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The Bee
Atwater city council test drives plans for a motor sports
park
By MIKE CONWAY
BEE STAFF WRITER
Published: August 6, 2003, 05:55:40 AM PDT
ATWATER -- A 1,200-acre motor sports park with eight different
tracks got mixed reviews from the Atwater council members who liked the basic
idea, but worried about traffic.
"I like your plan and proposal," Councilman Ed Abercrombie told
representatives of Riverside Motorsports Park. "But I want to see it further
along address traffic issues, because that will be a headache from Day One."
Riverside representatives unveiled their plans during a special
meeting of the City Council on Tuesday afternoon. The council took no action,
but offered many opinions.
The raceway is proposed for an area of land northeast of Castle
Airport Aviation and Development Center with entrances on Buhach, Fox and
Eucalyptus roads.
Weekday concerts
The park would have a 1/2-mile oval speedway, a 5,000-foot drag
strip, paved and dirt oval tracks, a 3-mile road course, motocross, go-kart
and off-road circuits. The raceway could handle BMX bike races, trucks, stock
cars, dragsters and motorcycles.
"We look at this as a regional recreational center, not a motor
sports park," said John Condren, Riverside's chief executive officer.
Condren said the park could hold concerts on weekdays, and would
draw people with its restaurants, an automotive-themed retail center and
children's play park.
Investors already have put $10 million into the project over the
past three years, Condren said, and own the land for the proposed park. He
said when completed, the project would cost "in excess of $100 million."
The plans call for races every weekend during the season that
typically runs from February through November. Those races are expected to
draw 15,000 to 20,000 people. Once a month, the track wants to host a larger
event, attracting close to 50,000 spectators.
Condren said the developers don't have any contract with NASCAR,
the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, but that could come. There
are other racing associations to use the tracks.
"One of the biggest problems is 50,000 people," Abercrombie said.
"No road can handle that traffic."
Condren said his organization realizes that traffic will be a main
point of concern. He said holding several events at once and staggering the
end of racing times would move cars out of the park evenly.
Condren said he believes the group can get through the
environmental review process by February or March and begin construction
sometime in spring.
"We've already determined there are no biological issues, no
endangered species, no Indian burial grounds," he said. The land has been
farmed for decades and would need to be rezoned by the county from its ag
designation.
"I'm concerned about taking the land out of production," said
Councilwoman Jean Faul. "This is a major thing for us to approve, and I have
reservations. Shoot, we have traffic problems now."
'Our little town'
Councilman Gary Frago said: "I'm not convinced about your traffic
survey. You have not said how you will get traffic in and out."
He said the city can't build more hotels and restaurants for the
weekend crowds. "We have no place to build.
"I don't see Atwater benefiting that much on tax revenue," Frago
said. That benefit would go to surrounding communities.
"It's our little town, and we're happy with it and we want to do
everything we can to improve it," Mayor Rudy Trevino said. "We want nothing to
destroy the serenity of our little Norman Rockwell village."
Bee staff writer Mike Conway can be reached at 381-0208 or
mconway@modbee.com.
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