Two race tracks in eastern Kansas are separated by 60 miles along Interstate 70, as well as a veritable chasm in one’s success and the other’s struggle.
The first, the 48,000-seat Kansas Speedway, draws thousands of NASCAR fans and has been key in transforming the western edge of Wyandotte County from windswept fields to a booming retail, entertainment and employment sector.
The other, in Topeka, is the Heartland Motorsports Park, which has performed so far below expectations that the city has to cough up $1 million a year to pay back investors.
Underpinning both projects is taxpayer assistance in the form of sales tax revenue (STAR) bonds, powerful inducements that were originally designed to encourage exceptional attractions that bring in tourists from far away.
The Kansas Speedway demonstrates what is possible with the bonds, while Topeka and other developments in recent years show what the program has become.
(Read more: KC Star Local News)