On his Facebook page, Diamond Cup historian Steve Shepperd posts a message from Shockwave Racing hydro owners Rick and Shawn Bridgeman to Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger. The sheriff has denied a permit for this year's races:

The latest news out of Kootenai County concerning the 2014 Diamond Cup Permit Denial is very disturbing. If the reason for this was procedural fail then hopefully it can be worked out. As a business owner in a tourist destination town in Washington State and owner of the GP-17 race team I understand how important this race is to the local business owners. Our team alone which consists of 7 crew members and families, spent over $5000 during the weekend in and around the town of Coeur D Alene. Our team also brought 10 additional families who were friends or fans, with combined expenses for the 3 day event totalling over $10,000. More in comments section.

Thoughts?

Multiply this by the hundreds if not thousands of people the other teams brought to your town, now add the thousands of spectators it is not hard to see what a great economic windfall this is to the area. I know that the City of Coeur D Alene and it's business owners rely on tourism for it's major share of their commerce so it seems to me that your office who serves the people of Kootenai County would do everything in your power to help this event succeed.

Regards, Rick & Shawn Bridgeman

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