Major new New Jersey motorsport complex

Millville mayor James Quinn said that the project has the potential to transform the city and the entire region by creating 1500 quality jobs and boosting tourism revenues. After the city commission had approved the sale of the land to commercial property developers Harvey Siegel and Lee Brahin, for $3.7m, the mayor said: "We're thrilled with this project, the calibre of the people involved and the positive financial and employment impact it will have on our community and all of south Jersey."

Siegel has already completed a similar motorsport project, having bought the long-closed Virginia International Raceway, renovating and expanding it in 1999. VIR hosts amateur and professional events and has contributed to an economic boom in that area.

The city's obligation to the project includes running water and sewer service to the site at an estimated cost of $5m, to be met from state Urban Enterprise Zone funds. The city is also preparing applications to various state and federal agencies for additional assistance, amounting to $10m, and is offering a $600,000 loan to the developers to defray pre-development costs. A $2 entertainment tax on ticket sales will defray city costs over a long term and New Jersey Motorsports Park will make payments in lieu of property taxes to the city for a 15-year period. Those payments are expected to start at about $350,000 as the park's first phase is completed, and rise to $1m annually after about five years, when all the elements of the complex are in place. The park would be subject to normal property taxes after those 15 years.

The title of the new road circuit is a homage to Millville Airport's role in World War II as a training base for fighter pilots.