Indian tribe wants track in Washington

Friday, March 4, 2005 | 10:52 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORT

LONGVIEW, Wash. -- The Cowlitz Indian tribe has met with International Speedway Corp. and proposed a plan to build a track for NASCAR races somewhere in the southern part of the state.

Tribal spokesman David Barnett has not publicly discussed possible sites, but any spot in south Cowlitz County would be near the tribe's proposed $400 million casino and resort in the La Center area.

"The goal is to help a distressed county -- create some economic development that would allow people to come back to work and also complement our casino in northern Clark County," Barnett, son of Cowlitz tribal chairman John Barnett and the tribe's point man on the casino project, said Thursday.

Barnett said he met Tuesday with Grant Lynch, vice president of International Speedway Corp., which is considering several potential sites in Washington and Oregon.

Lynch could not immediately be reached for comment.

Barnett plans to discuss the proposal with the tribal council during a retreat Saturday. He said it's not yet clear how the track would be financed.

At one point, ISC was considering a site near Marysville, north of Seattle. But Snohomish County and Marysville withdrew from negotiations, citing the fiscal risk to taxpayers.

ISC officials say any site chosen needs to be on at least 800 acres to accommodate a track seating 75,000, retail shops and parking.

At least 20,000 hotel rooms must be near the track.