Monterey County considers a new, 55-year contract for management of Laguna Seca.

Monterey County officials are fond of boasting about the Laguna Seca Recreational Area, a unique county asset. It’s home to campgrounds, a shooting range and WeatherTech Raceway. But maintaining it all is expensive.

As Randell Ishii – Monterey County’s director of public works, facilities and parks – told the county Board of Supervisors on June 27, “While Laguna Seca brings substantial revenue, it is costly to operate and maintain the property.”

On July 11, the board will consider a concession agreement with Friends of Laguna Seca that is intended to solve that problem, by giving the responsibility for maintenance costs to the nonprofit. “This proposed agreement seeks to eliminate the burden on the county’s general fund,” Ishii said.

Under the proposed contract, which has been in negotiation for months, Friends of Laguna Seca would start with a five-year concession agreement. If it invests at least $10 million into the track in five years, it could extend the contract by 25 years; if in that time Friends spends another $40 million, it could extend the contract again by 25 years, for a total of 55 years, lasting until 2078.

“The longer the better,” says Ross Merrill, president of the Friends group. “The longer term we have, the longer we have to create partnerships with donors and sponsors. The goal is to have a financially independent Laguna Seca that can rebuild itself.”

Currently, the company A&D, operated by former hotel manager John Narigi, oversees the track on a management contract. (The county maintains responsibility for upkeep.)

A&D’s contract with the county expires on Dec. 31. Friends of Laguna Seca hatched its plan in partnership with Narigi, and would keep him on as manager; Merrill is a longtime motorsports aficionado, and vice president Bruce Canepa is a retired race car driver. The group approached county officials in mid-2022 with their concept.

The Friends first pitched itself in 2016 when the county was seeking a new track operator; the nonprofit SCRAMP (Sports Car Racing Association of Monterey Peninsula) ran the track since 1957 before running into financial difficulties.

At that time, Friends was unable to show evidence of funding needed to operate the track. The nonprofit still posts little by way of fundraising, according to publicly available documents – its IRS forms show it has raised under $50,000 each year since 2016, when it had a balance of $200,000 – but Merrill says it needs a signed contract in order to transform pledges into checks. The group has been actively fundraising through the Community Foundation for Monterey County’s Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation fund. (The foundation does not disclose fund balances.)

Per the proposed agreement, starting in 2028, Friends would pay the county 10 percent of its net revenue annually. Narigi told the board he estimated that could be at least $500,000, meaning he expects the group could net $5 million a year.

The supervisors voted 5-0 on June 27 to move forward; they’re set to vote on the proposal Tuesday, July 11. If approved, Friends would need to deposit $6 million into operating and capital improvement funds, and the U.S. Department of Interior would have to approve the agreement before it could take effect.