Council approves extra $3M for Indy track costs
City council has approved a new plan to raise the extra $3 million needed to get the Indy car race back to Edmonton.
A city report released Friday suggests $1 million could come from unidentified private sponsors, with the remaining $2 million coming from fees generated by a new 1000-stall lot to be built near the track.
The lot would satisfy a high demand for parking in the area, said Lorna Rosen, Edmonton's chief financial officer. .
"What it means is that ten months out of the year when we are not running the race, we would actually let parking happen on the paddock and the offtrack areas that will be paid for the race," Rosen said.
Rosen said a deal has yet to be signed with race promoter Octane Motorsports. She hopes that will happen in the next few days.
Earlier this month, funding constraints led city officials to announce it could not reach a deal with Octane to stage the race in 2011.
The cost of paving the track at City Centre Airport was a sticking point in negotiations. The closure of one of the runways at the airport means the track has to be moved to the site's east side.
The city earlier agreed to pay $5.5 million in sponsorship fees and $1.5 million worth of city services like police and transit.
City taxpayers had to foot $9.2 million in losses for the first two years of the last three-year contract. The result for the 2010 race has not been released but is widely believed to push the overall amount to $12 million.
The lot would satisfy a high demand for parking in the area, said Lorna Rosen, Edmonton's chief financial officer. .
"What it means is that ten months out of the year when we are not running the race, we would actually let parking happen on the paddock and the offtrack areas that will be paid for the race," Rosen said.
Rosen said a deal has yet to be signed with race promoter Octane Motorsports. She hopes that will happen in the next few days.
Earlier this month, funding constraints led city officials to announce it could not reach a deal with Octane to stage the race in 2011.
The cost of paving the track at City Centre Airport was a sticking point in negotiations. The closure of one of the runways at the airport means the track has to be moved to the site's east side.
The city earlier agreed to pay $5.5 million in sponsorship fees and $1.5 million worth of city services like police and transit.
City taxpayers had to foot $9.2 million in losses for the first two years of the last three-year contract. The result for the 2010 race has not been released but is widely believed to push the overall amount to $12 million.
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