International Speedway Discontinues Efforts to Develop Motorsports Facility in Kitsap County, Washington
April 02 2007 - 9:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
~ Company Remains Committed to a Pacific Northwest Speedway
Development ~ DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., April 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ:ISCA)(OTC:ISCB)
(BULLETIN BOARD: ISCB) ("ISC") today announced it has decided to no
longer pursue development of a motorsports entertainment facility
in Kitsap County, Washington. Strategic Rationale ISC has been
evaluating the feasibility of developing a motorsports and
multi-use recreational facility in Kitsap County, Washington, since
June 2005. In February 2007, legislation concerning the public
funding portion of the speedway development was introduced into the
Washington State Legislature. The bill was discussed in several
State House and Senate committee hearings and, during this time,
several modifications to the bill were proposed. ISC agreed to
substantially all of the proposed changes. Despite ISC's
willingness to find common ground on the proposed modifications, it
has recently become apparent that additional modifications would be
proposed to the legislation that were unacceptable to the Company.
Due to the increased risk that the collective modifications would
have a significant negative impact on the project's financial
model, ISC felt it was in its best long-term interest to
discontinue the speedway development at this site. "While it is
unfortunate that we could not proceed with the project in Kitsap
County, the Pacific Northwest continues to be an attractive future
opportunity for our Company and we remain interested in the
region," said ISC President Lesa France Kennedy. "It has become
clear that despite our best efforts and that of our significant
supporter base both at the state and local levels, we would have
been faced with unacceptable requirements in order to move this
project to the next phase. Therefore, it is in our shareholders'
best interest to no longer pursue this venture at the current
location." Financial Impact As a result of its decision, ISC
expects to record a non-cash, pre-tax charge in the second quarter
of fiscal 2007 of approximately $5.5 million to $6.5 million, or
$0.07 to $0.08 per diluted share after-tax. The charge reflects the
write-off of certain capitalized costs including legal, consulting,
capitalized interest and other site-specific costs. "I sincerely
thank all of the government and community officials who had the
vision to endorse our efforts," continued Ms. France Kennedy. "We
also appreciate the support of the more than 35,000 residents and
hundreds of business, labor and civic organizations that recognize
the significant long- term economic benefits of our project. With
its large motorsports fan base, we continue to view the development
of a premier racing facility in the Pacific Northwest as one
component of several broader strategic growth opportunities ahead
for ISC." Ms. France Kennedy concluded, "Complementing our external
initiatives, which encompass both new market development and
acquisitions, we will continue to leverage our significant assets
to build the consumer fan base and further strengthen our status as
the partner of choice for corporate sponsors. As always, any
decision to execute on growth opportunities is guided by the
fundamental principal of building long-term value for our
shareholders." International Speedway Corporation is a leading
promoter of motorsports activities, currently promoting more than
100 racing events annually as well as numerous other
motorsports-related activities. The Company owns and/or operates 13
of the nation's major motorsports entertainment facilities,
including Daytona International Speedway in Florida (home of the
Daytona 500); Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama; Michigan
International Speedway located outside Detroit; Richmond
International Raceway in Virginia; California Speedway near Los
Angeles; Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas; Phoenix
International Raceway in Arizona; Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66
Raceway near Chicago, Illinois; Homestead-Miami Speedway in
Florida; Martinsville Speedway in Virginia; Darlington Raceway in
South Carolina; and Watkins Glen International in New York. In
addition, ISC is a limited partner with Group Motorise
International in the organization and promotion of certain events
at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. The Company also
owns and operates MRN Radio, the nation's largest independent
sports radio network; DAYTONA USA, the "Ultimate Motorsports
Attraction" in Daytona Beach, Florida, the official attraction of
NASCAR; and subsidiaries which provide catering services, food and
beverage concessions, and produce and market motorsports-related
merchandise under the trade name "Americrown." In addition, ISC has
an indirect 50 percent interest in a business called Motorsports
Authentics, which markets and distributes motorsports-related
merchandise licensed by certain competitors in NASCAR racing. For
more information, visit the Company's Web site at
http://www.iscmotorsports.com/ . Statements made in this release
that express the Company's or management's beliefs or expectations
and which are not historical facts or which are applied
prospectively are forward-looking statements. It is important to
note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from
those contained in or implied by such forward-looking statements.
The Company's results could be impacted by risk factors, including,
but not limited to, weather surrounding racing events, government
regulations, economic conditions, consumer and corporate spending,
military actions, air travel and national or local catastrophic
events. Additional information concerning factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-
looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's
SEC filings including, but not limited to, the 10-K and subsequent
10-Qs. Copies of those filings are available from the Company and
the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly
any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be
needed to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or
to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The inclusion of
any statement in this release does not constitute an admission by
International Speedway or any other person that the events or
circumstances described in such statement are material. DATASOURCE:
International Speedway Corporation CONTACT: Wes Harries, Senior
Director, Corporate and Investor Communications of International
Speedway Corporation, +1-386-947-6465 Web site:
http://www.iscmotorsports.com/
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