Noise threat to Washington ALMS race

An additional embarrassment for the city administration is that the estimated $5m cost of constructing the 1.7-mile circuit, incorporating the city's Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, has been split between NGPH and the . NGPH has the duration of the 10-year race contract to make annual repayments for its share of the cost, receiving what amounts to an interest-free loan. DC officials have responded to criticism of this arrangement by pointing out that the project has brought repairs to the dilapidated parking lots at the RFK venue. They say that they did not view the money as a loan, but as an investment in a DC asset with NGPH ultimately picking up half the cost.

Washington mayor Anthony A. Williams said yesterday: "I think we need to make an additional investment in noise suppression." He added that he would also work towards improve disclosure about the finances involved in staging the event.

NGPH was founded in 1999 specifically to stage this event by Christopher Lencheski and George deBidart, and its COO is Hayne Dominick.

American civic authorities have been cautious about bankrolling motorsport events since an event in Denver, CO, in the early 1990s served as a cautionary tale. The event lost about $7m in the two years it was run, and taxpayers were left with a $500,000 bill in subsidies. Officials in Long Beach, Cleveland and Detroit do not contribute public funds to their 2002 races. However Raceworks, the promoter of this October's inaugural Grand Prix of the Americas in downtown Miami, has been loaned $2m by the Miami Sports & Exhibition Authority. The loan is subject to an interest rate of 6.25 percent and must be repaid within five years.