Full Throttle

It’s hardly a secret the Half-Vast Staff™ of Full Throttle has followed ISC’s never ending odyssey to increase their ever growing, but currently stalled, catalog of race tracks to lord over.

Some have hinted its become an obsession. We call it an important part of the “NASCAR Story,” what happens at corporate HQ has just as much effect on what the fan sees as the next debris caution or “spin to win maneuver.” And frankly looking around the racing blogosphere FT is treading on exclusive territory, no one else is covering the saga.

In this episode of As the [NASCAR] World Turns, or The Bold and the Beautiful Bountiful if you prefer, we look at competing financial offers the Washington State Legislature is mulling over.

Measures to build a new arena for the Seattle SuperSonics and the NASCAR race track in the state didn’t make it past a Monday legislative deadline. Legislative leaders have a way to circumvent that deadline, like that’s a surprise, but what caught our eye was a comparison of the two financial proposals.

It’s well documented the ISC proposal calls for taxpayers to pay for about half of the $368 million to construct the track. There is a raging dispute over the cost of, and who will pay for the supporting infrastructure improvements the facility would require.

We’ll leave that for another day and center on the $184 million required for track construction as compared to the Sonics proposed new arena in Seattle.

The Sonics’ new owner Clay Bennett wants to replace the aging KeyArena in Seattle with a new arena in the south Seattle suburb of Renton. The multipurpose facility will cost $500 million and the proposal before the Legislature calls for “at least $300 million in public tax money for the project.”

In addition, taxes and tax credits the Sonics want to use are currently paying for new Seattle stadiums for baseball’s Mariners and the NFL’s Seahawks, as well as for the remaining debt on the now-demolished Kingdome. (isn’t that robbing Peter to pay Paul? - ed)

House Finance Committee Chair Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, said lawmakers had presumed the sports facilities would be considered after the committee deadline previously noted.

Members need more time to “pencil out” the details of the proposals, he said.

The Half-Vast Staff™ are far from financial wizards, with or without pencils, but simple math seems to favor the race track and not a new arena for the NBA Fat Cats Sonics.

ISC’s $184 million, that includes the promise to pay for any cost over-runs, plus at last estimate $50 million for road access improvements is far less than what’s needed for the arena.

The owner’s $350 million purchase agreement allows him to move the Sonics to Oklahoma (? ok whatever) and there is little doubt the politicians will look at that issue,along with the finances, long and hard.

The cantankerous old fools we are look at a much larger picture.

First is the bond issue floated for track financing has the potential to meet with the same success Kansas Speedway achieved. Their bonds are scheduled to be paid off far in advance of the due date and economic activity in the area has exploded.

Secondly is popularity, the NBA vs NASCAR, take these numbers for what they are worth:

The television ratings for the Daytona 500 last month pulled a 10.1 share. That’s about even with the recent shares for the college football Bowl Championship Series and the World Series. It’s also better than ratings for the NCAA Final Four (8.6) last March, the NBA Finals (8.5) in 2006.

In the end the Half-Vast Staff™ of FT, in our very biased opinion, think the best deal lies with NASCAR. But in the end it may not be finances that tips the scale in one direction or another. It will be politics and a perceived lack of “stature” for the state and city of Seattle if they factor in the possible loss of the Super Sonics to Oklahoma (?, where!).

NASCAR, NEXTEL Cup, Sports, Kitsap County, ISC, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle