly planned and by accident of geography poorly placed.”
“Increasing the employment pool on Staten Island would go a long way towards advancing our community. It would seem reasonable to develop in conjunction with NASCAR/ISC corporate style buildings and negotiating with the city government to entice employers to locate in an area planned and designed to be an economic nexus. The track, planned, would not employ enough people in proportion to its size and impact on the community.”
“The NASCAR/ISC development plan relied too much upon unresolved contingencies. There needed to be a commitment from the State of New Jersey operating in conjunction with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to guarantee the facilities for the foreseeable future that the track’s transportation plan requires. These unknowns cannot be resolved after the approvals are obtained.”
“We are certain that NASCAR/ISC would perform in a first-class manner and address any issues, as they will certainly arise. It is obvious from the culture of the organization and their past performance in other areas, that they do so with aplomb. However, these other communities have their own essence and the related municipalities interfaced with the operation to achieve the desired effect. It is our opinion that too much focus was placed on the community not knowing the track was even there during race day and not enough emphasis was placed on our local community getting something tangible, and long term, out of the deal.”
“…The Staten Island Board of Realtors, Inc. believes that Staten Island’s infrastructure and planning issues were not addressed to the extent necessary for anyone to render an opinion as to appropriateness of any large-scale commercial project.”
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