General
Chicago area racetrack update 96-12-23
The DuPage Airport Authority Board of Commissioners met this morning, Monday, 23-Dec, to choose a group to proceed with for the potential construction a racetrack on its property in west suburban Chicago near the DuPage-Kane County line. Deemed ...
Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The DuPage Airport Authority Board of Commissioners met this morning, Monday, 23-Dec, to choose a group to proceed with for the potential construction a racetrack on its property in west suburban Chicago near the DuPage-Kane County line. Deemed by the Indianapolis Star/News to be one of the most lucrative sites for a new racetrack, the Board of Commissioners selected the Motorsports Alliance, a consortium of International Speedway Corporation, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and John Menard.
The Board delayed the start of its 8:00 AM meeting at the Airport Flight Center by 1/2 hour. Bad weather conditions (fog and rain) delayed the flights of some members of the various groups and the Board wanted to allow time for them to arrive. The most notable absentees were Chip Ganassi and Charles Gessner, principals in the DuPage Speedway and Entertainment Complex, and Philip Bayt, attorney and spokesman for the Motorsports Alliance.
After waiting one-half hour, the Board started by dealing with other airport business on the agenda. When it was time to address the racetrack decision, Chairman Joseph Kindlon asked if any of the groups wanted to make a last comment. A member of the DuPage Speedway and Entertainment Complex (DSEC) asked for additional time. The group was expecting Chip Ganassi to fly in and the attendance of Bobby Rahal, Carl Haas, and Walter Payton of Payton-Coyne Racing among others to support the DSEC proposal. Chairman Kindlon acknowledged DSEC's request but pointed out that it would be unfair to the other groups to delay the decision any further and that doing so would risk the success of a potential racetrack. At least one of the groups was looking into other options in the area.
Commissioner Vernon McCarthy pointed out that while all three groups had submitted fine proposals, the Board of Commissioners is responsible to the taxpayers of DuPage County and is not in the business of risking the taxpayers' money.
Before the vote, a member of the DSEC group made a final statement. He pointed out that the group was deeply committed to the DuPage racing facility. It would be their only facility not the second or third as it would be for members of the Motorsports Alliance. Additionally, Chip Ganassi, a principal in the DSEC, is committed to moving his family, his business, and his racing operation to DuPage County should the proposal of his group be selected. Finally, the DSEC pointed out that while the Motorsports Alliance had financial strength, they had not presented any financial commitment to the racetrack; the DSEC, on the other hand, had.
Neither the Motorsports Alliance nor the other respondent to the Request for Qualifications, Tag Sport, Ltd., made a statement.
A motion was made by an Airport Authority Board member to select the Motorsports Alliance proposal. It was seconded and passed by unanimous voice vote. One Commissioner, who is an employee of McDonald's Corporation, abstained from the vote because Ed Rensi, President of McDonald's, sits on the Board of Directors of International Speedway Corporation and the commissioner didn't want the appearance of a conflict of interest.
The next step is for the Airport Authority to sign a contract with the Motorsports Alliance which will remove the property from the market for a period of twelve months. This is expected to take place in January. The Motorsports Alliance will use this time to carry out environmental and economic impact studies and business assessments. The Alliance will then bring forward to the Board a formal proposal for developing a racetrack on the DuPage Airport Authority's property.
Stay tuned...
-- Phil _____________________________________________________________ Philip Gravel Lisle, Illinois pgravel@mcs.net
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article ATCC: Calder report
Next article Standings after Gold Coast
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Bobby Rahal
The voices in Mick Schumacher’s head for the Indy 500
IndyCar
IndyCar
110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
The voices in Mick Schumacher’s head for the Indy 500
Pietro Fittipaldi joins Rahal Letterman Lanigan for 2024 IndyCar season
IndyCar
IndyCar
Laguna Seca
Pietro Fittipaldi joins Rahal Letterman Lanigan for 2024 IndyCar season
Graham Rahal forms Rahal Ducati Moto with father for MotoAmerica entry for’24
MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica
Graham Rahal forms Rahal Ducati Moto with father for MotoAmerica entry for’24
Latest news
Justin Allgaier confirms he will return for 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly season
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Martinsville II
2 min
Justin Allgaier confirms he will return for 2027 NASCAR O'Reilly season
NASCAR Cup Homestead finale to feature full field of 40 cars
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
3 h
NASCAR Cup Homestead finale to feature full field of 40 cars
Data reveals severity of Carson Hocevar's brake-check: "There's no denying it"
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
4 h
Data reveals severity of Carson Hocevar's brake-check: "There's no denying it"
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 7 h
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 Can-Am drivers
General
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 Can-Am drivers
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe