The Amazing Race?

There are some bad ideas floating around Phoenix, and I’m wondering why. We’ve been on such a winning streak lately – luring a piece of ASU to the heart of the city; passing the bond election to improve our quality of life; constructing scores of new apartment complexes and high-rises; building a new Downtown hotel; expanding the Convention Center…. Man, that’s a lot for a city to accomplish in a decade, much less in a few years. But that’s what’s happening right here, right now.

So, it’s like stubbing your big toe when a bad idea makes its way into the whirlwind. One in particular has me wondering if maybe we’re just drunk on change.

Think about it: Is it really a good idea to stage a “street race” in Phoenix that would have Indy-like cars racing up and down city streets while spectators party at a “Downtown festival”?

I don’t think so. Of course, this isn’t the first bad idea to come down the pike. Remember the guy who wanted to build a giant saguaro in Papago Park with a restaurant on top? Ugh! And then there’s the sellout by the Thunderbirds, who sold off the “Phoenix Open” title, leaving the state’s signature golf tournament to be named after a company that virtually nobody knows. Fortunately, we rejected the idea of building the “world’s tallest building” on Central several years ago, but we allowed the Willo District to wall itself in by closing off many of the surrounding streets.

Ordinarily, I’m a major cheerleader for Downtown. I’ve always prided myself on seeing “outside the box.” But this time, folks, I’ve got a bad feeling – this race is just plain ridiculous.

I have several friends who think that bringing the Champ Car World Series to Downtown Phoenix is a great idea. Local promoters want the annual street race to occur as early as November 2007 – never mind that Downtown will still be torn up from light-rail construction. It would take place on the weekend after Phoenix International Raceway hosts NASCAR’s Checker Auto Parts 500 race.

The plan is this: The cars would race a two-mile track that winds around Chase Field and US Airways Center. And, to sweeten the pot, the race would be the centerpiece of a three-day festival that would take place Downtown.

The main promoter is Dale Jensen, a Valley businessman and part owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Phoenix Suns. He and his allies, who call themselves Arizona Grand Prix, say the race would draw approximately 150,000 people to Downtown and $50 million to $70 million to the local economy.

Maybe, but old-timers will remember the last time Phoenix went to this dance, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. That’s when the city hosted – at considerable expense and disruption – the European Formula One races. To say they flopped is a major understatement. Among the many problems was that the races were held in June, when it’s too hot for anything in Phoenix, let alone street races.

I live near Downtown and remember sitting in my backyard listening to the roar of those multi-million-dollar cars. I remember that you couldn’t go anywhere without being gridlocked. I remember thinking that the whole thing was kind of dumb, especially when I learned that the city had shelled out millions to make the race happen. When it went away, I was relieved.

So, when this Champ Car idea first reared its head in the local press, I kind of dismissed it as a “been-there-done-that” mistake that wouldn’t happen again. But then it became obvious that folks were serious about it, and – worse yet – they had the ear of the City Council.

The big selling point this time is that November is a much more tolerable month for people to stand out on the street, and promoters aren’t asking for a direct subsidy from the city, just some “street improvements and support services.” (Don’t be surprised if those services climb into the six-figures.) And there would be a festival, too – one of those words that always seem to make the City Council go gaga.

“We’re trying to do something really cool for Downtown Phoenix,” Jensen told The Arizona Republic. “This is about a festival, a three-day festival, that happens to have a cool Grand Prix style race. We’ll use the race as the framework.”

As you can imagine, immediately after the proposal was announced, all of the other race promoters in the Valley started screaming.

“This thing has been developed under the cloak of darkness,” warned Bryan Sperber, the president of PIR, which hosts the Valley’s two NASCAR races. Dennis Wood, the general manager of Manzanita Speedway, seconded the objections. And both asked the City Council to reject the idea.

By the way, if auto racing isn’t your thing, you should know that the Valley is one of the nation’s premier places for the sport, and PIR is one of the few tracks in the country to host two NASCAR events. Those races generate a lot of money, so I can certainly understand Sperber’s desire to keep the competition in check.

Still, I think he went a little too far by involving the City Council. Making matters worse, the state Legislature also got involved. Within days of the idea surfacing, a bill was introduced to prohibit cities and towns from allowing any “motor vehicle competition outside of a closed-course motor sports facility” if the sound level exceeded 90 decibels, which is about the level of a jet engine.

Although I think the race is a bad idea, the Legislature’s involvement was almost enough to push me over to the other side – the side in favor of the race. I was pushed even further when Sheriff Joe Arpaio came out swinging against the race. I can’t remember a single time I’ve ever agreed with Sheriff Joe.

In his reaction to the race, the sheriff sounded as if he would personally shoot at the cars if they tried to go past his jail or his emergency call center. He promised to fight “with any means possible” this “irresponsible decision” to run a race in Downtown Phoenix.

As he sees it, the super-charged racecars are extremely noisy, and would cruise within 75 feet of a building taking 9-1-1 calls. His concern is that operators won’t be able to hear the details of those emergencies. And even though he might technically be right, he’s overreacting, because this is a “race” – cars won’t be idling outside the call center, they’ll be whizzing by. But the sheriff has a bee up his bonnet about this, and I’m betting we haven’t heard the last from him.

Despite my opposition to the Legislature’s involvement, and the fact I hate to agree with Sheriff Joe, I’m not at all convinced that this race would be good for Phoenix. I think it’s incongruous to put a street race and spectators together and not expect a problem. And I can’t imagine how Downtown businesses, already strained by the two-year disruption of light-rail construction, would want access to their businesses restricted once again. Add to that the noise and the pollution and the fact that this kind of thing has failed in the past, and you can see why it’s a bad idea.

Instead of staging a race in Downtown Phoenix, I think our leaders should spend their time trying to convince Eddie Basha to open a grocery store Downtown. That’s what we really need.