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W.Va. firm plans car racetrack near airport
Wednesday, April 14, 1999 By Mark Belko, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
A Morgantown, W. Va., company appears to be close to announcing plans for development of a major auto racing track on Allegheny County-owned land near Pittsburgh International Airport.
Representatives of Brant Motorsports and Allegheny County officials are expected to re-lease details at a news conference next week, possibly as early as Tuesday.
Solicitor Kerry Fraas said yesterday that discussions between Brant and the county had been fruitful, though he cautioned that more work had to be done.
"We're still in the talking stages," he said. "We're not anywhere close to finalizing a deal."
Brant Motorsports, a marketing company involved in auto racing, confirmed last month that it was considering building a unique motor sports facility in Allegheny County.
At the time, Bob Brant, vice president of Brant Motorsports, said the company hoped to attract "world class auto racing events" to the proposed track. However, the firm has stressed the project is not affiliated with any auto racing sanctioning body, such as NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
A spokesman for Brant had little to add yesterday. He said Brant wasn't ready to release details but hoped to have an announcement "in the near future."
No specifics have emerged about the cost of the proposal, the size of the track or the amount of land that would be needed. The county owns thousands of acres of land surrounding the airport.
Fraas said the development under consideration would be almost exclusively privately funded.
"The facility that's being talked about is quite dramatic," he said.
At a meeting with Robinson commissioners Monday night, county Commissioner Mike Dawida, a candidate for county executive, said he expected to hold a news conference Tuesday to announce plans for a major development near the airport.
Dawida refused to disclose the nature of the project. He said it had nothing to do with a planned cargo development or a proposed US Airways maintenance center.
County Economic Development Director Mulugetta Birru has said Brant was one of two groups that had expressed an interest in building an auto racing track near the airport.
The other group has not been identified.
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