Is the Fate of Palm Beach International Raceway Sealed? Big Developer Bid Trumps At Least Two Bids from Parties Interested in Returning Racing to the Facility
In nearly three years since Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) closed the gates for the final time, there has been a lot of news about the facility that was supposed to never see racing again, and be converted to warehouses.
The original sale fell through after a lengthy battle with commissioners, the property sat untouched, and rumors circulated that there could be a chance of survival. Recently, we learned from two sources that the top bids to return racing to the South Florida have fallen short.
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As we reported last month, the owner at the time of the closure, IRG Sports and Entertainment (owned by Sixth Street Investments), had seen a liquidation of their assets, and as of late January, the 174-acre property was listed on the open market with a “call for price” listing. There were several interested parties, including a couple that were wanting to save the track.
One of those interested in returning the track to former glory was Raul Torres of South Georgia Motorsports Park, who raced at PBIR for several years. He put out a Facebook post encouraging buyers to work together to get the track back to active status.
“We wanted to get the message out there as soon as possible so other potential buyers can work with us,” said Torres. “Rest assured; we will do everything we can to bring PBIR back as a race track.”
The other party vocally trying to save the track was the RPM Group, putting in a bid to try and save the track. But as Erik from the RPM Group revealed in an Instagram post, their 30 million dollar post came up short of the winning bid.
“It’s been several weeks working at this,” said Erik from the RPM Group. “We learned that the property is under contract; a large development company has moved in.” Erik provided an update and discussed their plans moving forward in an update below:
After three years sitting idle, will the money come through and nearly 60 years of racing history at PBIR come to a permanent end? Or will a buyer swoop in to save the track after the big name developer fails to come in with the payment?
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and BME Photography.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com