$10,000/month for Yigo Raceway is tall order, but Motorsports Assoc. to get creative

For the first time in three years, there is real momentum toward reopening the Yigo Raceway. A new lease could put the track back in the hands of the local motorsports community, but the big question remains: can they afford it? The Guam Motorsports Association says while $10,000 a month is a tall order, they're willing to get creative to get car culture back on track. 

What used to be a place for speed…now sits still. The drift bowl at the Yigo Raceway is filled with standing water, with grass growing in the middle and the chirping of frogs now louder than engines that once roared there. 

It’s a striking picture of how far the facility has fallen since it was forced to shut down nearly three years ago, and the work that needs to be done to get it reopen.  Across the 252-acre property, weeds push through the pavement, buildings show signs of vandalism, and abandoned cars sit where crowds once gathered.

But after years of uncertainty, Guam Motorsports Association vice-chair John Burch, Jr. remains hopeful with a deal now on the table. He told KUAM News, "It's still going to take a lot of community engagement. We want to make sure that we’re providing the best facility for our community before we can actually grow and make this a tourism spot. But I think we’re going to be able to do it." 

As reported, the Chamorro Land Trust Commission approved a 20-year lease last week that could allow the GMA to reopen the track.  The agreement still needs legal review and final approval, and even then the biggest challenge may be paying for it.

The CLTC wants to lease the property in an escalating step schedule - free in the first six months, $1,500 per month the rest of the year, $2,500 per month the second year, $5,000 per month the third year and $10,000 per month by the fourth year. 

Burch admits it’s a tall order, one that will require creativity and public-private partnerships.  "We are going to try not to raise fees. As crazy as that sounds, the rent went up to ten grand, but our goal is still to do right by the community and get creative to subsidize that number," he detailed. "I think the biggest thing will be to partner up with a private organization and company to help us pay that rent. "

And before any race can return, the facility will need major repairs, from safety mitigation to basic utilities, which could cost more than $400,000.

"Before the deal got approved, we did an assessment where we were able to check out the place with CLTC. I think we had one contractor up here pre-vandalism and I think he gave a price of $350,000 to $400,000 to redo the buildings," Burch explained. "But that was before this building got vandalized, before the steel doors and stainless steel stuff were removed."

That means reopening is not just about signing paperwork, but whether the motorsports community can afford to rebuild what has been left behind. "The goal here is to get the guys off the streets and start racing here on the strip right here. But it’s also to get the kids from using their dirt bikes on back roads– we want to get their dirt bikes up here on the track where they can learn it and do it safely. We just got to be creative in what we’re going to do," he said.

For now, burch can't promise when the track will reopen, but he says 'we're almost there.'

He stated, "I just want to say thank you to everybody that helped out in any little way, and just realize we’re almost there. We got the approval, we’re almost there so just bear with us for just a little bit longer until we get that ink on the paper. But hang tight, good things are about to come for sure."

A message to ‘hang tight’ in hopes the sound of frogs in the drift oval will eventually give way to something Guam has not heard here in years - engines back on the track.