PHOENIX — The City of Phoenix may demolish a race track at the base of South Mountain that's been home to a kids' racing program.
The track, called South Mountain Speedway, is about a mile from the main entrance to South Mountain Park. Until November of 2023, was the home of the Valley of the Sun Quarter Midget Association, a program for kids ages 5-17 to race small home-built cars.
"No different from baseball, football, soccer, all the everything that's played in the city parks," President of the Valley of the Sun Quarter Midget Association AJ Imperial said.
Imperial said the group had a five-year lease with the city that ended in November.
Now, Imperial said the city told him the race track would require $1 million to get it fixed up before it could offer a new lease.
"It's been sitting for over a year," Imperial said. "Yes, it needs attention, really bad."
The track itself, Imperial said, dates back to the 1940's. Over the years, it's been on the chopping block for various Phoenix plans but has managed to survive each time.
This time, it may not.
According to a Phoenix Parks and Rec spokesperson, the Parks Board has two options: fix it up or return it back to open desert. The spokesman said a majority of the board appeared to be leaning toward demolishing the track, but helping Imperial and his group find a new track.
Imperial doesn't know where that track would be; he said he's looked for an alternative and hasn't found one.
He said he hasn't been given a timeline for any possible demolition, but he hopes he can work something out with the city.
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