Washington About To Reject Nascar
Looks like Washington (State Of) thinks Nascar is just a bunch of rednecks and they are about to reject a Nascar track:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/l...tory/6379922p-
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/l...-5690592c.html
Chopp was dismissive when asked about Petty, a hugely popular figure known as “the King” in the world of racing.
“You mean the guy who got picked up for DUI?” the House speaker asked. Chopp quickly added that he’d only heard about a drunken driving incident and wasn’t sure if it were true.
Still, the speaker made it clear he wasn’t impressed.
“He’s not a member of the House, last time I checked,” Chopp said.
Chopp has said repeatedly that no House Democrats have pushed him to support the NASCAR track. He says he doesn't hear from anyone about it. At a press availability earlier this month, when asked about NASCAR — as the Longview Daily News reported —
he pulled out a Wall Street Journal article sent to him by a legislator describing the rowdy crowds at the Talledega Speedway in Alabama.
The article reported that "hard-drinking" fans "whoop it up for days."
"These people are not the kind of people you would want living next door to you," Seaquist said. "They'd be the ones with the junky cars in the front yard and would try to slip around the law."
re:stadiums and tracks in WA
The problem is that currently in Washington / Seattle, there is a very poor political climate surrounding private sports facilities built with public money.
Here is some recent history:- In 1995 the public voted down the Mariners Safeco field. The Mariners threatened to leave. The state pushed a tax package through and built it.[/*:m:j4mkalqf]
- Later, they tore down the recently renovated Kingdome...a renovation which is still to this day being paid for.[/*:m:j4mkalqf]
- In 1994-95, the public financed the rebuild of the Sonics Keyarena. They now say after 11 years that this (nice, but smaller than optimal) facility is obsolete and the Sonics new owners are threatening to move unless the State pitches 200+ million in for a new arena somewhere in Western WA. (Seattle voters passed an initiative last year banning new public facilities built for private for-profit sports leagues...so there is no way the Sonics will stay in the city.)[/*:m:j4mkalqf]
- The Seahawks pushed an unpopular stadium tax deal through a few years ago, leading to the construction of Qwest field, 70% of which is being paid for by the public.[/*:m:j4mkalqf]
So, I guess you could say that there is a very unfavorable condition in Western Washington right now for private sports franchises seeking public money to build their facilities.
That said, I favor a track, and this will go up for a public vote in a 3-county area to see if there is a public backing.
(I would actually love to see a Bristol-style .5 to .75 mile track built just over the mountains (1.5 hours from Seattle) in the much drier Ellensburg area of Eastern Washington.)