Milwaukee mile not just finished, but killed ?

[DynoTom]

I heard Bellings show last week about the troubles at the Milwaukee Mile and wanted to see what you guys thought?


This is some background info I cut and pasted about what's going on there....



Well, we have some freaking details now, and it is absolutely disturbing. You can start with the coverage by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel who tells us the numbers that Napier is behind ($1.9 million to NASCAR, and undisclosed amount to IRL), and that the workers at the track have all been laid off... but where it gets truly bad... Milwaukee radio host & newspaper reporter Mark Belling basically filled us all in on what appears to be a clear, but veiled, attempt by the Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, and his people to kill racing at the Milwaukee Mile. Opinion and theories you think...? well Belling has proof:

1) Belling has the copies of public documents proving that the Wisconsin State Fair Board did not require, or even ask, the new promoter Claude Napier (the one who is now failing to pay the IRL & NASCAR sanctioning fees) proof of financial assets needed to run the track.

but the more damning evidence

2) Belling has copies of an e-mail trail between the Wisconsin State Fair Board Chairman, Susan Crane, and a partnership of John Menard, Frank Guiffre & Dominic Guiffre; who offered to take over promotions and use their own capital to assist with financials, likely the money owed to the IRL & NASCAR (not to mention the state itself also has the money to do this). For those of you who don't know, those three men may be three of the Top 10 richest people in Wisconsin, we are talking billions of money in capital, tons of business experience; and the Guiffre family was even promoters at The Mile some 20 years ago.

What an amazing offer right!? Three Wisconsoners willing to pony up whatever it takes to continue racing at the worlds oldest racetrack in their home state!

Well here is where financial failure turns into track murder. The Wisconsin State Fair Board Chairman's response to Dominic Guiffre (the one in the partnership who sent the e-mail), and I'm paraphrasing:

"Thanks for e-mailing, I hope you can attend the race in August."

Are you kidding!? Someone offers up their time, money and expertise to save the oldest racetrack in the world; a racetrack that brings in $75 million annually to the state, and has the cities name in the track, and gets shown on national television, and you blow them off!?

At this point it is pretty clear that certain people may have suceeded in their ridiculous agenda to kill the Milwaukee Mile...

Belling & the Journal Sentinel are predicting if nothing happens by this, or next, weekend that NASCAR & IRL will be forced to announce they are leaving the track due to unpaid money, and that will be the domino the State Fair wants to then close down the track. Good lord I hope this doesn't happen; what a bunch of asses if this is all as true as it pretty well seems evident. But don't take my word for it, go here and listen to Mark Belling's show where he gives you ALL these details, and word for word the email conversations:

[Doc Brown]

I can't wait to hear the typical political bile that comes out of the governor's mouth whenever stuff like this is exposed, like "Wisconsin is a great state, and Milwaukee is a great city. I am disappointed and saddened that the longtime tradition of auto racing will be unable to continue at the Milwaukee Mile due to financial difficulties. During these difficult times many fine Wisconsin residents are forced to watch their budgets, and attending races are just is not a top priority for residents right now. Wisconsin wishes NASCAR and the IRL the best of luck, and wants to remind people that they are still able to enjoy racing action on television".

[03CVLX]

I rarely get the opportunity to attend a race. But by no means do I want to see it go away. I hope it stays open.

[TheRX7Project]

If the Mile offered something worth watching... or opened itself up to SCCA or open track days, I'd be more interested in keeping it alive.

Honestly, I am neither here nor there. I don't go to the Mile for any reason, so I won't be too upset if it goes away (actually, it'll be nice to get some sleep on the days they would be racing or practicing- I'm not complaining by any means, it was here first). On the other hand, I can understand how some people may want to keep it open, because they like watching ARCA or Craftsman Truck or IRL.

[lordairgtar]

I had been the DJ for Drive The Mile, and last event they decided to cut the cost of the DJ and found some guy in a car club who would do it free. Tretow, the promotions guy at the Milwaukee Mile said there just wasn't money to hire a DJ. If they can't afford the 150 beans I was charging, and the attitude displayed toward the Giuffres is as stated above, I think they are purposely trying to kill it.

[HITMAN]

Doyle sucks, and anybody that votes for him in this next election should have to pay the extra taxes for those of us that don't. And then GDIAF.

[That_Guy]

Doyle sucks, and anybody that votes for him in this next election should have to pay the extra taxes for those of us that don't. And then GDIAF.
this guy is forcing big business out of this state by making them report there profits from other states. that means not only do they get taxed on one building and profits in another state but then he wants them to pay taxes on them here.. that fuck stick .

meh im jim doyle im not going to raise taxes on you if you get a welfare check but everybody who works there fucking tail off to make there life something worth living can just suck it.

you know why people move and businesses are leaving this state. because its not business friendly and its taxes are throught the roof. yet we some how cant find a way to balance the fucking budget.

[1320PNY]

Let's just focus on the real issues here...

We need a train that runs from Milwaukee to Chicago. That's the save-all for WI.

http://www.amtrakhiawatha.com/

And we can build it right where the current one is so we won't have to fix any roads or save any major businesses from moving outside the state. We can just have all the tax paying businesses move to IL and then commute!

WTF? Anybody but Doyle! I don't own a home in WI for a reason. Can't say I'll stick it out if he isn't dethroned soon!

[Exitspeed]

If the Mile offered something worth watching... or opened itself up to SCCA or open track days, I'd be more interested in keeping it alive.



I agree with this. Back in the Team Rush days (when things were actually still fun) I helped design the courses that we had for the autoX events there.

The problem is the infield track was really beat to shit. I had to actually change cones around to accommodate the pot holes so people didn't jack their cars up.

Over all though it was a blast going from the infield to the oval and back.

They should allow SCCA or WAI to have events there to generate more money and actually put the track to use more regularly.

[nismodave]

A damn shame...I grew up watch USAC races when i was a kid at the Mile.

[Beagle]

Let the track die.

[Rocket Power]

Doyle sucks, and anybody that votes for him in this next election should have to pay the extra taxes for those of us that don't. And then GDIAF.Same could be said for the last election, it's not like everyone didn't know what he was about.

[Gregor]

Typical Doyle shit. My late Grandfather was in charge of the pits at the Mile many many moons ago. But it is a wake up call to be more active in your local government. If a racetrack like the Mile goes when will they axe GLD, Road America, and Slinger. I am betting within my life time.

http://www.scottwalker.org/?main

[Rocket Power]

If a racetrack like the Mile goes when will they axe GLD, Road America, and Slinger. I am betting within my life time.
They aren't on gov't property are they?

[SSDude]

Originally Posted by Gregor View Post
If a racetrack like the Mile goes when will they axe GLD, Road America, and Slinger. I am betting within my life time.

They aren't on gov't property are they?

This speaks to the majority of the problem. Being a government owned property creates many problems/obstacles that a privately owned race track doesn't have to deal with.
Government generally can't move at the speed of business and bureaucrats can't understand what business needs to survive.

[jbiscuit]

its doomed...really too bad

[pOrk]

Doyle = tool

I am not a fan of Nascar, but if they let the Mile die it will sit their abandoned and hurt the image of the community even more then its hurting now. Pretty soon Stallis is going to be nothing but the low income sister of Milwaukee

[Flicktitty]

i agree that they need to allow more sanctions into the track/grounds. besides the IRL and the nationwide series. 2 weekends a year they use that's it! they could run a Time atttack events there, drifting events, car shows, auto-x,scca events, etc there. it could be a weekly thing going on there.


Last year ClubFR had a driftday there and it went VERY well but this year they lost there spot cause the IRL didn't like that they used the track.

[Exitspeed]

i agree that they need to allow more sanctions into the track/grounds. besides the IRL and the nationwide series. 2 weekends a year they use that's it! they could run a Time atttack events there, drifting events, car shows, auto-x,scca events, etc there. it could be a weekly thing going on there.


Last year ClubFR had a driftday there and it went VERY well but this year they lost there spot cause the IRL didn't like that they used the track.

Yeah that event was cool. Windy, but cool.

I just can't understand why they don't try getting more organizations to use it.

[Reverend Cooper]

The amount of money wanted in taxaition also by the state is killing the track also,Doyle on his own is going to kill the track. Thats most of the problem,they pay so much to the state because it is state land they cant afford to pay workers,IRL and Nascar. another Doyle Blunder.

[SSmike1]

the Milwaukee Mile, IS, the LONGEST Consecutive running Race Track, IN THE WORLD.
they started auto racing there in 1903, and with the exception of WW1 and WW2,
there have always been auto racing at, the Milwaukee Mile.

QUITE a tradition that NO ONE ELSE in the world can say,
right here in Milwaukee!

It Shows that Milwaukeeans are Passionate about the Automobile and Racing it!
:)

http://www.milwaukeemile.com/TrackHistory/earlyYears.asp

.

[07ROUSHSTG3]

we went through the same thing up here with RA. RA was "dead", and somehow they made it work. maybe someone will step up in this case, like they did for RA.

[SSDude]

we went through the same thing up here with RA. RA was "dead", and somehow they made it work. maybe someone will step up in this case, like they did for RA.

Just one major difference. RA wasn't owned by the state.

[07ROUSHSTG3]

Just one major difference. RA wasn't owned by the state.

yeah, good point .

[USMARINE1108]

It Shows that Milwaukeeans are Passionate about the Automobile and Racing it!


I hate to say it, but what happens in the next year or so will show if Milwaukeeans are passionate about the automobile and racing.

[DynoTom]

The brief and troubled tenure of Wisconsin Motorsports as the race promoter at the Milwaukee Mile is over.

On Friday, the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board announced that Claude Napier, Wisconsin Motorsports' president and CEO, had given the fair permission to seek a new racing promoter. Napier had taken over in February.

"We appreciate Mr. Napier's passion and personal investment in his efforts to keep major racing at the Milwaukee Mile," Susan Crane, chairwoman of the State Fair Park Board, said in a prepared statement. "The Fair Board will continue to make every effort to secure a new promoter to continue the tradition of racing at the Milwaukee Mile."

Napier, who did not return calls for comment, said in the statement that he made every effort to make the 2009 racing season a success. But he acknowledged that he ran into a financial shortfall that made it impossible to continue.

Last week, he told the Journal Sentinel that he was seeking new investors to keep the track running. But nothing materialized and Napier said in a statement to the fair that he was giving State Fair officials the authority to negotiate a contract with "entities interested in becoming the new promoter of the Milwaukee Mile."

Napier, formerly an executive with Milwaukee Mile Holdings, the previously unsuccessful race promoter, was deep in debt. Though he was able to stage two races in June, he still owed $1.9 million to NASCAR and an undetermined amount to the Indy Racing League for a race in May.

Whether those two racing bodies will be made whole was not yet known.

What is known is that the Fair is again in the undesirable position of trying to find some investor or investor group to take control of the Mile, pay off an undetermined number of vendors and convince NASCAR, the Indy Racing League and other race bodies to come back to Milwaukee.

At the same time, the fair has to find a revenue stream to pay for construction of the track's grandstand. A recent state audit said that, if racing ends at the Mile, the fair will be responsible for grandstand debt service. Those payments total $21.4 million as of June 30, 2008.

"We still have a historic track, and we have a great deal of history and tradition," Crane said Friday night. "We'll see if there are people interested in it."

Crane said State Fair officials would be willing to meet with qualified individuals or groups in taking over from Napier.

"Time is of the essence because sanctioning bodies are already developing schedules for the 2010 racing season," the fair's statement said.

Mike Welsh, a Milwaukee-based marketing consultant who was part of a group of bidders in 2005, said he was interested but wasn't sure if his group would put forth a proposal.

The group, which includes baseball Hall of Famer Robin Yount, dropped out of previous negotiations because of the financial terms of the contract offered, primarily a $1.8 million annual payment tied to the debt from the grandstand project. Even without that, the track needs a good year to be profitable, he said.

"With all that said, I still think it's an awesome facility that has the potential to be a healthy business," Welsh said. "But it's tough, even before we got into the current economic situation."

One of the first areas of cutbacks made by companies since the economic downturn is entertaining at events in which it has sponsorship interest. Business at the so-called hospitality village for the NASCAR races this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway was down by about one-third from last year, a spokesman said.

Welsh didn't get a strong feeling either way when he attempted to gauge NASCAR's interest in returning to the Mile if Napier's debts can be met.

"All of these conversations might be worthless," he said, "because if the sanctioning bodies aren't going to get paid I can't believe they'll keep the date."

All contractual obligations from 2009 would have to be cleared up, Indy Racing League spokesman John Griffin said, before the IRL would consider returning, regardless of who is in charge.

The IRL hopes to announce its 2010 schedule by the end of this month.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston did not respond to a request for reaction to State Fair Park's announcement.

Former race promoters Dominic and Frank Giuffre have been vocal recently about their interest in getting back into racing. The brothers promoted the track from 1983-'91.

Dominic Giuffre could not be reached for comment.

The brothers have argued that the track deserves the same kind of public support taxpayers have provided for such facilities as Lambeau Field and Miller Park.