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A Metro East racetrack will be torn down as part of a $21 million publicly funded redevelopment.
Belle-Clair Speedway, a 0.2-mile dirt oval used for stock car races that opened in 1948 and has been shuttered since 2020, will be torn down to build a new track at the same site, the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners decided Monday night. It is located at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds at 200 S. Belt East in Belleville.
The board approved two contracts, for the demolition of the racetrack and other structures around the fairgrounds, that will be paid for with federal Covid-19 pandemic relief funds, the Belleville News-Democrat reported.
The board voted to hire Belleville-based Hank’s Excavating and Landscaping Inc., which submitted the lowest of four bids. The racetrack demolition, which will pave the way for a new $5 million track and about $14 million in other renovations to the fairgrounds, is expected to cost $85,000.
The county and the city of Belleville jointly acquired the 22.5-acre fairgrounds property, which had been listed for sale for $2.4 million, for that price in December 2022. The property was previously under private ownership. The city later transferred its 1/51 share of ownership to the county. The move had been made due to a quirk in state law that a private corporation can only be sold to a minimum of two public entities, officials said. The purchase was made using federal Covid-19 funds.
The fairgrounds property was the host of the annual St. Clair County Fair until the fair was canceled for financial trouble. It is hoped that the fair can be brought back as soon as late 2025, when the renovations could be completed, officials have said. The site will be renamed St. Clair County Fairgrounds Park, according to the Illinois Business Journal.
The track is unsafe in its current form, said officials, who looked into overhauling the track but found that it couldn’t be insured due to its condition and that reviving the grandstands and concession areas would cost more than building new, the Illinois Business Journal reported.
The county hopes for the return of races to the newly built $5 million track by next fall. At a quarter of a mile, the new track will be larger than the original. The cost of the new track is being funded by the state of Illinois, the county has previously said. The hope is that the racetrack will be an economic driver for the area and create jobs and more business for nearby businesses, state Sen. Christopher Belt said in June.
The new track will be one of the highlights of extensive renovations planned for the fairgrounds, which will be paid out of $14 million set aside from the county’s federal Covid-19 funds, the Illinois Business Journal reported.
The Exposition Building at the fair site, which hosts mostly flea markets, will get a new roof and HVAC systems as well as 20 restrooms and showers so that it can be used as the county’s emergency shelter for up to 1,000 people displaced during disasters, county Board Chairman Mark Kern told the Illinois Business Journal.
The barns behind that building will also be renovated, which should allow the return of livestock exhibitions to the fair, which had been dropped due to lack of suitable facilities, Kern has said.
The county in May acquired seven additional properties around the fairgrounds, for a total of $1.3 million, the Belleville News-Democrat reported.
The board also voted to hire Hank’s to demolish a dozen other dilapidated structures around the county for a bid of $133,675, using state grants. The buildings are located in Belleville, Dupo, East Carondelet, Swansea and Cahokia Heights, according to an inventory from the newspaper.
