NASCAR just wrapped up its Champions Week festivities in New York, but a company that owns several NASCAR racetracks has decided to pull the plug on its attempt to bring stock car racing to Staten Island. The International Speedway Corporation originally planned to build a 3/4 mile oval for 82,500 spectators, but has cancelled their plans citing several reasons. From their press release:
- The inability to secure the critical local political support that is necessary to secure the required land-use change approvals for a speedway development;
- Even if ISC had secured the necessary political support, it became apparent that the Company would have been faced with unacceptable approval requirements, including operational restrictions that would have made the facility difficult to operate and a significant challenge to market;
- The increased risk that these unacceptable approval requirements could result in higher construction spending and annual operating costs, which would have a significant negative impact on the financial model for the speedway development.
Even before this announcement, the racetrack proposal encountered stiff resistance and wasn't looking too good.
ISC also said that they "will explore alternative strategies" for the 600+ acre plot of land, including selling it or developing it with a third party. They believe the land would be worth more than $100 million, it is the largest undeveloped land in New York City, and that "it will be attractive to a wide range of developers and users."
To Gothamist, that reads "attractive to WalMart."
