Originally Posted by Jonr:
In the Kansas City area, there is a lot of news around a promoters attempt to bring I-70 Speedway back to life. There are a lot of different tangets to this story but the one I would like to talk about is the concept of economic impact of a race track to a community.
The race track itself sits about 40 minutes east of Kansas City is a small rural county. At the permit hearings and on social media, many people are talking about the financial impact of having the track in the area would have. How it would be a boost for this county that does not have a lot going for it.
As I was listening to this, I started to question if this was true statement. For your average Friday/Saturday night track, does the track truly generate any income for the city/county in which it is located. I ask this because I routinely drive past I-70 to get to the Sweet Springs micro track. When I go to Sweet Springs, I almost always get off the freeway bypass the one restaurant and two convenience stores and go straight to the track. I will then do the same thing on the way home. On the few times that I did stop, did my $2.58 purchase at the convenience store move the needle on the local economy?
I started thinking about my other trips to race tracks in the area. It occurred to me that this is not a unique occurrence. I am far more likely to spend money on food on the way to the track than at the track. Whether I stop for food that I can eat on the way to the track, or a nice restaurant on the trip to the track, neither of those purchases help the actual local economy of the track.
As someone who has stayed at the booming vacation spots of Marion, In (USAC midget week) , Salina, Ks (Belleville Nationals) and Osceola, Ia (Knoxville Nationals), I realize that having a "Crown Jewel" attraction at the track completely turns the conversation. For now, I would like to limit the conversation to an average local race track that does not have a crown jewel event.
For more on the I-70 story, here is a local TV report. Facebook also has more on the topic.
https://fox4kc.com/2019/03/28/pit-st...ises-concerns/
Wanna have an economic impact on Sweet Springs? Go about 1/4 mile West of convenience stores & buy a vintage car from the old guy with half a 1950s Buick mounted on his building. I drive by there twice every summer, always stop to look, but can never afford anything. Interesting to check out, even if you're cheap/poor like me...
