Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 31, 1993 TAG: 9308310215
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sources close to the negotiations said that Irvine, Calif.-based developer Lee C. Sammis is considering selling part of his 1,445-acre property on the battlefield to a racetrack developer. Sammis had planned to build an office park as part of his Elkwood Downs project until he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June.
The sources said that Benton Ventures of Bethesda, Md., presented a plan to build the track at a closed executive session of the county Planning Commission last week. The company's director did not return a reporter's phone calls.
"There is a proposal that [a racetrack] will be built, but we hope it won't happen," said Princeton University Professor James McPherson, author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the Civil War and a board member of the preservationist Civil War Trust, which had a representative at the planning meeting.
The trust is negotiating to buy 800 acres of Sammis' property adjacent to the proposed racetrack.
"To have this [racetrack] on an area that has remained virtually unchanged for 130 years would be a tremendous blow to any attempt to understand this battle," McPherson said.
Brandy Station, about 100 miles southwest of Washington, was the site of a cavalry battle on June 9, 1863, between 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers, which was the opening engagement of the crucial Gettysburg campaign. Historians describe it as one of the 10 most important battlefields of the Civil War.
In June, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Brandy Station as one of the country's endangered historic places. The same day, the state removed its historic designation for the battlefield after a vote of local property owners said the designation prevented them from selling or developing their land.
County Supervisor William Chase, who attended the Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday and whose district includes the battlefield, said officials were considering a "very large project" with "very significant economic impact."
The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote next month on a zoning amendment that would allow "racetracks, stadiums or similar public gathering facilities" in industrial zones such as Elkwood Downs.
The proposed three-mile racetrack would cost more than $10 million and could be completed by mid-1995, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported last week.
But other sources estimated that it could cost as much as $40 million to build a racetrack to exacting Formula One specifications. In addition, said Mark Raffauf, of the International Motor Sports Association, a Formula One track requires access roads, viewing stands, hotels and other facilities to accommodate up to 100,000 spectators. A track would need to host a half-dozen major events with large crowds every year to be economically viable, he added.
"A facility like that definitely would have a major impact on the battlefield site. It would probably tear it up real good," Raffauf said. "Every one of those races in the world is conducted in a major metropolitan area where there's substantial infrastructure to support it."
Formula One cars are open-wheeled vehicles similar to those that compete in the Indianapolis 500. They race on courses with left and right turns rather than ovals.
Some Brandy Station residents say that a track could coexist with the battlefield.
"It definitely would be a good thing for the citizens of our county revenue-wise," said Sue Hansohn, president of the Citizens Land Rights group, which has clashed with the preservationist Brandy Station Foundation over battlefield rights in the past.
"It would be interesting if you could draw the tourists and still have a couple of hundred acres to commemorate the Battle of Brandy Station. I'm sure there are some preservationists who are interested in racing."
by CNB