18 Sep 09

Arizona Motorsports Park wins court battle
Cars will race again at controversial track, owner’s attorney says.

More info via link

http://www.westvalleyview.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=35311

I don’t know what the real reasoning behind closing the track but it’s a real shame for a long list of reasons.

#1 AMA racing and other race organizations could come to this sate and with it a whole lot of money to dump off into Litchfield park’s community and CREATE JOBS in the area.

#2 All of the race fans and racers in the state could spend money here in Arizona versus other states.

#3 The city of Phoenix could help promote roadracing on racetracks instead of our city streets that kill so many people every year.

#4 it would give familys something they could do together rather than Jr. playing video games all day on his X box.

I would guess that the resident’s making the complaint about the Racetrack, havn’t lost a loved one to a motor vehichle related death regaurdless if the person were at fault or just walking on the sidewalk minding there own business.

They have no Idea the importance of this track.

motorsports will be here long after we are all gone. lets keep it safe for generations to come.

J. Weir
Scottsdale AZ
Track Marshall
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Just goes to show what a bunch of old hags and golfers will do. No doubt those folks at the adjacent course had some say in the tracks demise. Too bad they are to old to realize facilities like this help to prevent reckless driving and street racing.

I was out in the area on my MX bike the other weekend and had to peer through the chainlink fence at what looks like a nice place. Wish i would have had a chance to ride it!

? – is there no chance of “limited” reopen.. special events? DB requirements on vehicles?

They don’t want us racing in the street and at the same time take away safe places to do it.

What a joke the Maricopa County Board of Stupidvisors are.

Regarding Ms. Sparacino, realize that many more people besides Mr. Maloney were affected by the closing of AMP. It provided a SAFE atmosphere for all motorsports enthusiasts do enjoy their costly investments.

Especially with an Airforce Base Adjacent to it! AMP was FAR from this quiet edge of town you speak of!

An area with land abutting a major population is fair game for real estate development that provides for the highest and best use of the land…real estate 101.

And, Race tracks don’t happen over night. LOTS of planning and debating, redrawing, achitects, lawyers, etc have to go before a city council before somthing of this magnitude is built. ALWAYS check back for at least a YEAR of City Council minutes before pinning your future on Quietude outside a large metro area.

If you are on the outskirts of a major population area, and I believe you must be, then you MUST expect your ‘quiet country home’ to be Encroached upon.

It is the very people who move to the edge of major metropolitan areas who scream loudest when ‘progress’ inches toward them…why? because they expect things to stay the way they are and nothing does!

If you wanted a Quiet country home then you should have moved WELL away from Metropolitan areas.

After all, they don’t built race tracks in the middle of nowhere, they build them on the edge of where life happens, why? Because that’s where the money is. No money, no race track…let that be your guide when you move the next time, IF you are able to sell…when you expect all the city conveniences moments away or at worse, an hours drive, but you don’t want the city coming to your door.

Also, what happens to real estate in Texas and elsewhere has been in the news a lot over the last 3-4 years as highest and best use decides what is the highest and best use of the earth under your feet. YOU may think a little spread of land with a new brick home is perfect for you…but the city KNOWS that little bit of land between you and that major population area is PERFECT for Revenue!

If you have pinned your hopes, dreams and future on this move to the Quite Country but didn’t do due diligence, then you have NO reason to complain…with real estate being the single largest investment a person makes, they really should spend a LOT of time learning about Location, Location, Location.

Its not that I think racetracks shouldn’t be allowed anywhere…but build them where residential housing isnt there already! It seems to me already existing housing should over ride someone coming in after the fact and building something that would lower property values and create a lot of noise! Don’t allow them in a area of residential housing that already exist…

I have to tell you, we are not happy about this one being built and hope it will not happen! Texas has one of these already in Cesson, Texas…less than a 2 hour drive from here…

Its easy to say let them build it.. when its not your home and your property value that will suffer from it!

The builder says this is a life long dream,,,surely ONE mans dream shouldn’t over ride the dreams of MANY…. that were here first! Pick another spot without homes…This is turning our dreams into a nightmare!

Thank You….

In the hearings – noise was only the first issue of complaint. But when AMP took it upon themselves to conduct extensive, independent sound level tests (at their own expense) it was found that the ambient noise levels in the surrounding communities was higher than that generated by the track!

This didn’t slow down AMP’s attackers, who then turned 90 degrees and said that it wasn’t the sound level that was the problem, but rather the ‘quality of sound’ (whatever the bleep that means). When that issue was addressed, their argument changed to the issue of proper building permits not being obtained. As each argument was countered they’d come up with two more complaints to replace them. The pattern… no matter what AMP did, no matter how far they bent over backwards – the only way the community would be appeased would be if they disappeared.

Since then – at the time of this writing – the land developers that formed the spine of the assault on AMP have finished constructing homes butting right up to the track (and the air force base as well). Think they didn’t step plans up a notch in anticipation of AMP’s 2nd permit app? Think again.

I had the opportunity to run & race that track a few times (motorcycling), and it was the best thing to happen to motorsports enthusiasts in the area for as long as I can remember. But thanks to greedy, unscrupulous land developers, a spineless and incompetent planning & zoning commission, and a handful of residents with nothing more to do than cause trouble and bitch about gout… we lose it all. And the owner – Maloney – loses alot more. I know he put at least 6 million into the initial construction of the track. I’d hate to think how much money he has into it now, combined with legal fees.

So very sad.