By Jason Plotke | inMaricopa.com
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are published for discussions purposes only.)
The Maricopa City Council has thankfully and wisely approved plans for the APEX Motor Club.
It’s a country club for auto enthusiasts equipped with its own four-mile race course in a first-class facility outside of town at the northwest corner of Ralston Road and SR 238. In doing so the council sided with the people of Maricopa and against lobbyists and lawyers funded by an unnamed client outside the community who wanted to kill the motor club.
A handful of thriving communities across America have their own facilities like APEX. Maricopa is in good company.
The APEX Motor Club will help advance Maricopa as a tourist destination. It will also create more than 400 construction jobs over five years in addition to 20 to 30 permanent jobs when completed.
Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents APEX Motor Club
The long-term benefits to the City of Maricopa are significant. The APEX Motor Club will bring more tourists to town filling up local stores and restaurants. It has been endorsed by business groups and those who care about Maricopa’s long-term prosperity.
For example, here’s what the Maricopa Economic Development Alliance had to say: “We are excited about the Apex Motor Club, as it will be the first significant economic development project to locate in Maricopa in recent years, bringing with it measurable benefits to the entire community. Apex Motor Club will establish a unique auto sports complex not just for the City of Maricopa, but for the entire metropolitan area, significantly increasing Maricopa’s profile and visibility to decision-makers from business and industry as well as attracting visitors to the community.”
In addition to contributing to Maricopa’s economic development, APEX’s presence will lead to numerous high-visibility social media and automotive publicity opportunities.
As a private motor sports club, it will be hard to notice. But the economic impact will be hard to ignore.
Opposition came from out-of-town lawyers and lobbyists who have been spending money on TV commercials and videos on Facebook bashing this project. It’s unfortunate that this group is spending so much time and money trying to undercut a project that benefits the city. What’s worse is that their lawyers and lobbyists refuse to say who they work for, or maybe more importantly who is paying them to do this costly work.
The good news is that the Maricopa City Council didn’t fall for it. They refused to be bullied by these out-of-towners more concerned with making a buck than making things better for the City of Maricopa. It’s insulting to think that these out-of-towners thought the City of Maricopa could be fooled by a smear campaign that was filled with hyperbole and devoid of facts. They tried to make our project sound like another Phoenix International Raceway when it’s just the opposite: A membership club for individuals, not events for the masses.
They thought wrong.
Thank you, Mayor Price and the Maricopa City Council, for standing up to these mysterious out-of-towners and standing for a project we will work very hard to make you proud.
Jason Plotke is the president and founder of Private Motor Sports Group.
