INDUSTRY: SCRAMP set for two-year Laguna deal

Monterey County's board of supervisors is preparing to extend a two-year management contract to the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) to run Laguna Seca.

"We need to get some short-term management in there because the season is coming up," county supervisor Simon Salinas told the Monterey Herald. The Herald report, which stated the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) would also be included in the agreement, is said to be inaccurate.

This decision comes after two years of embarrassing failures by the board to replace SCRAMP as the one and only manager of the legendary facility since it opened in 1957.

The circuitous route pursued by the board, led by supervisor Dave Potter (who vacated his position this week), began in 2015 with the surprise revelation that replacements were being sought to remove SCRAMP by the end of the year. ISC, part of NASCAR's empire, emerged as the leading candidate to take the reins from SCRAMP, but the track management company ultimately declined the opportunity presented by the board.

Undeterred by its inability to sever ties with SCRAMP, Potter and the board cast a wider net early in 2016 and narrowed the interested parties down to a powerful group of local business leaders united under the "Friends of Laguna Seca" (FLS) banner, a team led by Long Beach Grand Prix founder/promoter Chris Pook named "World Automotive Championship of California," and the unexpected combination of SCRAMP and ISC.

After completing a thorough management and financial forecast document submission process, a series of team-by-team interviews, and final review of the offerings from all three, the FLS was announced by the board in October as its chosen party to take over management responsibilities (and lead a facility-wide upgrade).

The last step in the process – coming to terms with the FLS with a new, long-term management contract for 2017 that would end SCRAMP's tenure, was expected to be completed during the remainder of 2016, but that also failed to happen and has led to re-engaging with SCRAMP.

With 2017 having arrived without a new management contract in place with the FLS, and the obvious need to have a proven management solution in place to run the major events on the calendar, the county will look to have SCRAMP sign a new agreement to oversee Laguna Seca through the end of 2018.

Of the three groups, FLS stood out as the team with the largest assembly of wealthy and motivated supporters with an interest in making significant investments into the aging Laguna Seca property. Beyond the managerial infrastructure FLS has to offer, the big infusion of cash promised by the team continues to hold considerable interest for the board.

"This will allow more time to seek a longer-term agreement with (an entity that) has adequate resources," supervisor Salinas said of the desired use of SCRAMP/ISC as a stop-gap solution.

"Turns out, none of the groups who submitted proposals are impressive," it wrote. "After a special meeting on Dec. 22, now-former supervisor Dave Potter broke it down: Friends of Laguna Seca, a local nonprofit, didn't have the $10 million in start-up capital it claimed; they had $10 million in pledges. The World Automotive Championship of California's proposal was based on $20 million in start-up capital. But that money would've come in the form of a loan – a loan the county would be on the hook for if WACC were to fold. Finally, there was a joint proposal by the International Speedway Company and SCRAMP, but ISC wasn't interested in spending $10-20 million for needed repairs."

That account would, from the outside, appear to explain how the board has been left with a single credible and ready management solution to engage at this moment. Despite the awkward circumstances it has endured, SCRAMP will move forward with the board to create a short-term contract to continue managing Laguna Seca.