Lincoln man closing Dodge County raceway

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BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FREMONT — A disagreement over the division of costs for improvements at Nebraska Motorplex apparently will lead to the closing of the Dodge County raceway.

Owner Greg Sanford of Lincoln told the Fremont and Dodge County Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board this week that he’s shutting down racing at the facility located between Hooper and Scribner.

At issue, he said, are improvements mandated by the National Hot Rod Association. The NHRA is requiring Sanford to make about $500,000 in improvements, including concrete guardrails and enhanced sound and lighting systems.

Sanford said he wouldn’t make those improvements unless he could pave a 1¼-mile gravel road from U.S. 275 to the racing facility.

Before the NHRA told Sanford of the needed improvements, the Dodge County supervisors had agreed to split the cost of the paving, which would total about $300,000.

Once he found out about the NHRA requirements, Sanford said, he went back to the supervisors and asked the county to cover all but about $30,000 of the paving project. Sanford said he would then pay for the other improvements on his own.

The county agreed to give him an additional $75,000 over five years, or $15,000 a year for five years, but Sanford said that wasn’t enough.

Bruce Eveland, a convention and visitors bureau committee member, said the committee recommended against granting Sanford’s request for $120,000, or $15,000 over eight years, because members weren’t satisfied with Sanford’s level of commitment.

“The supervisors on the County Board seem to think that I should be paying money for a road. I don’t agree with that,” Sanford said. “If they can’t see that the track brings in tourism dollars, then I guess nothing will be done with it.

“It’s too bad,” he said. “I feel really bad for the businesses, the racers and the spectators who support the facility.”

Sanford, who bought the raceway in 2000, said racing events attracted anywhere from several hundred to several thousand spectators each summer.

Sanford said it was a hard decision to close the raceway. He said it benefited nearby businesses and provided quality entertainment for families.

“I really wish the county commissioners had seen what that track has done for the community,” Sanford said.