New promoter in line for Milwaukee Mile

Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2009

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Mile will have a new racing promoter Friday, assuming it pays off NASCAR for races next season by Thursday.

The State Fair Park board of directors gave conditional approval Monday to a contract with Historic Mile LLC, one more step in a long, confusing and sometimes contentious process. It voted unanimously to authorize Chairman Sue Crane to finish the deal if the park hears from NASCAR by 3 p.m. CDT Friday that money has been placed in escrow.

Tony Machi and Jim Beaudoin, the known partners in Historic Mile, sat in with the board for nearly an hour in closed session but left before the vote was taken.

Before departing, Machi again declined to discuss the group's finances, including the source of the undisclosed amount of money to be paid to NASCAR to hold Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series races next June.

But Craig Barkelar, the interim executive director for State Fair, said the board was satisfied that Historic Mile had met conditions set forth when negotiations began nearly two months ago.

"I think the board discussed their management plan, and it is different enough where it appears it would have a good opportunity to succeed with NASCAR being the one big weekend they have, and the car clubs and the other activities that run throughout the year," Barkelar said.

He also declined to disclose details, citing the confidentiality of negotiations and the board's closed session.

The letter of intent that Historic Mile had signed with the Fair board called on the group to "demonstrate that it has sufficient financial resources available to fund ongoing operations including outstanding 2009 sanction fees if required by IRL and NASCAR, 2010 sanction fees, license fees to the State Fair Park and general overhead costs."

Included in the payment due to NASCAR this week is some money from 2009, Barkelar said, although he would not say how much.

Barkelar said that if Historic Mile does not meet the deadline, State Fair Park has a Plan B, but "right now the board is confident we will be doing business with Historic Mile for the next 10 years." The board is committed to preserving high-level motorsports at the 106-year-old track, Barkelar said.

Presumably that Plan B would include Frank Giuffre, promoter of the Mile from 1985-'92, who had launched an aggressive public effort to convince the Board his bid was better than Historic Mile's.

"If he comes up with the money, congratulations," Giuffre said. "If he doesn't, the board gave him every chance in the world. The board was more generous with extensions than I would have given him. If the board sounds confident, then so am I."

Giuffre said he would still be willing to loan money to Machi. Last week, Giuffre said Machi approached him for a loan. Machi said Giuffre was lying and that Giuffre made the first move.

Historic Mile would become the third promoter in less than a year, following the departure of Milwaukee Mile Holdings in January and the default of Wisconsin Motorsports in August. Wisconsin Motorsports left an estimated $2 million in debt to NASCAR and the Indy Racing League for races in 2009, as well as other significant bills from vendors.

The IRL has said it won't return before 2011.

Left unresolved is whether or how the vendors_caterers, medical help, sign painter and others_would be paid. It's not Historic Mile's responsibility to make good on those bills, Barkelar said, and the issue was not discussed Monday.

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