valium

Typical Washington DC BS.....


By Serge F. Kovaleski and Mark Asher
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, March 8, 2003; Page B01


The D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission announced last night that
this year's Grand Prix auto race in Washington has been canceled, saying
that the North Carolina-based promoter "has repeatedly failed to meet
commitments" over the past several months.

Sports commission officials complained that with the June 27-29 event
less than four months away, National Grand Prix Holdings LLC has
proposed little to reduce the noise of cars racing about 50 yards from
homes in the Kingman Park neighborhood of Northeast Washington. City
tests during last year's inaugural race at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial
Stadium measured the noise level at 100.4 to 105 decibels on adjacent
streets, far exceeding the 60-decibel limit permitted in residential
areas.

The Grand Prix, which last year is believed to have drawn 70,000
spectators over three days, is considered by Mayor Anthony A. Williams
(D) to be important to economic development in the city. But for Kingman
Park residents, last summer's event was a loud intrusion that they don't
want repeated.

Other issues, particularly internal squabbling at National Grand Prix
Holdings, also contributed to the decision to pull the race, the sports
commission said.

"The promoters canceled it," said John L. Richardson, the commission's
chairman. "They never came up with a technological solution to the
noise, and they had internal problems that led to the cancellation."

Scott Atherton, president and CEO of the American Le Mans Series, the
event's sanctioning body, said in a statement, "For this year, the race
has become a victim of operational problems on behalf of the event
organizer."

The announcements by the commission and American Le Mans raised concerns
about a 10-year contract to hold the race in the District and $5.1
million the commission was authorized to spend on construction related
to the Grand Prix. Under the agreement between the sports commission and
Grand Prix Holdings, the promoter has the duration of the contract to
repay its half of that cost in what amounts to an interest-free loan
with no guarantor.

Last night, neither Richardson nor commission President Robert D.
Goldwater -- both of whom have refused to make the Grand Prix contract
public -- would discuss the money or how the quasi-independent city
agency would recoup the funds should the rest of the races be canceled.
Goldwater said that he is hopeful that future Grand Prix auto
competitions will be held in the nation's capital, but he added, "I'm
not sure we can with this group [Grand Prix Holdings]."

Christopher J. Lencheski, co-founder and board chairman of Grand Prix
Holdings, did not return three calls yesterday seeking comment.

Several D.C. Council members who have criticized the race and the sports
commission said they were pleased that this year's Grand Prix will not
take place. They said they were troubled, however, that the commission
and the promoter were not talking more openly about the $5.1 million and
the issues that led to the cancellation.

"As for the $5 million-plus spent by the sports commission, hopefully it
protected itself for something like this," said D.C. Council member Jack
Evans (D-Ward 2), chairman of the Committee on Finance and Revenue. "If
not, we will find out. Clearly, John Richardson and Bobby Goldwater have
some explaining to do."

Said council member Kevin P. Chavous (D-Ward 7), who represents the
Kingman Park neighborhood adjacent to the track: "This is absolutely a
victory for the community because promises were made about the noise and
they were not kept. And if the promoters and the sports commission can't
solve the noise problem or offer the best noise abatement there is,
canceling the race is the right decision."

Residents of Kingman Park, infuriated by three days of overwhelming
noise during last year's event, have presented the sports commission
with a petition signed by about 90 residents who oppose having the Grand
Prix in their neighborhood. The residents have hired a public relations
specialist and have been receiving help from Georgetown University Law
Center in drawing up a lawsuit to block the race.

Heidi Kotzian, the spokeswoman for the residents, said they planned to
file the suit because the 10-year contract has not been canceled.

"The community is overwhelmingly pleased with the decision," said Frazer
Walton Jr., president of the Kingman Park Civic Association. "The sports
commission and the Williams administration were turning a deaf ear to
our concerns and offered not real viable alternatives." Referring to the
noise and fumes from the race cars, he added, "We also felt that not
only was the community being exploited, but the health of the community
was being put at risk."

Tony Bullock, spokesman for Williams, said that he had not been able to
get in touch with the mayor to discuss the announcement. "Obviously, we
will do whatever we can to safeguard any District funds that are
involved," he said.

Sources involved in the planning of the race said the commission and
Grand Prix Holdings had argued about who was responsible for paying for
sound abatement measures, which could be very expensive.

The sources also said that members of the sports commission recently
talked with race organizers other than Lencheski, triggering an internal
battle between him and the board of Grand Prix Holdings. Lencheski has
since asked the board to buy him out, the sources said.

scott12v@pghaudi

DC was a horrbile venue for the spectator. It was too expensive, loud, dirty and crowded. I was so disappointed I left Friday night after only watching one race. MidOhio is so much nicer and a much friendlier (and cheaper) atmosphere.

snoogins

Amen brutha! AND, it's only 2 hours up I71 from me.

EricBell

action firsthand.

Nogaro

Below 60dB? Did they not know what an auto race looks like?

Sharon

you can probably shout louder than 60db.

Mark Dalen

Typical music in your house is 60dB +. A dishwasher at 10 ft is 60 dB.

My bet is that the background gunfire noise level in DC is at least 80dB.

Domenico

Yeah, what neighborhood? I live in Rockville, Md. and would never venture to that area if it wasn't for the race last year. Everyone knew RFK was in a bad neighborhood. They should be glad people actually came in to the area and spent money and NOT on drugs from the dealers at the corners or shot up the neighborhood. Maybe they can move it downtown thru the streets in NW are of DC. Where people actually appreciate a great event. Keep it OUT OF CRACK CENTRAL!!