Peculiar Smoke Signals Rising From The Waterford Speedbowl

So what’s the future of racing at the Waterford Speedbowl?

By all indications, there’s little doubt there will be racing at the Speedbowl this season, that much seems certain.

Now who will be control overseeing that racing, that is the big question right now.

Could it be a leaseholder Jerry Robinson and his group managing the facility for the second consecutive year?

Could Robinson go from leaseholder to track owner?

Could Terry Eames, who leads the group that currently owns the track, return to a management role with the facility?

With just about 3 months until the racing season kicks off at the Bowl, all those possibilities seem to be in play.

And the mystery of what’s going on only seemed to take another dramatic turn Saturday night when the 2007 season was celebrated at the track’s annual banquet.

The evening’s festivities kicked off with a cryptic message for attendees from the current management group.

“We are very close to announcing what the present operating team has been battling for over the past four months,” track consultant Peter Zanardi told those on hand. “We hope to announce in the very near future that the Waterford Speedbowl operating team will also be the owner of the facility. Perhaps it makes less than perfect sense to make this announcement at this time, but management believes it is very important tonight to justify the faith many of you have shown in us and to assure you that your efforts toward the 2008 season were and are not in vain.”

Terry Eames doesn’t deny that there have been talks between his ownership group and a group led by Robinson in regards to a sale, but he said he was surprised by the announcement made at the banquet.

“It didn’t come from me and I had no idea that was coming,” Eames said. “That was something I was surprised to see myself. If you read it they didn’t say they’ve got it bought they just said they hope to do it. There have been conversations. Jerry Robinson has had an interest in buying the place from the beginning. Nothing is done though. It’s a matter of price and it’s a matter terms. These things don’t come together overnight, if at all sometimes.”

Numerous attempts to reach Robinson over the last week have been unsuccessful.

Shawn Courchesne, 7:02 p.m.

Comments

[jake]

i would be delighted to see a long term commitment to the "bowl" come about. so many of our new england tracks have gone by the wayside and been turned into shopping centers or whatever like we need more of "them". make an agreement and good luck in the venture