Aurora – When asked what the city is best known for, City Councilman Ryan Frazier paused for a few seconds, then said: “affordable housing?”
Cheap housing isn’t a bad thing, but it’s just not the kind of thing that puts you on the map.
Now a 75,000-seat NASCAR raceway? That’s a different story.
“Aurora is in need of an identity,” Frazier said. “When you combine a property like Fitzsimons with a sports attraction like NASCAR, there is no other choice than to propel Aurora to the forefront of Colorado cities.”
With news that Aurora is one of two cities under consideration for a racetrack – Commerce City also is in play – some officials believe it is imperative it land in Aurora for the sake of the city’s identity.
The city of 300,000 has been in the shadow of Denver for most of it existence, but that is changing, officials said.
Aurora already will be home to one of the best medical campuses in the region, with the move by the University of Colorado Hospital, the Veterans Affairs hospital and The Children’s Hospital to the Fitzsi- mons campus.
A racetrack the city could call its own could cement that reputation.
“It’s the kind of thing you have to have to say where you are as a city,” Councilwoman Molly Markert said. “Other cities have the Statue of Liberty or a convention center. Aurora doesn’t have that kind of place to go. It would mark us on the map as a place to be.”
This isn’t the first time Aurora has tried to find itself.
Less than two years ago, officials considered building a baseball stadium for a minor-league farm team but the numbers didn’t add up and the site was all wrong. And even then, it was still minor-league.
But a racetrack would be major-league, officials said.
Well, maybe.
That’s what the city of Fontana, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles, thought when the California Speedway opened there 10 years ago.
But race operators don’t even use the city’s name when promoting it now, said Mark Mayuga, Fontana’s special operations manager.
It’s usually the California Speedway in Los Angeles, or Southern California or even San Bernardino, the county where it lies.
“The racetrack has virtually done nothing for Fontana,” Mayuga said.
Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer said it is too early in the process to gauge the benefits of the racetrack.
“Certainly it could be very exciting, but at this point we’re still waiting to see a proposal so we can’t be sure how serious they are about either site,” Tauer said.
International Speedway Corp. is bringing at least $90 million and the promise of a long-term commitment to the track.
If it chooses Aurora, ISC would have to come up with a way around a city provision that limits the number of incentives Aurora can offer. ISC could need up to $150 million in incentives.
And then it would have to secure the property from the landowner.
While there is still a lot of wooing to do, some Aurora officials believe it’s well worth it, and a must for the city if it ever wants to stand on its own.
“It is essential that Aurora rise to the level of a great city,” Frazier said. “This track could do that.”
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
