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closeNew Milwaukee Mile chairman to court RVers
DON WALKER
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Thursday, Jul. 24, 2008
The new chairman of the Milwaukee Mile said Wednesday he wants to put the famed speedway in a profitable position and make it a place where Milwaukee and Wisconsin businesses are prominent in the spotlight.
And Marcus Lemonis, chairman and chief executive of Camping World/Freedom Roads, a vendor of recreational vehicles and outdoor camping accessories that maintains a nationwide RV dealership network, is already putting his plans into action.
''We will hold a national RV rally there where we can bring in 4,000 to 5,000 RVers," Lemonis said. "I'd like to create some auto shows. I'd like to promote the environment as much as we can. My simple point is that just because there is a racetrack, it doesn't mean only race cars can come there."
Lemonis said he was aware of a recent state audit that said State Fair Park would incur about $1.1 million annually in debt service payments beginning this year that were supposed to be covered by the Milwaukee Mile ownership group when it took over in December 2005.
Lemonis' message: "The new role is to stabilize the balance sheet and stop leaning on the state. We will not be asking the state for subsidies."
Investors at the Mile named Lemonis, a Miami native and a 1995 Marquette University graduate, to take over as chairman for Craig Stoehr. Stoehr, interviewed by telephone in Qatar, said he decided to return to his old law firm Latham & Watkins and plans to work in international law in the Middle East.
Stoehr says he and his investor group will maintain their investment in the racetrack. But Lemonis is the new man in charge, said Claude Napier, the track's president and chief executive.
Lemonis has a track record with motorsports, with ties to NASCAR and IndyCar racing. His company, based in Lincolnshire, Ill., also holds title sponsorships at several tracks, including the Mile. And when he met with Mile officials in recent months, Lemonis said he felt the Mile was underused.
''Two things really struck me in the past 60 days," Lemonis said. "I knew there was a considerable amount of legislative strife with the state, with the state feeling it was subsidizing the program. And I didn't feel the Mile was telling the Wisconsin story.
''We need to do a better job of creating a visitors bureau environment there where people can come to the track and learn more about Wisconsin and Milwaukee. The track was doing a poor job of that. Compounding that problem, they weren't finding a lot of fans and allies in the marketplace."
They weren't selling enough sponsorships, either, Lemonis said.
When Stoehr's group took over, the plan was to develop a hotel, restaurant and retail complex on land adjacent to the Mile. But that plan never materialized, and Lemonis indicated it would not be a priority.
''My goal is probably not that complex. I want to walk before we run. Improve the facility, clean up the facility, the overall feel of it. Before we make bold commitments like building buildings, we need to stabilize what's there. And get on the right side of state officials," he said.
When the audit was released earlier this month, at least one state legislator called on the track to close. Lemonis wants to go in the other direction: build up the racetrack to a point where there is revenue for both the track and the state.
To do that, Lemonis said he plans to build a Camping World store at the track that he said would bring tens of thousands of customers to the site.
''I want to try to give the state a return on their asset," he said.