een indoor ovaal ????

[Raceboy]

Pittsburgh's indoor track put on hold
By The Associated Press
December 14, 2001
2:18 PM EST (1918 GMT)


PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Plans to build the world's first indoor auto racetrack have been put on hold after a developer failed to secure funding for the $400 million project.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Jim Roddey said the slowing economy and diminishing sponsorship within the auto racing industry are to blame.

``This is a very difficult market to finance something new and untried,'' Roddey said. ``Sponsorships in racing have been dropping off very dramatically,'' he said.

County officials had given an exclusive lease to Brant Motorsports of Morgantown, W.Va., for 145 acres of land near the Pittsburgh International Airport, but had said they would not likely renew the lease if funding was not approved by year's end.

Bob Brant, vice president of Brant Motorsports, has not requested an extension of the lease, Roddey said.

Brant and his brother, Ted, announced plans in late 1999 for the all-weather 1-mile oval track with room for 60,000 spectators. But efforts to complete the planned 2.6-million-square-foot building about 15 miles northwest of Pittsburgh have been a rough ride almost from the starting line.

County officials and the Federal Aviation Administration were slow to approve an environmental assessment of the racetrack. The company had hoped to get approval in October last year, but had to scuttle the official groundbreaking three times until officials signed off on it in April.

The Brants had promised to pay for most of the $400 million facility, but Ted Brant, the driving force behind the track, died of a heart attack June 28, 2000.

The project had also suffered projected cost overruns, easily outpacing the initial cost estimate of $300 million.

Bob Brant would not comment on the announcement, but in a written statement, said he has not given up on the project.

``We're hopeful that an adequate financing package can be assembled that would allow us to move forward with the county,'' he said. ``We at Brant Motorsports are committed to seeing that this project reaches victory lane.''

Plans for the track included a sophisticated air control system to remove exhaust and a noise dampeners that would allow fans to remain in the same building with roaring engines pulling cars along in excess of 150 mph.

Pittsburgh is seen as one of NASCAR's largest untapped markets, with a loyal fan base that routinely drives hundreds of miles to watch racing at southern tracks.