http://www.brainerddispatch.com/stories/111704/new_1117040038.shtml BIR status: It's open, and for sale By JASON HENKE Staff Writer The possibility of Brainerd International Raceway and Resort's demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to a spokesman for the owner of the race track north of Brainerd. Marty Carlson of MG Carlson Construction Co. Inc. in Brainerd said Tuesday the track is for sale. But he said there are no plans to close BIR. Regardless of the sale, the track will remain open for 2005. "It definitely will function as a race facility next year," Carlson said. "It's just for sale. It doesn't mean that the schedule or the format is going to change in any way. It will definitely be business as usual next spring." Carlson has completed construction work at BIR, which is a subsidiary of Sports Resorts International Inc. He started building at the track five years ago and said he is a good friend of Don Williamson, president of Sports Resorts International Inc. Calls to Williamson on Monday were returned by Carlson Tuesday. Questions about the track surfaced after the departure of two track officials and after Raceway 66, a convenience store at the entrance to the track, closed Friday with a sign stating it would reopen in summer 2005. The Raceway Diner also posted a sign that said it would be closing for the season on Oct. 24 and would reopen April 23. Carlson said Bill Singleterry, president and director of BIR, retired and Tim Berns, drag racing manager, was laid off. Another BIR employee, Scott Quick, resigned from his position as general manager Sept. 17. Berns, a 23-year employee at BIR in different capacities, said he was laid off last year and rehired in April. "As far as my understanding is, they laid me off for the winter months," Berns said. "If they recall me or not, I have no idea." Geoff Gorvin, BIR public relations coordinator, said the winter layoffs are not uncommon for some of the employees at the track. "The track has always had seasonal staff that work during the race season and get laid off during the winter because there's nothing to do," Gorvin said. "Some staff stay on year-round. The ticket office remains open because there's plenty to do in the offseason." Singleterry declined to comment. While Carlson would not go into further detail on the departures, he said closing the convenience store was a financial decision related to the amount of traffic it will see with the track closed for the winter. "The convenience store was closed because its business tracks with the track's activities," he said. "With the traffic count down right now, they just made a decision to close it until next spring." Gorvin said that seasonal layoffs are nothing new at BIR. Closing the convenience store for the winter is something different from previous years. "That has never closed in the offseason," he said. "That is the first time that has closed." Carlson said that he has no idea where the track stands financially, nor does he know the asking price. He did say that potential buyers were interested in BIR and that the reason for the sale is for Sports Resorts International Inc. to concentrate its efforts on its other businesses, such as Rugged Liners Inc. in Michigan. "It's certainly nothing negative at all that the facility is for sale," Carlson said. "This is Minnesota; their primary businesses are in Michigan. They've got their hands full there right now." Another piece of the property, a six-unit condominium on a 6.5-acre parcel of land adjacent to the track, has been listed for sale for more than a year. (Staff Writer Clint Wood contributed to this story.) JASON HENKE can be reached at [email protected] or 855-5801.
