County Race Track Purchase - Fair Race or Fixed?

The Spokane County Commissioners’ decision to buy Spokane Raceway Park and several surrounding parcels of land will turn out to be among the better decisions ever made by county government. It’s really a no brainer when you think about it: The county’s $4 million purchased more than 300 acres of property that will preserve auto racing in the Inland Northwest, allow the creation of publicly accessible ball fields, playgrounds, possibly another aquatic center, and give the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office a place to eventually build a brand new, state of the art training center. A million dollars will also be applied to the environmental cleanup of the track---money that won’t come from the taxpayers. All for about a half a million dollars less than the property’s appraised value.

So what’s the problem? Clearly there are still people who don’t like progress or government doing something that benefits us. But the County is losing an opportunity to effectively fully communicate how the property will be used---especially when it comes to the race track. Spokane County will own the race track but will not operate it---that will be left to the private sector.

Full disclosure: I’m helping represent Pacific Raceways, an Auburn outfit that privately owns and successfully operates a race track and is interested in operating SRP.

Every piece of criticism I’ve heard or read about the track includes the misconception that the County will run it. I’ve had conversations with a dozen people who were critical of the purchase but eventually agreed that this is a good deal when it was explained that the private sector will operate the track.

But the County itself has done little to dispel the misperceptions: nothing on its Web site, no news releases containing messages about the extremely positive aspects of the project, no demands for clarifications to media outlets that have either missed the point or neglected to include it in stories and no engagement with their critics---pretty basic PR.

Luckily the Commissioners have excellent political cover from an enthusiastic, knowledgeable and motivated racing community to help them move forward with what will be an extremely successful project. But the County won’t always be that lucky; communications efforts should start long before the event---for example, this spring’s tax increase request for communications equipment or a new jail this fall. Heard anything?