The leader of a group pushing for a drag racing facility in Campbell River is voicing his disappointment with the Campbell River city council, calling their their refusal to partner on a project a “missed opportunity”.
Jim Johnson, president of the Vancouver Island Motor Sports Association says they have access to $5 million to build a drag strip, and they’re now fielding phone calls from other island communities like Port Alberni, who say they want the track.
Johnson said he always hoped to bring the project to his hometown of Campbell River, but they’re now looking at other areas.
“I’ve got three pieces of land in Port Alberni that they want me to look at and there’s another one further south that people want me to look at. There are places that want this frickin’ project,” Johnson told the Campbell River Mirror. “But even though I was a drag racer, that’s not the reason I got involved in this thing. I wanted to bring something to Campbell River that would be unique to the Island and would bring a positive economic impact to this community. It’d be a hell of a deal for us to have the only permanent facility on the Island and drag a whole lot of people here.”
He said they don’t need taxpayer money, just partnerships with local governments to secure cleared, unused land.
Campbell River council turned down the proposed dragstrip alongside their airport after it was discovered they would have to purchase the land from the province at market value, if it was to be used for something other than an airport.
