In business negotiations, first offers are often underwhelming. Such was the case with the initial offer from International Speedway Corp. in the negotiation to build a NASCAR racing facility north of Marysville.
The $50 million investment offered by ISC to build a structure valued at nearly three times that amount – not including related road improvements, stream restoration and recreational amenities – doesn’t get the engine started.
Other details that were presented to a legislative committee Wednesday in Olympia weren’t surprising. The facility would be owned by a public entity similar to the public facilities districts that run the Everett Events Center and the publicly owned stadiums in Seattle, and ISC would sign a long-term lease. Bonds would fund construction needs, and would be repaid by new sales tax revenue generated by the facility. No dollars would come from the state’s general fund.
As state lawmakers study the proposal and deliberate over the state’s role, they should focus first on the level of ISC’s investment. They should demand substantially more.
The state has an appropriate role to play, because such a project will draw plenty of new money and jobs to the state and region. Based on the growing popularity of NASCAR and the experience of other cities with ISC tracks, it appears to be a good economic-development investment. But if it is to be a true public/private partnership, the risk should be more evenly distributed.
ISC is a private entity focused on profits, and it clearly expects to reap them here. It also is beholden to its shareholders to cut the best deal possible on projects like this one. The state, Snohomish County and the City of Marysville, meanwhile, have a responsibility to cut the best deal for taxpayers. State lawmakers, who are being asked to approve the public-financing part of this, should take a tough stance in that role, and be ready to walk away if ISC doesn’t make an acceptable offer.
A key reason to demand more from ISC, besides having bonds paid off sooner, is to ensure the company has a big enough stake in the track’s success. If premier Nextel races don’t draw the capacity crowds ISC projects, what’s to keep it from taking those races elsewhere, leaving the area with an underperforming facility and big bills to pay? The more ISC invests, presumably, the more interest it will have in the track’s success.
Many other questions still need answers, including specifics on road improvements and how they’ll be funded, as well as who will pay for the development of the site’s highly touted athletic fields – and for their maintenance.
Those issues will be discussed in the coming weeks and months, and citizens will be listening. For now, though, lawmakers should focus on making sure a public/private partnership is fair and equitable. That should be the result of any good negotiation.
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