PLAINFIELD PLANNERS REJECT RACE TRACK
The Westerly (RI) Sun
by The Associated Press and Sun Staff
PLAINFIELD -- NASCAR -- or any other auto racing series -- won't be coming to town anytime soon.
This northeast Connecticut town's Planning and Zoning Commission Thursday night dealt a fatal blow to plans for an indoor, 100,000-plus seat auto racetrack and convention center, rejecting a change to local zoning regulations that would have allowed the development.
Commissioners voted 3-2 against the zoning change at a special meeting attended by about 250 people.
Trumbull developer Gene Arganese -- who had initially proposed a track for North Stonington -- had pushed the $343-million plan, which included the domed racetrack, convention center, a 700-room hotel and 800,000-square-foot retail complex.
Arganese had hoped to attract NASCAR, Busch National, Indy and CART events to the New England Raceway track, along with drag races, concerts and trade shows.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chairwoman Gloria Rizer cast the deciding vote against the zone change, joining members John Dubois and John Meyer. Dennis Jolley and Ron Boisse voted for the racetrack.
Rizer said it was the hardest decision she had to make while serving on the board. She agonized for several minutes before voting.
Commission members opposed to the racetrack said the proposal would not be consistent with the town's plan of conservation and development.
Arganese looked stunned after the vote.
"We're going to regroup and see what we do next," he said. "We have other towns in mind. We have a backup location."
Arganese refused to say where the alternate site was.
First Selectman Donald Gladding supported the racetrack, saying that any increases in traffic, noise and inconvenience would have been outweighed by tax revenues, jobs and economic development. A study commissioned by Arganese said the proposal would have generated roughly $19 million in local tax revenue.
Opponents of the racetrack, who questioned the long-term job outlook and the lack of commitments from NASCAR and other major racing organizations, cheered after the vote.
"I'm just glad the Planning and Zoning Commission voted for what's best for Plainfield," said Dave Ertsgard, president of the Concerned Citizens for the Quiet Corner, one of three organized groups opposing the track. "This sends a message to any developer that while Plainfield my be a rural, sleepy town, we sleep with one eye open."
A study prepared by the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut predicted that the track and surrounding facilities would provide a total of 6,145 jobs at the beginning, with the numfer growing to 8,750 jobs by 2007. The survey predicted those jobs would decline to 5,910 by 2025.
Ertsgard said more than half the jobs would be construction jobs that would only last two years.
He also said the facility could only support many of the permanent jobs if it got solid commitments for big racing events, such as the NASCAR Busch Series and Indy Racing League events.
But from the start -- when Arganese first proposed his track for North Stonington -- NASCAR officials have said they had not held talks with Arganese about any specific race plans. NASCAR's season schedule, which runs from February through late November, does not have any open dates; any race that would be held in Connecticut would have to involve moving an existing race from its current site.
I could never imagine having a NASCAR track indoors. They may as well build a small city. Goodness! Can you imagine what would have to go into this?
I have attended indoor Midget Races. Midgets run V4's, open headers and racing fuel. They use coke syrup to make a racing groove on concrete.
Got a little eye burn on long races, but it wasn't bad. It was cold and snowy outside, beat watching bowling on TV!