Nascar racetrack planned for Fort Erie

Members of the McGuinty Ontario International Investment team returned from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, in October with funding for a major motor-sport racetrack in Fort Erie, south of Niagara Falls.

Chippawa residents Mason and Jesse, an auto racer and graduate of one of the top racing engineering schools in the United Kingdom, have been on the front lines from the beginning.

In fact, their investor has already spent $5 million on land costs, and to complete a variety of studies including environmental, sound and traffic assessments.

Fort Erie Mayor Doug Martin, general manager of the town’s Economic Development and Tourism Corp Jim Thibert, and Ontario’s minister of economic development and trade Sandra Pupatello reported that an investment consortium led by Kuwaiti Islamic investment bank Bayt Al Mal Investments has purchased 623 acres in Fort Erie where it will build the complex.

The one-mile oval track will accommodate several racing options, including a 2.5-mile road course, along with seating for 65,000, expandable to 100,000. Situated between Bowen Road and Gilmour Road exits, it would be well placed for American visitors, plus tourists to Niagara Falls and the Fort Erie Slots and Racetrack.

“The region will receive a huge shot-in-the-arm through increased economic development and tourism,” Peter Partington, Niagara Regional Chairman, told the Niagara Falls Review.

Construction of the facility is no guarantee of inclusion in the famed NASCAR circuit, since tracks exist across the U.S. waiting for a turn. But projections include fulltime employment for 80, plus part-time jobs for another 2,500, and $150 million to $200 million per year for the local economy.

The $200 million project will create about 1,200 jobs during construction of over the next two years, with a potential opening date in 2010. TBE