Tax relief sought for racetrack
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
The president of the Hawai'i Motorsports Center is asking lawmakers for a $50 million tax credit to help finance a new motorsports complex that would replace Hawai'i Raceway Park.
Scott Morifuji • The Honolulu Advertiser
The lease for the existing racetrack in Campbell Industrial Park is set to expire in April 2006, putting pressure on the developer to get the support of the Legislature this session. A new racing complex in nearby Kalaeloa would cost an estimated $250 million to $300 million and would take five years to complete, although some races could be held there sooner.
Motorsports fans rallied at the Capitol yesterday to show support for racing. The lease for a racetrack in Kapolei will expire in April 2006.
"If we don't get this thing done we're going to have three new racetracks: H-1, H-2 and H-3," said Mike Oakland, president of the Hawai'i Motorsports Center, who has wanted to expand at Kalaeloa for more than a decade.
The tax credit would go to investors but would have to be offset by state tax revenue generated by the construction and operation of the new racing complex. Bills that would authorize the tax credit are moving through the state House and Senate, despite opposition from the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and the state Department of Taxation.
Some lawmakers have also said that the state should not provide a tax credit to a single developer or project. "It doesn't make sense that state taxpayers should be partnered with any particular project," said Rep. Glenn Wakai, D-31st (Salt Lake, Tripler). "That's not an economic spark. That's a state giveaway."
Wakai also said that a racing complex could conflict with the state's attempt to lure an aircraft carrier to the former Navy base at Barbers Point. But motorsports fans said a world-class racing complex could attract Mainland and international attention and appeal to Hawai'i's thriving racing community.
The Honolulu Police Department supports the project as an outlet for drivers who might otherwise be tempted to test themselves on the state's highways and roads. Street racing has been linked to several deadly crashes in recent years.
Several hundred racers and motorsports fans held a rally at the state Capitol yesterday, with everything from go-carts to dragsters on display. Many said they are worried about the future of motorsports on O'ahu.
"We don't want to lose our track," said Joe Palimo'o, an ironworker from Kapolei who brought his wife and children to the rally. "We just want to see the racing continue."
David McClain, who helps set up the dragstrip at Hawai'i Raceway Park, said the large turnout at the rally showed the support for racing. Drivers honked their horns, gunned their engines and waved shaka signs as they cruised around the Capitol, while others parked their tricked-out cars or motorcycles on the Capitol grounds.
"If you don't give them a place to come and race, you give them no choice but to go to the roads," McClain said.
Reach Derrick DePledge at 525-8070 or ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.
