Details needed on track proposal

Those guys in Florida who want to build a racetrack near Marysville have some explaining to do.

Their absence at Monday’s NASCAR announcement didn’t go unnoticed. How odd for leaders of this monster truck-sized firm to miss out on a chance to sell the public on their plans for a stellar speedway on which the biggest names in stock-car racing can compete.

Given that the seduction of International Speedway Corp.’s proposal is bringing NASCAR to town, why didn’t a star driver – say Enumclaw’s Kasey Kahne – join Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon and Lt. Gov. Brad Owen to break the news?

Another chance comes ISC’s way on Wednesday in Olympia. A committee of lawmakers will discuss the touchy subject of what role, if any, the state will play in bringing a track to the Northwest.

Owen is the panel’s chairman, and he wants to hear straight talk from all the parties. “The bottom line is, ‘What are you asking the Legislature to do?’ I’ll be disappointed if we don’t get specifics,” he said.

Reardon said he’ll have the answers. But as of late last week, no ISC official had confirmed anything. Owen said it’s crucial that the panel learn soon of the firm’s commitment. “If we’re going to go through all this effort,” he said, “I don’t want to waste our time.”

If ISC is a no-show, Owen might consider a postponement. The corporation’s silence could embolden an expanding coalition of the unwilling that’s growing from a speed bump into a barrier.

It includes state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen of Camano Island, a Democrat whose powerful reach on transportation matters ensures that few roads are paved in this state without her support. She opposes any state aid on pavement that serves race fans before commuters.

She was joined this week by state Rep. Kirk Pearson of Monroe, a Republican who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, which is wrestling with the $1.2 billion 2005 budget deficit. He said the benefits of a NASCAR track don’t exceed the expected cost to the area’s quality of life.

I spoke with key lawmakers all week and found little excitement for investing state money in the project. Some suffer from “stadium fatigue” and are reluctant to put taxpayers on the hook, as occurred with the Seahawks and Mariners stadiums in Seattle.

Others are fighting off the “Boeing blues.” Until last year’s massive aid package to lure the 7E7 project to Everett pays dividends, they’re leery of any new deals that would benefit the well-endowed ISC.

Reardon is seeking a palatable policy, perhaps similar to that used in creating the Everett Events Center. The key is for lawmakers to allow a sliver of the state sales tax generated in Snohomish County to be spent on track-related projects.

His success teeters on how much ISC kicks in. It has money. In July, it bought a track in southern Virginia for $192 million, paying $92 million in cash.

That kind of moolah could ease the caution right out of lawmakers.

It’s time for ISC to speak up. Washington is feeling cheap, and we are not easy.

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@ heraldnet.com.

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