Moses Lake supports NASCAR

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake City Council wants a NASCAR racetrack in Grant County.

"This has kind of been on the back of my mind for some time," Mayor Ron Covey said.

If a track were to come to Grant County he suspects it would be located in between Moses Lake and George.

The $368 million track requires 350 acres of land.

International Speedway Corp., (ISC), abandoned efforts to locate the track in Kitsap County.

The track wasn't wanted there due to heavy traffic congestion, Covey said. They are now looking for a new location in Washington.

ISC plans to put up $186 million to fund the track with hopes of the contracted city to provide the additional $180 million for construction of the speedway.

The track is enticing to the city because it can bring in outside tourism dollars to be spent in the city that would have been spent somewhere else if not for the track.

"This might be a really great place to bring NASCAR," Councilmember Dick Deane said.

Councilmember Jon Lane asked where the $180 million would come from.

The mayor said he didn't know.

A bill before the state would have provided construction money through bonds, paid for by taxes generated during use of the track. Without a host location, the bill stalled in the state legislature.