Thread: Belle-Clair
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1/23/22, 9:24 PM   #7
Re: Belle-Clair
Pitdad
Pitdad is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2017
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Belle-Clair Speedway is on the grounds of the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds in Belleville, IL. It's not for sale. I don't imagine it's in danger of turning into "woods" as it is in the middle of town and adjacent to commercial and industrial areas. The more likely danger is the Fair Board deciding that they are tire of dealing with neighbors (who don't really live near) complaining about the noise, dust, and traffic, so they take this opportunity to let it fall into such disrepair that "the only logical course of action" is to bulldoze it and use if for other fairgrounds activities...

Happened in Oklahoma City to the finest speed plant in all the plains. Any track that is inside city limits is in danger. Heck, if it's NEAR a city, it's in danger because somebody is going to decide they want to buy up the cheap land around it (cheap because of the noise and dust). Then, they get the nearby city to annex it and then shut it down because it's "ruining the property values of it's neighbors". Belle-Clair's only neighbors I can see are a sewage treatment plant, but that won't stop them from shuttering it permanently. You have to make sure you put racetrack friendly people on these fair boards and authorities. Otherwise they'll all be gone and you'll have to drive 40 miles to the middle of nowhere to hold a race.

It's a shame. We saw a POWRi micro show there years ago when they still ran the Meents there. It really looked like a fun place.