December 6, 2000
The Tooele County Commission yesterday approved a long-term land lease
to a private group planning to build a major new motorsports facility
near Tooele. The land, which is part of the $18 million Deseret Peak
Recreation Complex, will be the home to the new Bonneville International
Raceway. Developers of the project, the Utah Motorsports Group, plan to
build an internationally accredited race facility that will host world
class events such as open-wheel Indy and Cart cars, AMA Superbike races,
IMSA, NASA and SCCA Pro Series sports cars, NASCAR, plus vintage
motorcycle and sports car events.
"This will be the first time such major motorsports events will be
available in Utah" according to Paul Sincock, one of the project
developers. "Motorsports events are the largest spectator sport in the
world, but up to now there have been no accredited facilities available
in Utah for such events." Developers plan to start construction next
spring with completion by the fall of 2001, however the facility will
not begin hosting race events until the spring of 2002. The facility,
located on 160 acres of land adjacent to the County's new recreation
complex, will consist of a 2.3 mile road race course and 1 mile oval
track. "We have retained a world-class racetrack design firm, Wilson
Motorsports, to ensure the facility meets all racing association design
and safety requirements and is built to the highest standards possible,"
according to Sincock.
The new facility will host only five major racing events per year,
according to Jim Colburn, co-developer of the project. "Most major race
facilities, like Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta or Sears Point, only host a
few big events per year", says Colburn. "The rest of the year the
facility is rented to driving and riding schools, local and regional
sports car and motorcycle groups, and motorsports R&D companies for
tuning and testing their vehicles," says Colburn. Out of a typical
six-month season, only 20 days will be used for major race events, with
the remaining 160+ days available to local groups and organizations.
"One of the unique attractions of the new Bonneville International
Raceway is it's proximity to the Deseret Peak recreation complex which
has baseball and soccer fields, RV facilities, indoor and outdoor
arenas, horse racing facilities, the largest outdoor swimming pool in
the state as well as a BMX and motocross course," according to Colburn.
"This is the only motorsports facility in the country where families can
attend race events while also using all the other recreation amenities
right next door."
The facility is expected to attract 120,000 spectators per year and
generate $20 million in economic value to the Tooele and Salt Lake
County areas. Many events will be televised by Speedvision or ESPN to
millions of viewers across the country and also covered by local
television and radio stations. In addition to the local Utah market,
the facility hopes to attract race fans from within a one-day's drive.
It turns out there are 57 million people within that distance, since the
facility is in the geographic center of the western United States.
|