Raceway Park great investment for county

The conversation regarding the purchase of Spokane Raceway Park by Spokane County has been watched closely by Spokane County taxpayers. Thus far, talk has been cheap and the facts have been loose. Many people have been quick to contribute their opinions regarding Spokane County’s apparent successful bid to acquire 316 acres of Spokane Raceway Park, but few have taken the time to get the whole story or convey actual facts.

The bottom line is that Spokane Raceway Park is about much more than motor sports and Spokane County commissioners made a very wise decision that will ultimately benefit county taxpayers.

So why is this piece of property so important? There are few large developable pieces of property in the region with available water and sewer services. It is adjacent to 150 acres already owned by Spokane County and used as an off-road vehicle park. It has an active gravel pit, commercial frontage along Hayford Road, a quarter-mile drag strip, a half-mile oval track, a 2.6-mile road course and more than 200 acres of open space. It’s estimated that the cost to build such facilities today could exceed $50 million.

But what was county looking for when considering this purchase?

Over the last five years, the sheriff has been looking to develop a 50-acre Regional Law Enforcement Training Facility. The Sheriff’s Office has been tremendously successful in hosting law enforcement training for officers throughout the western United States. These officials travel to our region, often for extended periods of time, occupy local hotels, eat at local restaurants and bring a new revenue stream into Spokane County.

A new facility would require classrooms, physical training spaces and a road course for driver training. This is a unique opportunity that makes Spokane Raceway Park a perfect fit for these types of uses for training not found anywhere in the western United States. Training that will ultimately benefit our citizens, as we look to enhance public safety, through better trained law enforcement community at all levels.

Estimates four years ago for such a facility were as high as $60 to 75 million. A minimal facility would require land costs in the $6 to 8 million range before improvements.

In exchange for hosting the training, sheriff’s deputies receive their training at no cost, saving taxpayers millions over the life of the facility.

For years, cities on the West Plains and Spokane County have been searching for a 50-plus-acre site for a regional sports complex that could accommodate soccer fields and baseball/softball diamonds. These types of facilities are in short supply. The Spokane region has shown itself to be the premier host for large sporting events. Yet, facilities are hard to come by and a lack of available fields, restrict us from hosting a number of larger events. Those that do choose Spokane are often spread out between a number of locations, making it difficult to schedule and transport teams between sites. Having a centralized location near the airport and I-90 will make Spokane even more attractive.

These types of tournaments are a major boom to local tourism. Tourism in Spokane County is big business. In 2006, tourism brought nearly $800 million to the region. It’s an industry that brings revenue into our community with minimal commensurate services.

Spokane County cannot control when property comes onto the market and the county spent nine months gathering land appraisals, reviewing feasibility studies and taking public input. The county’s successful bid for this land was $3.9 million plus the auctioneer’s fee of approximately $400,000. The land purchase for either the law enforcement training center or a regional sports complex was estimated to be significantly more, if not double the amount the county bid for the entire purchase.

In this case, Spokane County purchased enough land for a law enforcement training center with an existing road course for year-round driver training, a regional sports complex and an existing motor sports complex that is capable of drawing events equivalent in size to Hoopfest and Bloomsday multiple times each season. I would say that the commissioners got it right. Spokane Raceway Park is a rare opportunity and a great investment.