Kansas City, Kan., makes its case for NASCAR Hall of Fame

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Posted 9:44PM on Thursday, August 18, 2005

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) NASCAR officials became visitors to the state's biggest attractions Thursday, as they worked to decide whether to add stock car racing's hall of fame to the mix. And once again, they tried to deflect talk that the Kansas City area the only Midwestern site among the five hopefuls had already been quietly selected even before NASCAR officials started their recent round of visits. ``One of the things that's kind of tough for us is that we've had a lot of great proposals,'' said George Pyne, NASCAR's chief of operations. ``Nobody's disqualified themselves, and it's going to be challenging for us to make the decision.'' Thursday's pitch from business and government leaders from both sides of the state line, including Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, included a tour of the booming Village West area that has sprung up around the 5-year-old Kansas Speedway on the western edge of the metropolitan area. The area was almost vacant eight years ago, when plans for the track were announced. It now includes a Cabela's outdoor superstore, a minor-league baseball stadium, a Great Wolf Lodge hotel and indoor water park, and other family friendly attractions that Kansas City area officials believe would augment a NASCAR hall. ``It's incredible what's gone on here when you look at where this property was before the track opened, and where this property is today,'' Pyne said. ``If you were here seven or eight years ago, you would almost be in disbelief at what's gone on here. This has been a great success story for NASCAR and for Kansas.'' Backers of the only bid outside stock car racing's traditional home in the Southeast hope that activity and the proximity of two busy interstate highways will sway NASCAR to buck tradition. ``We get 10 million visitors a year to the Village West area, and it's tourist business,'' said Joe Reardon, mayor of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan. ``It's not like a downtown location, where you have millions of people going there but a lot of them are going to work. People are coming here because of the destination attractions.'' Kansas City, Kan., is contending against Atlanta, Daytona, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., and Richmond, Va. The round of site visits will conclude with a visit to Richmond next week, and NASCAR has said it hopes to select the winning site by the end of the year. ``We're not naive,'' Kansas Speedway president Jeff Boerger said. ``We know it's going to be tough.'' The other cities have played up tradition, and in Atlanta's case, size. Kansas City touts itself as ``North America's Infield'' and says its central location and new-market status represent the future of the sport. Pyne acknowledged that the proposed site's proximity to two busy interstate highways could help draw casual visitors. ``Maybe they're stopping by, and they look over and say, 'Oh, there's the NASCAR Hall of Fame. That's pretty cool,''' he said. ``I know myself, if I were anywhere close to Springfield, Mass., I'd probably go to the Basketball Hall of Fame.'' Financing for the $100 million project, which would feature a six-story wall of cars visible from the nearby interstates, has not yet been determined. ``There are a variety of options available,'' said Bob Marcusse, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas City Area Development Council, which is leading the area's bid. Several bonding options are available, including special development bonds for the Village West area, and the bid has the backing of state government. Pyne declined to say how much money NASCAR would put into the project. ``As a private company, we typically don't get into the terms and conditions of our business relations with anyone,'' he said. (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)