Yes, I know this is INDIANA Open Wheel, but I also know a lot of IN fans travel to IL for POWRi races etc. I saw this on our local news down here in KY and this was just potsed on SpeedSport. If passed, this will further impact the financials of some tracks that are just barely making it.
Illinois is ranked #4 of the top 10 fiscally broke states. All run by liberals! Ask anyone that lives near Chicago what the pay in property taxes alone and it's no wonder people are fleeing the state
And at the same time the fed will give nascar tracks huge tax breaks. All the nascar tracks built during the 90's boom were done on the backs of taxpayers. Nothing more than welfare.
Originally Posted by BrentTFunk:
And at the same time the fed will give nascar tracks huge tax breaks. All the nascar tracks built during the 90's boom were done on the backs of taxpayers. Nothing more than welfare.
Not all of them. Bob Bahre built New Hampshire Intl Speedway with his own money,and built it before he was assured of a Cup date...But that was a bit before the other tracks were being built. His first race was in 1990...from memory...A Busch series race.
Originally Posted by Andrew S. Quinn:
Not all of them. Bob Bahre built New Hampshire Intl Speedway with his own money,and built it before he was assured of a Cup date...But that was a bit before the other tracks were being built. His first race was in 1990...from memory...A Busch series race.
I would bet he still got a tax break. Heck even Daytona and Talledega were built that way.
And I remember reading they weren't going to let him build the bleachers as tall as he wanted because they didn't have a firetruck that would reach that high. So he bought the town a new firetruck that would.
Originally Posted by midnightrider:
And I remember reading they weren't going to let him build the bleachers as tall as he wanted because they didn't have a firetruck that would reach that high. So he bought the town a new firetruck that would.
Originally Posted by BrentTFunk:
I would bet he still got a tax break. Heck even Daytona and Talledega were built that way.
That I dont know. Originally he was going to build the track in Maine with Mike Liberty who bought Oxford Plains Speedway off from him. When that fell thru he bought Bryar Motorsports park in New Hampshire,and at first had trouble getting permits from the town fathers to build his track. When he put his mind to getting something done.....It happened!
Of course none of this has anything to do with racetracks in Illinois and an amusement tax. Years ago Pennsylvania added an amusement tax to the speedways,and Silver Springs Speedway had an ad in Area Auto Racing News apologizing for having to raise the admission from $6 to $6.50. That was one of the best tracks to go to in Pa. for open wheel racing. To bad it got sold and redeveloped for shopping .....
