ISC eyes Meadowlands, NJ site

UPDATE "The process is purely exploratory at this point," reports the Bergen Record newspaper on June 13th.

"Following our decision to discontinue speedway development on Staten Island (N.Y.), we've begun exploring a number of sites, including the Meadowlands. No specific proposals have been offered or received, and we don't have a predetermined timetable for concluding our potential site evaluation efforts in the (metro New York) region."

Sports Authority President Carl Goldberg told the Newark Star-Ledger June 13th that the meetings are "informal with no definitive proposal."

The Record said the talks were for 1.25-mile speedway around the existing one-mile horse race track. There is a far better chance that ISC will have success in the Meadowlands than in Staten Island. Access is far superior and NY Transit is planning a rail spur to the site to handle up to 10,000 passengers per hour. That plus the site is surrounded by the NJ Turnpike, Route 3 and other major highways. The entire site is a sports and entertainment complex. If there is any place ISC will gain acceptance for a race track it's in the NY Metropolitan area, it's the NJ Meadowlands.

01/05/07 ISC's Michael Printup, lead dog in the New York sled for International Speedway Corp., remains optimistic, saying Tuesday that ISC would soon start NYC 2.0 in a week or two. The goal remains intact: construct a track within a 20- to 30-mile radius of Manhattan, and persistence from Brian France and Lesa France Kennedy could ultimately prevail.

What about the New Jersey Meadowlands?

"I haven't gotten any calls from the Meadowlands, yet," Printup said. "I figured I would have by now, but haven't."

Printup said the pending defections from the Meadowlands' Continental Arena by the NBA's New Jersey Nets (to Brooklyn) and the NHL's New Jersey Devils (to Newark, N.J.) could provide NASCAR an opportunity to swoop in and replace critical lost revenue.

That's not the case, according to Bernard Spigner, a spokesman for the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority (NJSEA), which owns and operates the Meadowlands complex.

"It's hard for me to speak for the [Meadowlands] CEO. I haven't even spoken with him about NASCAR, but it's apples and oranges. The Nets' and Devils' departure will make our arena profitable. Arenas don't make money as homes of basketball and hockey teams. It's concerts and family shows — non-sporting events.

"Arenas are more profitable once teams vacate. With that said, though, we know NASCAR is a jewel among American sports and cuts across many demographics. So if Mr. France picked up the phone and called Mr. Zoffinger [NJSEA CEO George Zoffinger], they'd meet. I'm sure of that."

Printup might just do that.

"Maybe it's time I picked up the phone and gave the Meadowlands a whirl again," Printup said. "I think we have a really good chance of surviving up here." More at ESPN.com