Hey Mudge, what do you think of this?
Sounds pretty interesting.
S.J. streets may roar with racing sounds
PROPOSED GRAND PRIX-STYLE EVENT HAILED AS BOON FOR BUSINESS, CITY PROFILE
[size=-1]By Rodney Foo[/size]
[size=-1]Mercury News[/size]
San Jose officials said Friday they have reached a tentative agreement to stage a grand prix car race in the streets surrounding HP Pavilion in July.
The five-year deal with the race promoter -- the Woodside-based Canary Fund, a non-profit corporation dedicated to early cancer detection -- is being applauded by city officials who say the Champ Car World Series event could generate millions of dollars for businesses and the city treasury while raising San Jose's profile.
``It gets our name and our identity out literally across the world, so from that perspective, you can't buy better PR,'' said Councilwoman Cindy Chavez, whose district includes downtown.
The race is contingent on the city council approving $650,000 to help shoulder the $3 million needed to prepare the course and pay for public safety services during the race, which could attract 120,000 people downtown. The promoter will be responsible for funding the remaining $2.35 million.
The event, similar to the Grand Prix of Long Beach, features open-wheel cars that reach speeds above 150 mph as they race around a 1.5-mile course along West Santa Clara Street through the HP Pavilion parking lot and in the streets behind the arena.
The proposal is scheduled for the council's Dec. 7 agenda, said Mayor Ron Gonzales' budget and policy director, Joe Guerra.
``We're optimistic about getting this thing going,'' said Canary Fund President Dale Jantzen.
The $650,000 investment request comes just weeks after city officials announced San Jose was facing a $60 million budget shortage next year. However, Guerra said the money being proposed would come from funds that don't finance city services.
The proposal calls for tapping $250,000 from a redevelopment agency business grant fund and $400,000 from a city Office of Economic Development fund dedicated for small business loans, Guerra said. The plan calls for the city to be repaid with race revenues.
The agreement to hold races with the Canary Fund -- founded by former Cisco senior executive Don Listwin -- would end after five years with an opportunity to renew for another five years, said David Vossbrink, the mayor's spokesman.
The agreement, reached Friday morning, ends six months of negotiations between the Canary Fund and city officials, who say the July 29-31 event could nourish cash-strapped downtown businesses and pour $10 million to $20 million in local sales-tax revenue into the treasury.
``Revenues generated by the event will bring real economic benefit to our community and local businesses,'' Gonzales said in a news release.
But others, such as the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, aren't sold on the race being financed with public money.
``There is a more critical need for the money and higher priorities,'' association president Dennis Umphress said. ``I think it's inappropriate for the city to be in the racing business.''
Association board member George Swenson said he didn't trust the city's revenue projection.
``I would believe their estimates are overly optimistic,'' he said.
But in Long Beach, a three-day race event this year added $40 million to the local economy and drew more than 175,000 spectators, according to race officials.
In Denver, the race brought in $17 million and 112,000 visitors, said Tim Litherland, sports and special markets director for the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau.
``It's like having a small convention come to town,'' said Kevin Magner, who oversees special projects for Denver's public works department and worked on negotiations to bring a Champ Car event into the city.
The Champ Car World Series, formerly known as Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), had been the dominant ``open wheel'' racing series in the United States for years, featuring drivers such as Mario Andretti and Al Unser. The schedule was highlighted by the Indianapolis 500.
But in 1994, Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George began a competing series, the Indy Racing League (IRL), and took the Indy 500 with him. Top drivers eventually followed, crippling CART, which declared bankruptcy last year.
A new ownership group, which included former Silicon Valley CEO Kevin Kalkhoven, took over and changed the series' name to Champ Car.
Of the $3 million initially needed for the course, $2.8 million will be used to prepare streets and the arena's parking lot for the race. The remaining $200,000 is needed for police, fire, paramedic and dispatch services.
Because of the racing cars' low ground clearance, the crowned streets must be repaved with a special asphalt and made smooth so that the road is virtually level. The asphalt takes three months to cure so it must be poured by late April.
The San Jose Sports Authority and the city's Office of Economic Development have been scouring Silicon Valley's corporate world for sponsors to help pay the costs. Knight Ridder -- the Mercury News' parent company -- has pledged $100,000 for the race's first year, but only if it is staged downtown.
The promoter will have to pay for concrete dividers, fencing, hospitality suites and bleachers -- a tab that costs millions more, said Paul Krutko, director of the Office of Economic Development.
. I meant to pick up a sheet and fill it out the first day, but forgot...Oh well guess I try to remember saturday.
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