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http://www.startribune.com/local/north/27230094.html?page=2&c=y <br />StarTribune,com <br />Page 2 of 3 <br />P &Ir <br />ut {I€ <br />ov_-r t <br />rtnbun} .£tjrn <br />NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp, while <br />unfamiliar with the corporation's proposal, <br />said the nation's largest sanctioning body of <br />stock -car racing is always looking for <br />opportunities to run its races in new <br />locations. As an example, Tharp said, the <br />7/8 -mile oval in Newton, Iowa, will get its <br />first NASCAR national touring event in 2009. <br />Tom Ryan, owner of Elko Speedway for the <br />past eight years, said he was approached to <br />buy shares in the project and declined. <br />"I don't think it's viable," said Ryan, whose <br />track hosts races in NASCAR's fifth- ranked <br />series. "I don't know what kind of races they <br />would ever expect to get there. ... I don't <br />think there is the interest [in this part of the <br />country] to support a race track for real <br />hard -core racing." <br />Economy kills venture <br />In 1991, Farnum founded Pro Motorsports <br />out of his Brooklyn Park basement. The <br />racing merchandise business grew into a <br />multimillion- dollar venture that also <br />sponsored racers and counted a spot in the <br />Mall of America among its 13 stores in the <br />Midwest. Swings in the economy roiled the <br />business, and it eventually filed for Chapter 7 <br />(liquidation) bankruptcy last fall. <br />Even though the complex would be in Big <br />Lake Township, the neighboring city of Big <br />Lake would most likely provide sewer and <br />water services, said City Planner Katie <br />Larsen. <br />"This project is in such infancy," she said. <br />"There's been no formal application with the <br />city. ... We've seen ideas, concepts." <br />Larsen said the city has had "some internal <br />meetings" with the developers and <br />anticipates "we're going to have numerous <br />public hearings." <br />Traffic, noise are key issues <br />The two leading issues to address, Larsen <br />said, "right off the bat are traffic and noise. <br />How are we going to get people there ?" <br />Township Chairman Jim Sanford said, "We <br />have to get our public hearing with our <br />residents" as part of the approval process. <br />"They haven't presented anything to us <br />[including] if they're going to do something <br />about the traffic and the noise." <br />Larsen said a complex of this magnitude <br />would redefine the Big Lake area and give it a <br />Advertisement <br />F rin <br />http://www.startribune.com/templates/fdcp?1282320402962 <br />D <br />By <br />8/20/2010 <br />