Fabens may soon be the home of the region’s first paved speedway – a $17 million project that developers say will bring racing fans, economic activity and adrenaline to the open desert in far East El Paso County.
Gerald “Jerry” Kandler, chief executive officer of Speedway Resort Properties LLC, said the Pan Am Speedway — which will break ground in late October and is expected to open the first of two phases next summer — will host racing circuits for go-karts, motorcycles and sports cars along with concerts and festivals. With no comparable track in the region, the Fabens site is expected to become a destination for racing enthusiasts.
The El Paso County Commissioners Court on Aug. 25 approved a Chapter 381 incentive agreement with Speedway Resort Properties that will provide the company with about $300,000 in property tax grants – a form of property tax relief that the county will pay the company in annual reimbursements over 10 years. The company must meet certain stipulations to qualify for the tax grants, including hiring a certain number of employees paid at or above the median county wage, and building within a certain timeframe.
“The reason for doing it is a little bit selfish in the fact that I love racing and I want to be around it,” Kandler told El Paso Matters.
The 62-year-old is a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie.
He said he has always been competitive – even racing tricycles with his siblings as a child.
Developing a speedway is something he said has been talked about in the area for at least 10 years, but had never come to fruition on the scale he said would benefit the region. Drivers who want to race go-karts generally have to set up tracks in parking lots. Racers previously set up a track at the former Cohen Stadium site until the city entered a partnership with the entertainment developer Venu for a 12,500-seat amphitheater at the site. Now, races are held at an Army National Guard parking lot.
There is also a dirt track at the county-owned San Felipe Park in Fabens where all vehicles are allowed, but is popular with all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, and trucks.
Other private-property owners have allowed races with some ending in tragedy. In June 2021, a mud race at Island Guadalupe Road in Fabens left a 21-year-old dead and several people injured when a vehicle crashed through guard rails and into a crowd of spectators.
“One of the things that stood out to me about this (speedway) project is that really it’s going to provide a safe and contained space for these types of activities,” County Commissioner Illiana Holguin said.
Holguin, whose precinct encompasses where the track will be built, recalled the fatal crash in Fabens from 2021.
“I’ve always remembered that and so, having a location where it’s safe and it’s contained, and there’s going to be security and supervision, to me, it is hugely important,” she said.
The speedway will be built on 66 acres of land and will feature a 1.7-mile, 40-foot-wide competition track for cars, motorcycles, and go-karts, and a 0.73-mile, 30-foot-wide rental track designed for families, corporate events and community engagement. There will also be racing simulators and classes for those who want to learn more about racing and Formula 4 racing – a precursor for the highly competitive Formula 1 racing.
The speedway will also have a port for helicopters, medical care center and small fire station on site.
“The safety factors are huge, but being there (in Fabens), it’s a 15-minute flight, worst case (scenario), from the time they get off the ground to the time they land in (the Hospitals of) Providence east campus – so it’s a nice proximity to a major trauma center,” Kandler said.
Safety aside, county officials are hoping the development will also spur more economic activity in the area.
The speedway will be located near Cattleman’s Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch in Fabens.
Kandler said he is hoping to work with the steakhouse for events.
“We support them 100%. We think it would be another nice addition to El Paso (and) something else to do here,” Cattleman’s owner Marc Gerzymisch said. “And we (will) probably benefit from it, too, because we’re on the path, on the way there.”
Gerzymisch said he has been talking with Kandler and believes they can do some cross-promoting and work together on events. He also said he is not concerned about noise from racing since the speedway will be a few miles away.
“This is an anchor tourism project for the county. This brings new streams of revenue for the hotels, for the lodging, for the retail sector within the county,” said Roberto Ransom, El Paso County director of economic development.
Ransom said even with the economic incentives, the county will still see an increase in property tax revenue from the speedway. When the county developed the incentive agreement, it estimated the development will generate about $392,000 over the 10-year agreement. The tax rebate over that time will be about $294,000, leaving about $98,000 for the county coffers. Kandler also has to have at least 29 full-time employees that are paid at least the county median wage of $18.29 per hour.
County officials say they also expect more traffic through the Tornillo-Guadalupe International Bridge since international racers will likely use the international bridge, which is located near the future speedway.
Kandler said the proximity to the Tornillo port of entry was a key factor in choosing the site.
“That is our main driving reason. If you want to talk about percentages, it’s 60% the reason why we put it out there. OK, 20% reason is sound pollution, Kandler said.
Simply put, Kandler said, racing is loud.
“There’s nobody out there (and) nothing on there, OK, so if there’s nobody hearing it, it’s not happening, right? If nobody’s hearing the noise, the noise isn’t occurring,” Kandler said. “Those are the kind of things that we think about – we think about safety and accessibility.”
While the location will be accessible, getting access to water will be tricky.
Kandler said the site will have electricity from El Paso Electric, but water will be held in tanks since there is no connection.
He said trucking in the water will suffice in the short-term, but wants to have discussions with the water utility to get direct access. El Paso County Water Control and Improvement District No. 4 provides water and wastewater services for the rural area of Fabens.
The speedway will be built in two phases – the first phase will be the smaller .73-mile track, as well as storage, workshops and go-kart rentals. Kandler said that should
be completed by next spring or summer. The second phase will include cabin houses, paved parking, a food truck area, pits for races and other amenities.
“The tracks are going to be built simultaneously, so the smaller track and the buildings that go with that track are going to be built first. They’re the least amount of work, initially,” he said.
A groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for late October.
“A perfect day (at the speedway) would be a music concert, a race, our rental car track full of people and everybody enjoying anything and everything around the racetrack itself – that would be the perfect day,” Kandler said.
The post ‘I love racing’: Enthusiast to build speedway in Fabens under incentive agreement with El Paso County appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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