Two Front Range communities are taking different approaches to any proposal to bring a NASCAR-style racetrack into their city limits.
Commerce City will consider an ordinance this month that puts spending restrictions on the development of a racetrack. This is likely to be followed in the fall with an anti-racetrack proposal to be inserted into the city’s charter.
But in Aurora, every attempt is being made to be as welcoming as possible to a track.
Promoter Rocky Mountain Speedway Corp. is a subsidiary of International Speedway Corp., owner of Florida’s Daytona International Speedway and other racetracks. ISC executive Wesley Harris said last week that his group is looking at several sites in Colorado, including Aurora, although it has ruled out the initial Commerce City site.
“We are definitely interested in the Denver area,” Harris said. “We are excited about the potential there.”
But Commerce City rebuffed an attempt this year to place a speedway near one of its tonier developments.
The spending restrictions and charter amendment are attempts to shield residents who do not want the clamor of having a racetrack close to their neighborhoods, said City Councilman Jim Benson, who introduced the ordinance.
“The racetrack people have said they are no longer interested in us, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot to me,” Benson said. “At any moment, they could change their minds, so we need to protect ourselves.”
Aurora is charting a different course.
Councilman Ryan Frazier originally wanted to repeal a portion of Aurora’s charter that would have essentially blocked the city from subsidizing the racetrack’s development. Instead, Frazier said, he is working with nearby cities to make the area as attractive as possible for the NASCAR-track developer.
“I see this track as not only an Aurora track but also a Colorado track,” Frazier said.
A decision is pending on whether NASCAR is coming to the Front Range. Aurora residents hope the racing association shows up sooner and not later, Frazier said.
“Everywhere I go in Aurora, nine out of 10 people say they want to see NASCAR here,” he said.
In February, the ISC announced it was looking at two potential sites for a racetrack in Adams County – one near Commerce City’s Reunion housing subdivision and the other in Aurora near Front Range Airport.
Residents at Reunion protested loudly against the racetrack, saying the noise and dust would ruin property values and their way of life.
Benson campaigned hard against the racetrack and won a seat on the City Council in April. In the meantime, the ISC reversed course and dropped Commerce City as a spot for a racetrack.
Other sites are more suitable, said Harris, who said the objections raised by residents played only a minor role in the decision to back away from Commerce City.
“It was clear to us other locations are better suited for us,” Harris said.
The proposed ordinance would restrict any public money from being used to build a racetrack within 9 miles of a residential area in Commerce City.
Mayor Paul Natale – who is joining a majority of the council in backing the ordinance – said the measure is aimed solely at racetracks and not other businesses or sports ventures. It is scheduled for a July 16 public hearing and final vote.
“Commerce City is open for business. We want to be clear on that,” Natale said. “But we also want to make clear that putting a racetrack near homes just doesn’t make sense.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
