NASCAR run out of town…
ISC bought the property for $114 million in 2004. The agreement announced Thursday is for $80 million and is scheduled to close Feb. 25, 2010. KB Marine has the opportunity to receive a $5 million credit to the sales price if the closing date occurs on or before December 31.
“We are very pleased to announce the execution of this agreement as it has been our intention to find a buyer interested in redeveloping this site to its highest and best use, which would be for port-related and logistic activities," said Brian K. Wilson, ISC’s Vice President of Corporate Development.
Before abandoning the project in 2006, ISC spent about $150 million, including $114 million for the land, $9 million for land improvements, $11 million for costs related to the development of the speedway and $16 million for capitalized interest and property taxes. ISC has spent about $25 million since then in upkeep (including addressing environmental concerns with the fill) and property taxes, ISC chief financial officer Dan Houser said.
Total net proceeds, including the tax benefit, will provide ISC approximately $110 to $115 million in incremental cash flow, the company reported.
That money will be used to further strengthen cash reserves and pay down debt, and it also could be used for the casino project at Kansas Speedway, Houser said. ISC officials are hopeful that the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board will decide at its Dec. 1 meeting to award the casino contract to ISC and partner Penn National Gaming.
ISC officials want to build the casino first and then later add in a hotel, and that has caused some concern from the lottery commission. Houser said there are enough hotel rooms currently in the area, and that not having the hotel in the first phase would not result in the area losing out on lodging taxes nor decrease activity in the casino.
If ISC is awarded the casino, it has pledged to petition NASCAR to have two Sprint Cup weekends at Kansas Speedway starting in 2011. ISC has not indicated which of its tracks would lose a Cup date for the realignment. scenedaily.com