Monday, June 12, 2000
Speedway drives cash to N.Ky.
Fans leave sleepy Sparta for rooms, restaurants to north
By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SPARTA — The rolling, vacant tracts of land sprouting “For Sale” signs along KY 35 in Gallatin County have yet to be touched by the economic potential of its vast new neighbor, the $153 million Kentucky Speedway.
But hotels and motels 30 miles away and farther, in Boone and Kenton counties, are hearing the rumblings of a mini-boom as auto racing fans head to Northern Kentucky this weekend.
This Saturday night the speedway will hold its first race, the Kroger 225 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. It is expected to draw a sellout crowd of 66,000.
Developers, investors and land speculators have not yet moved on any of the large pieces of rural property across from and near the racetrack Jerry Carroll and his partners built on what was once hundreds of acres of hilly farmland along Interstate 71.
“People are taking a wait-and-see approach,” said Harold Campbell of Cline Real tors. He has 29 acres directly across from the track listed for $1.5 million. That could be developed into a hotel, office building or small retail center, he said.
“The question down there is what financial impact will the track have on the area,” Mr. Campbell said.
“Nobody has a crystal ball, and there is some hesitation from developers because building something down there right now is going to be a bit of a gamble.
“No one is quite sure what to expect. This whole concept is all new to everybody around here.”
Construction of hotels, restaurants or other businesses has not reached Sparta, even though the speedway opens this weekend.
So with few places to stay and eat in what is still largely a country setting, thousands
of the racing fans will likely patronize the hotels, motels, restaurants, stores and other attractions located in nearby Northern Kentucky.
“The speedway is going to be super for Northern Kentucky,” said Tom Caradonio, president of the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau in Covington.
“There aren't many places to stay in Gallatin County, and we have a cluster of hotels and motels just 20 minutes or so away in Richwood, Florence, Fort Mitchell and on in to Covington,” he said. “We also have the restaurants and other attractions, like the Newport Aquarium, that are going to make the speedway fans want to stay in Northern Kentucky.”
??Hotel rooms in Carrollton, Ky., about 15 miles southwest of the speedway, are already nearly full for this weekend, and the limited-service hotels in Florence and Richwood are filling up fast, said Jim Willman, the vice president of the Drawbridge Inn in Fort Mitchell and the president of the chairman of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
“We're a full service hotel and we're going to fill up after a lot of the limited-service hotels are booked,” Mr. Willman said. “But we are starting to get reservations from speedway fans, and what's great is they usually come in a day or two before the race or event and stay a day or maybe more afterwards.”
State tourism officials say that once racing fans come to the area and become familiar with it, they'll be more apt to book longer stays on their future visits to the speedway.
“The speedway is going to be a magnet, like the (Newport) Aquarium,” said Christa Bunnell, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Tourism Cabinet.
“Attractions like the speedway bring in tourists and tourism dollars, but also development and other projects,” she said. “Look at the hotels and other projects being built near the aquarium. That's going to happen with the speedway as well.”
More than 1 million people visited the riverfront aquarium during its first full year of operation, shattering initial estimates of about half a million visitors.
Hotels in Northern Kentucky have reported substantially more business since the aquarium opened. A new hotel is planned to be built on Newport's riverfront and a project featuring movie theaters, stores and nightlife is being built adjacent to the aquarium.
Closer to the speedway Forrest Berkshire has opened the Edge of Speedway, an 83-acre camping and parking facility. Mr. Berkshire is charging $10 to $20 a day for camping and will operate shuttles to and from the track on race day.
Mike and Lois Spenlau of Taylor Mill are preparing the campground they are building on what once was a 200-acre farm they own in Gallatin County.
“We've got about 15 or 20 reservations so far for the race, but the phone has been ringing and we expect to get more,” Mrs. Spenlau said last Friday.
“We actually have about double the bookings” for the July 8 concert with Metallica, Kid Rock and Korn at the speedway, she said.
“We're happy. We know that once the speedway really gets going and people know about it, we'll be in good shape with a campground not far from there,” Mrs. Spenlau said.
That's what Mr. Campbell is hoping for.
The property he has listed is one of six large parcels that are within eyesight of the track and currently on the market with other real estate firms.
“This property is absolutely going to sell,” Mr. Campbell said. “This is a dynamite site. We're at ground zero of what is going to be a lot of development associated with the speedway.”
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