FLORENCE, Ky.
- Jerry Carroll and four business partners expect to spend $100 million to bring a 60,000-seat auto racing superspeedway and up to 430 jobs to Gallatin County.
Mr. Carroll, owner of the Turfway Park horse track, plans to break ground this spring on nearly 1,000 acres at Interstate 71 and Ky. 35 for the 1ï-mile car track. It's expected that the race course, which hopes to draw NASCAR events, will pump millions of tourism dollars into the Tristate economy.
The partners don't yet have a single commitment for a race date from any major sanctioning body, but ''what we have learned as we have pursued this idea, is that the first-class racing facilities will attract the big races,'' Mr. Carroll said after a press conference Thursdayat Turfway Park.
Don Schumacher, president of Don Schumacher & Associates Inc., sports events and facilities consultants, agreed that the partners needn't be concerned right now about racing dates.
''I don't think there is any doubt that the new track will have three major race weekends when it opens in 2000,'' said Mr. Schumacher, who conducted a feasibility survey for Mr. Carroll that showed Greater Cincinnati to be one of the most attractive areas in the country for building a superspeedway.
Mr. Schumacher said the study showed that nearly 52 million people live within 300 miles of Cincinnati, representing millions of dollars.
''A figure that is used often shows that a tourist in Cincinnati spends $125 a night, without purchasing a ticket to an event,'' he said. ''Our study shows that the per-capita spending for the people coming to these tracks is very high, higher than that. They will stay in our hotels and motels, eat at our restaurants, and make other purchases while they are here.''
Figures from NASCAR show that the sanctioning body drew a little more than 8 million spectators to 81 events last year. Using an average ticket price of $45, an average gate was almost $4.5 million.
While Mr. Carroll's facility will initially seat 60,000, plans call for an expansion to 180,000 seats by 2002.
Track officials expect 300-400 new seasonal jobs in areas such as concessions, admissions, parking, security and maintenance. The full-time staff, including administration, would be about 30 people.
By comparison, California Speedway, 40 miles east of Los Angeles in Fontana, created 1,200 jobs in San Bernardino County when it opened last year, according to track publicist Jay Lucas.
Mr. Lucas, quoting economic experts, said the California track figures to generate $27.1 million in direct spending by race fans, and $28 million more in economic activity for 1998.
The California track will have eight races on three weekends this year, including a NASCAR Winston Cup race and a CART race. Those races drew more than 90,000 fans apiece in 1997, Mr. Lucas said. Overall, the California track could have an economic impact that exceeds $125 million annually for the extended area, according to NASCAR Online.
The Northern Kentucky track almost certainly will not see a NASCAR Winston Cup stock car race, the No. 1 money-maker for a superspeedway, in its first season. But the track expects to host a NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, and either a CART or IRL Indy-car race.
Mr. Carroll also announced Thursday that he and his partners have bought Louisville Motor Speedway, a NASCAR-sanctioned 7 - 16-mile asphalt oval that currently has two NASCAR races on its schedule, a Craftsman Truck Series event and a Slim Jim All Pro Series race.
''People in big-time motor racing want to know that you are a player, that you are ready to make things happen,'' Mr. Carroll said. ''Purchasing Louisville Motor Speedway was one of the ways we said that.''
Mr. Carroll's partners in the ventures are Richard Duchossois, owner of Duchossois Industries of Chicago and the owner of Arlington Park race track; John Lindahl of Nashville, a partner in Turfway Park and owner of State Industries Inc. of Ashland City, Tenn.; Bruce Lunsford of Louisville, founder of Vencor Inc., a Louisville-based health care company; and Chris Sullivan of Tampa, Fla., founder of Outback Steakhouse Inc. and general partner of the new Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball team.
Mr. Carroll said the location of the new Gallatin park, just 35 miles from downtown Cincinnati and on a major interstate, was a key to moving ahead with the project.
''We looked at nearly 100 sites just in Kentucky,'' he said. ''But this location in Gallatin County was the best.''
Mr. Carroll and his group have had several meetings with Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton and his staff to discuss ramps and roads needed to feed people into and out of the track.
''We have been assured by the governor that the state will support our efforts and work with us on the ramps,'' he said. ''We are also in a position to take advantage of the 25 percent tourism tax break that is available from the state.''
Tom Groeschen
contributed to this report.
Lots of ifs for a winning raceway
