Commerce City election may put brakes on NASCAR

Chris Barge, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, April 5, 2007

A group of homeowners thinks it may have successfully wrecked plans for a NASCAR super speedway in Commerce City by electing a new anti-track mayor and several City Council members this week.

"We made NASCAR an issue in the election, and our candidates won," said Jason McEldowney, who heads the new Commerce City Citizens and Business Alliance. "This was a victory for Commerce City, and our way of life in Commerce City."

Whether or not he is right remains to be seen.

Denver lawyer Steve Farber, who represents the company that is proposing the track, was dismissive of the group's claims Wednesday.

"They can declare all the victory they want," Farber said before noting that the majority of council had voted against asking voters whether to allow the city to entertain the track proposal.

The International Speedway Corp. announced in February that it was eyeing land in Commerce City as well as eastern Aurora for the track.

It envisions a $360 million to $400 million track and stadium that could hold 75,000 to 80,000 fans.

The facility would include a large oval track with a race course inside it.

McEldowney and many others who live in the new, upscale Reunion neighborhood 2 1/2 miles from the proposed Commerce City site immediately began organizing against the plan.

Within weeks of ISC's announcement, Commerce City's council voted 5-4 against asking voters whether the city should turn its back on the track before it was even proposed.

Mayor Sean Ford and Mayor pro tem Rene Bullock were among the majority who cast "no" votes.

Term limits kept Ford from running for re-election. And on Tuesday, Bullock, who is also term-limited, lost his mayoral bid.

Councilman Paul Natale, who had supported asking voters if the city should even deal with NASCAR, was elected mayor. And Jim Benson, who ran as an anti-track candidate, was elected to the council.

McEldowney thinks that gives him five anti-track council members and three who support it.

The new council will take applications this month as it decides whom to appoint to the seat Natale vacated in order to run for mayor.

McEldowney thinks that with the new council, the odds are good that the appointee will share his anti-racetrack point of view.

If the plan gets shot down in Commerce City, it could head for Aurora.

However, one obstacle in Aurora's way is a charter amendment that requires the city to get voter approval for any financial incentives going to a racetrack.

Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer has said the track could be a great amenity for his city, but he cautioned that, without a proposal from ISC, there are still too many unknowns.

"You almost really can't even weigh in on it, because there's just not enough that's known," Tauer said Wednesday.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to know more in the next month or two, but that's not up to us."

ISC has told Commerce City officials that it hopes to decide on a site for its track by early May and that it would like to be racing in the region by 2011.

bargec@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5059