Race park puts Atwater plans in neutral

Riverside Motorsports Park officials have instructed Merced County to cease all permit work related to their proposal to build a massive motorsports complex near Atwater. RMP also has asked the county to return money it handed over earlier this year after county officials said they wouldn't do more work on the company's behalf unless it paid up front.

Although RMP officials insist that they are not walking away from the quarter-billion-dollar project, their request, made this week, doesn't bode well for the proposal's future.

"Although we are terminating this contract, it should not be construed that we are abandoning the project at this time," RMP's vice president, Mark Melville, said in a letter delivered to the county this week and obtained by the Sun-Star on Thursday. "You should know, however, that we continue to look at alternatives to lessen the project size while not compromising the economic (benefits) to the county."

Proposed more than five years ago, the RMP project is far from breaking ground. The racing complex originally involved 1,200 acres of farmland near Castle Airport.

Earlier this month, motorsports park Chief Executive Officer John Condren issued a statement saying the company is considering scaling back its plans from an eight-track motorsports park to a four-track park about two-thirds the size of RMP's initial proposal.

Under the revised plan, the park would include an oval speedway, a road course, a drag strip and a go-kart course, Condren said in the statement.

RMP officials haven't ceased all work on the park. According to Condren's statement, they are attempting to find investors and banks to fund the project. More…..