Published October 2004

ISC selects north county
for NASCAR track

SCBJ Staff

The International Speedway Corp. has selected a site in north Snohomish County as the preferred location for a regional motorsports speedway, local government officials announced in late September.

"We are excited about being selected and look forward to working with (ISC subsidiary) Great Western Sports to make our proposal a reality,” Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon said. “This is a unique opportunity, but also a major responsibility to ensure that the project is right for the city, county, state and Great Western Sports. I am eager to begin working with state and local officials on the proposed project.”

Reardon and Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall announced ISC's decision during a news conference Sept. 27. The preferred speedway site encompasses approximately 850 acres in Marysville and Snohomish County south of 172nd Street NE; west of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks; and east of Smokey Point Boulevard. The proposed track would seat about 75,000 fans.

Lt. Governor Brad Owen has scheduled an Oct. 6 meeting of the Legislative Committee on Economic Development and International Relations, which he chairs. The committee and legislative leaders have been invited to hear the details of a proposal that Snohomish County and the city of Marysville will present to Great Western Sports to site a major motorsports facility in Marysville.

It is anticipated that the proposal, and a public/private partnership for its financing, will be before the legislators beginning this fall and introduced during the regular legislative session in January, the county said.

Reardon, with Mayors Kendall and Margaret Larson of Arlington, said they will be renewing their request to Owen for a public work session to be held in Snohomish County at a later date.

“We want legislators to be able to hear from proponents and opponents on this issue,” Reardon said.

The north-county site was one of a handful of Pacific Northwest sites competing for an ISC track, which features NASCAR races; other sites were located in Kitsap County and the Portland, Ore., area.

“We are very thankful that we had several good sites in the Pacific Northwest from which to choose,” said Lee Combs, senior vice president of corporate development for ISC. “We appreciate the hard work done by the proponents of all the sites, and we’re looking forward to working with state and local officials on this important project.”

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