Six investor groups have expressed interest in taking over promotional rights for the historic and financially troubled Milwaukee Mile racetrack, officials said Tuesday.
Wisconsin State Fair Park interim executive director Craig Barkelar confirmed a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report that the State Fair Park board voted Monday to end its partnership with promoter Wisconsin Motorsports, which is believed to owe NASCAR and the IRL several million dollars.
Barkelar said Wisconsin Motorsports granted the board permission to search for a new promoter several months ago. Six groups have indicated interest, but Barkelar acknowledged that trying to sell the right to run a racetrack in a tough economy isn’t a slam dunk.
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If a deal doesn’t come together soon, the track could lose both its major events: An IndyCar series race held the weekend after the Indianapolis 500, and a NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Trucks series weekend held later in June.
The IndyCar series is expected to announce its 2010 schedule by early August, and NASCAR’s schedule could come out soon after that. And if the Mile isn’t on either schedule, its chances of getting back on would be slim - putting the track’s future in serious doubt.
Indy Racing League spokesman John Griffin said series officials are holding out hope for a return to Milwaukee.
The upside: Barkelar said the new promoter’s licensing fee to State Fair Park would be about US$180,000 per year - only 10 per cent of the debt service on recent improvements to the facility. The rest will be paid by State Fair Park.
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“It is a deal,” Barkelar said. “So it comes down to, can you make the operations excel? And I hope they can.”
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