Geeze, I’m starting to get the feeling that our city’s white trash population is under attack. First the Blazers fold, and now it’s being reported that the State Fair Speedway is closing. Before you know it, they city’s going to demolish all the Frisbee golf courses, too.
The state fairgrounds has likely seen its last motor race because $400,000 in electrical repairs must immediately be made before racing could be safely conducted next season, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said Monday night…
State Fair Speedway completed its 55th season of racing last summer. The decision was made long ago that it would remain open as long as racing could be safely conducted, but no more capital dollars would be invested in it, Cornett said.
“The track has served us well for 50 years, but it’s not the best place for racing the next 50 years,” Cornett said.
“The decision has long been made we were not going to invest more capital dollars in the track because of the wishes of the neighborhoods around it.”
Track promoter Lanny Edwards is not being offered a renewal on his lease. Edwards thinks the electrical issues are a smokescreen.
“They have dreamed all of this up in my opinion,” Edwards said. “They’ve been trying to get rid of that grandstand for quite some time. I think it’s a bad deal that they are doing the racing community this way.”
Edwards contends State Fair Board officials and city leaders simply want to abolish State Fair Speedway and replace it with something more profitable.
If you have a mullet, seven teeth and a KATT sticker on your Camaro, I guess this is pretty sad news. Otherwise, who really cares?
I think I went to the races at the fairgrounds once. It was about as exciting as watching NewsNow 53 reruns all day. The only difference is that when you finish watching NewsNow 53, you don’t smell like dirt, cigarettes and Busch Light.
That being said, I will miss the sounds of the races. I live a good four miles from the Fairgrounds, and on Saturday nights, I could still hear the cars racing from the backyard patio. I’ll miss those oddly peaceful sounds. I’ll also miss telling European fashion models that the sounds were from one of Steve Lackmeyer’s rambunctious motorcycle gangs, and that they should all just drink more and spend the night in the safety and comfort of my peaceful home.
Let me tell you, Steve Lackmeyer and motorcycle gangs sure do scare people.
I wouldn’t mind this so much but we’ve pretty much given the whole thing to the “horsey” people already, they’ll probably put more horse crap here to.
The comments over at newsok.com are getting pretty vicious. Makes me cringe to read the comments that our local websites generate.
That being said, if the market for short track racing is there, someone will build a new track. Just because something is there and has been there for a while does not give it a license to permanent existence. I say that as a historian, so I know the value of the past. I don’t think some future archaeologist will survey this site and behold the remnants of the State Fair Speedway with awe and wonder!
Well, OKC wants to be a “big league city” and the racing community wants a race track. Time for Cornett to call NASCAR!
Note: I don’t care as I don’t watch racing. My money won’t be going towards any race track.
“If you have a mullet, seven teeth and a KATT sticker on your Camaro, I guess this is pretty sad news. Otherwise, who really cares?”
I’ll be laughing out loud at this for about a week.
If the track was profitable and there have been no real problems (crime, etc), I see no reason to close it. I know, there’s the whole electric thing. I’m not sold on that. I’d like to see some spec proof. Some people need to remember that OKC is not the leading bastion of culture that is wanted. We were built by the same people who appear on peopleofwalmart.com, lest we forget our roots.
This is redneckism.
I saw my very first concert there. Metallica (when they were good) with Alice in Chains!! But Layne was sick, so AiC dropped out. The natural choice to take their place was…Candlebox? FTW. I was 17. It ruled.
I lived a few miles away from this place and honestly, my last time there was for a Honeymoon Suite concert. I could care less about losing the roundy-rounds.
OKC could put in a real dragstrip though but it would have to be as good as Texas Motorplex and we could also have a nice NECKCAR track but where would you put any of it?
NASCAR? I’m not a big racing fan, but maybe that could be the centerpiece of MAPS4.
SHIT!! What are the Neighbors brother going to do?
Furthermore, with the recent passing of Oral Roberts and the closing of “the track” at the fairgrounds, I would say, in the past 24 hours, Oklahoma just got a little better.
There’s a nice strip of land on Grand Boulevard between N. Penn and Western that would be perfect for the Speedway…
I think it’s way past due, they mow that sh*t hole under. If you want to progress OKC, all aspect’s must be addressed. Why couldn’t OKC support F1 (open wheel cockpit) or super bike racing. I keep hearing about how people on this site want to upscale the city and banish the rednecks. There was some money spent locally to support the racing that happened at the dirt bowl…maybe a couple of hundred thousand a year. Why not try to get higher end racing here in our quasi-great city. Such cities as Toronto, Edinborough, Madrid, Isle of Mann, Seattle are capable. How about 15 to 30 million dropped in a weeks worth of events that are normally associated in concert along with the races. Hell to the yeah, sign me up for some euro trash tail. Gig Gah Dee…. these aren’t just selfish wants. I’m trying to look out for you broke wanna-be snobs as well! That’s right, I’m a giver.
“Geeze, I’m starting to get the feeling that our city’s white trash population is under attack.”
Would that be the same white trash that fixes your plumbing, fixes your car, fixes the street you drive to work on, grows/raises the food you eat, serves you your food.
With out “our city’s white trash population” you would; crap in the woods, walk to work on a dirt road, and probably starve to death.
cjeight: Yes, it is. That’s why I brought up that point. I need these people to do the jobs I don’t want to do!
Chad, I was at that concert and the whole reason I went was to see AIC and didnt find out about Layne until I was standing in line to get in. I heard he went to rehab that day no joke. Suicidal Tendencies was opening act as well and they sucked ass. I dont like Metallica all that much but it was cool when Cantrell came out and jammed with them. p.s. to hell with the speedway I for one will not lose an ounce of sleep over it being gone.
I’ve always been a proponent of development of Okc because it gives everyone in the metroplex a richer environment to experience. I supported the construction of Remington Park even though I didn’t think it was sustainable, never been to a horse race. I supported Brick Town & the Brick Town Ball park, I am a baseball fan. I supported the improvements to bring the NBA team to Okc even though I don’t like Pro basketball or it’s spoiled over paid players.
The horse track was a bad investment, Brick Town & the ball park has been a good investment. I can’t help but wonder how long people will pay $45/ticket for the cheap seats at basketball games, for that reason I feel the jury is still out on the NBA thing.
55 years of successful operation I believe is a pretty good track record for the tax payers of Okc. Nothing that has ever been at the fair grounds can compare with that record, not even the horse shows. I don’t understand why it’s being closed … this makes no sense at all. The people of Okc just voted in a 800 million dollar Maps tax, $400k can’t go for repairs to an existing long time entertainment winner?
I’ve heard several people say they should just move the track further away from downtown Okc. The bill to build a new track would be in the 10’s of millions of dollars if not a hundred million dollars, does anyone really think Okc will buy into that idea. The Okc racing community is not that well sponsored, it is doubtful that a comparable track will ever be built. This will effectively end organized motor racing in Okc.
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@cjeight said “Would that be the same white trash that fixes your plumbing, fixes your car, fixes the street you drive to work on, grows/raises the food you eat, serves you your food.”
I think @cjeight is confusing “white trash” with “mexicans.”
My my we are feeling self-righteous aren’t we? Pass a little 1 penny sales tax and suddenly we are banishing rednecks (read as ALL of us to the other 99.8% of the WORLD BTW….) The truth is that the OKC business community will support ANYTHING that makes money. That is the nature of free enterprise, may PT Barnum rest in peace!
If Patrick wants to start a midget mud wrestling league, and people come–Gr8t! Make enough money and Mayor Mick will be ringside with a smile! I went to exactly 1 Blazer game with some friends in a suite and we might has well have had the whole Ford Center to ourselves D–E–A–D!
I don’t understand why Remington doesn’t make $$$. Casino/Horses/Booze this should work in OKC or anywhere for that matter–must be REALLY poorly managed? These racing people can move their track to Moore and I bet they will find an audience.
One of my fondest memories growing up around 36th and May (north)was every Friday night listening to the races. I don’t know why people were surprised. The City and Fair Board have been trying to close that place for years. There have been complaints about the noise forever. It’s like moving next to a railroad track and then complaining about trains. Interesting who sits on the Fair Board….
http://www.okstatefairpark.com/documents/08OSFBoardAppointments.pdf
i love the fairgrounds. 4-8 members of my family and friends meet up there a few times a year, drink some beers, and we all pick drivers on each race and bet a quarter on who will win. it’s a lot of fun and i’ll be sad to see it go. my grandpa raced up there for several years, and my brother raced up there as well. i’d classify us as a bit unrefined at times, but certainly not rednecks.
i can see why it doesnt make money. only 500 or so people are there every week, and its old and dirty (granted it does run on a shoestring budget). but i don’t see that being a reason to shut it down. by my calculations, the canal itself in bricktown doesn’t ‘make’ jack sh*t; in fact, it costs a lot of effin money to run. and considering how much tax dollars were used to get the Thunder here (and build the Ford Center), i’d say that thing ain’t broken even yet either. thing is, the SFS ain’t for yuppies, and therefore a lot of people don’t want it.
dirt track racing can make money. there are a lot of places that do well (the devil’s bowl in texas is nice). hell, even the track in lawton has been full every time i’ve been there. but some money needs to be spent on renovations for the SFS. as far as the neighborhoods go, suck it up. i have low flying planes from will rogers making noise in my neighborhood 24/7, and i’m not trying to get that place shut down.
maybe this will give the Neighbors boy a chance to get clean. and by that i mean he absolutely does not do cocaine before each race. i’m simply talking about clean as in ‘get all of the mud off of his car’ clean.
and in response to “These racing people can move their track to Moore and I bet they will find an audience.”….NNNOOOOOOOOOO!
“Furthermore, with the recent passing of Oral Roberts…Oklahoma just got a little better.”
What a small and petty thing to say.
Remington Park IS making money since the casino went in. Otherwise nobody would have bought it from its bankrupt parent company Magna. The Zoo Trust owns the land.
we really need to keep the track or us rednecks will be showing up where you are at say it can’t happen look at the white house part crashers there is some of our folk but on a serious note the speedway is a great place for family and friends to have a inexpensive night with the family