Sonoma Raceway officials announced Thursday that plans for a "massive four-day music festival ... have been scrapped," according to a front-page piece by Paul Liberatore of the MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL. Sonoma President & GM Steve Page decided that it would "take too long and cost too much to get the festival approved by the county of Sonoma." Liberatore reports while the raceway "submitted an application for the festival with county planners more than a year ago, the required environmental impact report process still hadn’t begun." Page said, "Costs kept escalating to the point where we were having a difficult time getting our arms around whether we were talking about spending another $1.5 million or $2 million to move forward." Raceway officials had "hoped to launch the first festival" in spring or fall '17. Opponents cited "noise, traffic and other environmental concerns." But Page insisted that the decision to stick to auto racing "had nothing to do with opposition or any potential controversy over a music festival" (MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL, 4/24). Page added, "It’s simple arithmetic when you start looking at costs and how long it takes to get through the process." He said that the decision to drop the proposed event "was his." Page: "I’m not an easy person to give up. But my responsibility is ultimately to decide where the line is between tenacity and stupidity. Last night, we decided we were on the wrong side of the line.” He said that he had "already spent $500,000 on the permitting process and estimated it could have cost the Raceway" up to $3M to "just get through the environmental review." Sonoma is "one of eight tracks" owned by SMI, and plans for music festivals at the other venues "are still alive" (Eloisa Gonzalez, Santa Rosa PRESS DEMOCRAT, 4/24).
WOOD I LIE TO YOU? Sonoma Raceway on Thursday announced it will introduce a new club seating option ahead of its major racing events of '15. The Real. Strong. Humboldt Redwood Deck at Turn 2 will feature a 135-foot wood deck that extends above existing terrace seating. It will include a covered private bar with TV monitors and dedicated food service, plus a limited number of reserved seats at the edge of the deck. The name of the area results from a sponsorship deal with Mendocino Forest Products (THE DAILY).
