Tri-City Owner Says Proposed Allegheny Motor Speedway a No-Go; Thomas Responds

Ron Wilshire

Ron Wilshire

Published March 19, 2014 5:00 am
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amsFRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) – “I am 100 percent sure Tri-City Speedway will open this year,” said sole owner Roy Hill yesterday, acknowledging failed attempts by Mike Thomas to purchase the Franklin race track.

Thomas, also owner of Thomas Media LLC., of Oil City, said in an earlier news release and YouTube video he was planning to purchase Tri-City, rename it the Allegheny Motor Speedway, and revitalize the operation.

Some of the grand plans for a new version of Tri-City were outlined in an acquisition press conference on Jan. 24, 2014. A video of the announcement can be seen below.

Despite the failed deal, a live website surprisingly still exists and promises a coming season at Allegheny Motor Speedway.  

The website includes a schedule of races and even gives visitors the option to purchase advance tickets.

Allegheny Motor Speedway also issued press releases boasting various sponsorship deals including what the company claimed was a $175,000 deal with Pepsi.

The proposed track also named a Director of Operations and introduced “Miss Allegheny Motor Speedway” to anxious fans.

While Thomas attempted to purchase the $450,000 Tri-City Speedway, the deal was never completed, and the track remains for sale by Hill, the sole owner of the property. 

Hill, who lives in Virginia, said there are several possible purchasers interested in buying the speedway and negotiations are continuing.

News of the collapsed deal came after an announcement by Thomas that as of 5 p.m. March 8, he was halting all media operations. 

Media operations included free news websites and printed publications in Venango, Crawford, and Mercer Counties.

Sources say that Thomas explained to employees that the operation of newspapers and websites existed for 81 weeks and while he was proud of the motivation behind the end product, financial reasons caused the closing of operations.

Hill declined to comment further on his dealings with Thomas, citing legal reasons.

Thomas told exploreVenango.com that the Tri-City acquisition deal that was originally in place was not completed by the February 28 deadline because financing from an investment bank in San Francisco was temporarily withdrawn on February 27.

Financing was withdrawn “for reasons due to the investment bank,” according Thomas, who says he has the documents to back up his claims.

The documents Thomas is referring to are currently being reviewed and confirmed by exploreVenango.com staff.

Thomas says he has funding in place from another investment bank and intends to follow through with the purchase of Tri-City.

“I intend to close the deal,” said Thomas. “I still have the keys to the property.”

Thomas also indicated that he is seeking legal action against the original investment bank for not following through on promised capital.

Hill could not be reached for further comment.

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