
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 10, 1994                   TAG: 9409270061
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG                                 LENGTH: Short

JUDGE LETS RACETRACK PLAN PROCEED

A judge's decision in a bankruptcy case has dashed the hopes of Civil War preservationists seeking to block development of an auto racetrack at a Civil War battlefield.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William E. Anderson on Thursday denied a creditor's emergency motion for an alternative reorganization plan for Elkwood Downs Limited Partnership. Elkwood Downs had bought about 3,000 acres at the Brandy Station battlefield in Culpeper County before filing for reorganization last year under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code.

The motion, heard in the Lynchburg bankruptcy court, stemmed from a $5.2 million cash offer made in July by the Association for Civil War Sites and the Brandy Station Foundation for 2,300 acres of the property.

Elkwood Downs rejected the offer because that was less than half the $5,000-per-acre offered by Benton Ventures Inc., a Bethesda, Md., company that wants to develop the site for a motor sports complex.

The motion was filed by Kurt Krueger, attorney for Culpeper's Second Bank and Trust. The bank is a trustee for the Button estate, one of two major Elkwood Downs creditors. Krueger's motion argued that the court should consider the alternative plan, which essentially would block construction of the track.

``We are disappointed by the ruling,'' Krueger said. ``We would have liked to see the two plans compete with each other and give the creditors a choice.''

Keywords:
AUTO RACING

by CNB