Friday, April 07, 2000
Adult club to open near speedway
Ky. Speedway developer riled
BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SPARTA — A combination adult entertainment club and restaurant will open later this month at the Interstate 71/Ky. 35 interchange here. That has Jerry Carroll, developer of the nearby Kentucky Speedway, more than a little upset.
But the general manager of the topless entertainment club and restaurant said Thursdaythe entire operation will be upscale and a “positive economic influence.”
Mike Riportella, a Clermont County native who has worked in the adult nightclub business for 13 years, including a stint at Rumors in Mount Carmel, said: “This is going to be a very attractive, well-run business, definitely an upscale operation.
“We have 8,000 square feet. ... half of it will be a NASCAR-theme bar and grill called the Pit Stop, and the other half, with a separate entrance, will be an adult entertainment club called Racers.”
Both portions of the establishment will offer beer and wine.
Mr. Carroll, who spearheaded development of the $152 million Kentucky Speedway on the opposite side of I-71 from the club, said he was immediately concerned after a Gallatin County resident asked him why the speedway was promoting a strip club.
“I didn't know anything about it until this man mentioned it,” Mr. Carroll said. “I don't know who owns it or anything about it, and it definitely has nothing to do with the racetrack.”
He said the track owners and management are opposed to an adult entertainment club opening in Sparta, but not because of any effect it might have on the track.
“We know this (club) won't have any effect on our attendance or operation,” Mr. Carroll said. “But I'm embarrassed for the good citizens of Gallatin County, who have to carry this image. I don't think this is the image the county wants.
“Obviously, when you're spending $152 million on a racetrack, you don't want the first thing people see coming off I-71 to be a strip joint. And from the beginning we've emphasized a family atmosphere for the track.”
He said he thought the adult entertainment club could have a negative effect on other development in the vicinity.
“There are a lot of people who own property near the track and the interstate who have development plans, and this kind of business could lower property values,” Mr. Carroll said.
Mr. Riportella, who said the club was tentatively scheduled to open April 26, declined to identify the club's owners.
“It's a group of local people, and that's all I can say,” he said.
The property, which is visible from the interstate, is owned by Gallatin County lawyer Larry Lawrence. A secretary at his law office in Warsaw said Thursday he was on vacation and unavailable for comment.
There is no local ordinance or zoning regulation to prevent an adult entertainment business from operating in Sparta.
The city council last year considered a law to ban adult entertainment, but the ordinance was never passed.
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