Bucky Austin Racing and the County continue to work towards finalizing the lease agreement.  An agreement of this magnitude lends itself to an iterative process.  Bucky Austin Racing has presented the county with a first draft of the lease agreement.  At this point the County is working through the necessary steps to address some outstanding issues and pull together a revised document that they will first pass by the County Commissioners. Once that happens, the agreement will go back to Bucky Austin Racing for review and perhaps another round of revisions.  This is a very long and complicated document and both parties are working diligently to come to a final agreement.  Please continue to check back for updates.

Chance to win a free IPOD

News Release
Spokane County Motorsports Park Master Plan
October 20, 2008

Baskervill Motorsports Design, a leading designer in motorsports facilities, (www.Baskervill.com) has been hired by Spokane County, Washington to master plan the Spokane County Motorsports Park (SCMP).

The SCMP site encompasses approximately 340 acres of which the interior 200 acres is the motorsports park facility. The SCMP motorsports complex includes: a 2.5-mile asphalt paved road course used for sports car, motorcycle, go-kart, bicycle racing and driver’s training events; a one-quarter mile drag strip; and a one-half mile paved oval track. The balance of the site will also be master planned for a future law enforcement training facility and other recreational activities.

It is rare to find an existing motorsports facility that offers road, oval and drag strip racing at the same facility. Combined with Spokane County’s motocross and ATV operations on the adjacent site, this site offers a motorsports experience that is rarely found anywhere in the country.

To that end, Baskervill is soliciting opinions from the region’s racers, crew, race fans and park users via a web based survey to determine “what should or could be done” to improve the facility. At the completion of the survey, this data will be used to complete the master plan. This is the first motorsports master plan where the users will have input in the final design recommendations. This detailed survey covers everything from questions about the current facility to services and amenities the respondent would like to see at the track.

In addition to the web based survey, Baskervill and Spokane County will be hosting a two “roll up your sleeves” design charettes in Spokane in November, 2008. This will afford local users the opportunity to hear and suggest ideas related to improvements that might occur at the facility. Dates for these charettes will be posted on Baskervill’s and Spokane County’s web site once the dates are finalized.

The survey can be found at the link listed below. Upon completion of the survey and entering their contact information, all participants will be entered in a drawing to win an iPod for their efforts.

Survey Link

I’ve set up a mailing list to share news and information about Spokane Motorsports Park. I’d encourage everyone to join it. The list is not a replacement for the information posted on this site. Rather, the mailing list will be used to send out periodic information and important updates related to Spokane Motorsports Park.

You can learn more about it and sign up here.

Today the County Commissioners approved the selection of Bucky Austin Racing for lease operator of the Motorsports Park. The next step is for Bucky Austin Racing and the County to work on the contractual negotiations. The goal I’m hearing is that both sides hope the contractual negotations can be completed in the next 4-6 weeks.

There was an article in the Spokesman Review Northwest section today entitled “Driver in the lead to run racing park” which you can view at: http://spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=265150

The information in the article is probably familiar to most who have been following this. The article reported that Bucky Austin proposed fronting the $2 million for improvements, as well as paying the county a monthly lease fee of $10,000 per month. There was also mention of Austin putting $5 of every ticket sold into a county fund.

At this point the recommendation of selecting Austin as the lease operator goes before the County Commissioners on Tuesday, October 21st. If approved, the county will begin negotiations with Bucky Austin Racing to formalize an agreement.

On Tuesday, October 21st at the County Commissioners meeting, the county will announce their selection of Midway Muffler & Radiator d/b/a Bucky Austin Racing, As the Spokane County Motorsports Park operator.

The commissioners will consider the recommendation.  Once approved, the county staff will immediately begin working with the operator to develop the actual agreement.  Once county staff and the operator believe they have an agreement which is acceptable, said agreement shall be brought before the County Commissioners for consideration.

A press conference regarding Spokane County Motorsports Park is scheduled for October 21st at 2:30pm.  It will be at the East Entrance to Spokane County Courthouse, W. 1116 Broadway Ave.  [In the event of inclement weather, the press conference may be moved to the Public Works Bldg., 1026 W. Broadway Avenue, Hearing Rm. Foyer, Lower Level]

There was a great article by Jeslyn Lemke today in the Voice section of the Spokesman Review.  It was entitled “Motorsports Park Offers Many Opportunities”.   It was great to see some positive press regarding the Motorsports Park and the opportunities it does provide for the entire community.

Here’s a link to the article at the Spokesman Review. Please keep in mind that sometimes they don’t allow online viewing of their articles unless you are a subscriber. I can’t repost it here without permission from them….so for now I can only offer this link: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=264596

Hi everyone.  It is my understanding that the county is on schedule to recommend a lease operator to the County Commissioners this coming Tuesday, October 21st.  If there are some unexpected delays, the fallback date is Tuesday, October 28th.

The plan as I understand it is for the recommendation to be presented before the Commissioners, and if approved, the next step is for the legal department to work through the contractual issues.  The hope is that this process will go rather quickly so that the selected lease operator can get to work with track improvements and scheduling for the 2009 season.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

For those if you that haven’t read today’s Spokesman Review, there is an article in the Motorsports area of the Sports section. Here’s a direct link to the article: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sports/story.asp?ID=264012

My understanding is that the newsside department is still planning a separate story, as is the West Plains Voice.

AIRWAY HEIGHTS, WA – The public is invited to join Airway Heights Mayor Matt Pederson for an update on Spokane County Motorsports Park; this summer’s racing events and the search for a long-term operator.

The Public Forum on Spokane County Motorsports Park will be held on Tuesday, October 7th at 6:30 p.m. in the Airway Heights Council Chambers at 13120 W. 13th Avenue.  Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard will present a detailed update on the facility and staff will also be available to answer questions.

For more information, please contact Airway Heights Mayor Matt Pederson in City Hall at 244-5578 or the West Plains Chamber of Commerce at 235-8480.