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NASCAR proposal runs out of gas

That's the headline in the Seattle Times. 

OLYMPIA — A Florida-based racetrack developer has abandoned plans for a $368 million NASCAR speedway near Bremerton, where local opposition to the project was fierce.

The International Speedway Corp. (ISC) announced Monday it was pulling the plug on the project, which called for about $180 million in taxpayer-backed financing.

Well, not really. They still want to get some of that public money. They just finally realized that putting a NASCAR track in Kitsap County was a non-starter.

But the company said it will look for other track sites in the state and might come back to the Legislature with another proposal in the future.

"We think the Northwest is still a great opportunity for the company," said ISC spokesman Lenny Santiago. "Hopefully, we can find a way to make this project work."

Translation: We think there's still a way to sucker the people of Washington out of a couple of hundred million taxpayer dollars. Hopefully we can convince the legislature if we try another location.

The company's announcement takes one of this year's big issues off the Legislature's plate.

But lawmakers might still be asked to take up the Seattle Sonics' request for a new taxpayer-funded arena in Renton. On Monday, Gov. Christine Gregoire said she has asked legislative leaders to meet with their caucuses to see how much interest there is in the Sonics' proposal.

Translation: There's still a way to give taxpayer money to professional sports organizations instead of using it where it's needed. If we can't funnel that money over to NASCAR, then how about the NBA?

ISC officials argued that the track, by drawing tens of thousands of visitors from out of state, would generate more than enough additional tax revenue to cover the state's share of the project. The company estimated the track would generate hundreds of jobs and, over time, would provide a $4 billion boost to the state's economy.

Tens of thousands of visitors from out of state, once or twice a year? What's the word I'm looking for here? You know the one - it describes the excrement from a male cow.

But it was bitterly opposed by other local politicians. And of the nine state legislators who represent the Kitsap Peninsula, not a single one backed the track.

They called the proposal "corporate welfare" and warned the track would wreak havoc on the region's traffic and the local environment.

How about that? The politicians from the area the track would supposedly benefit actually saw the truth?

ISC made several revisions aimed at winning over some of its opponents, such as agreeing to let people from the region vote on the proposal. But the company said Monday it had been told more changes were needed for the legislation to move forward.

"These additional changes to the legislation were unacceptable and would have had a significant negative impact on our financial model for the speedway development," ISC President Grant Lynch said in a written statement.

In other words, ISC wouldn't get as big a cut of the public dole as it wanted if the track was built in Bremerton...

Sen. Brian Hatfield, who sponsored the company's proposal in the Senate, said he was frustrated with the process.

"We're disappointed they couldn't find any support from anyone in the Kitsap delegation," said Hatfield, D-Raymond. "Every time there would be a demand, the demand would be met and the finish line would move."

But Hatfield said he hopes the company will find a new site and be back to the Legislature next year.

"We'd really be missing out not to take this seriously and try to get it somewhere in Washington state," Hatfield said.

Or maybe Hatfield would be the one missing out. After all, it's another opportunity to soak the public and make government even larger. It's another chance at big corporate donations to campaign funds down the drain.

Haven't they figured it out yet? We don't need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to line the pockets of professional sports organizations.

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