TOPEKA (KSNT) - Last fall, Heartland Motorsports Park shut down after nearly 35 years in operation. Now, the racetrack and surrounding property is up for auction.
Some of its biggest events were National Hot Rod Association races and the Country Stampede, an annual country festival that announced it was leaving to Bonner Springs ahead of this year's shows.
Shawn Terrel is the President of auction services at United Country, the company handling the bidding for the park and surrounding properties.
"I've been an auctioneer for 30 years. I've had about 4000 auctions myself," Terrel said. "And, this is the first time that I've sold a racetrack like this, of this caliber, that was built out and developed like this one was. So, they do not come on the auction block very often. Usually, these are privately negotiated sales."
More than 620 acres are divided into 29 tracts, with 10 making up the racetrack. The racetrack properties will be sold together in a package deal. Although the future of the property is up to the highest bidder, Terrel says it has the potential to keep racing in Topeka.
"It's got the facilities, the field, the scoring house, you know, the suites," Terrel said. "Everything's set up out here for that right now. But, industry's transition over time and sometimes they run their course and property that gets bought is redeveloped and redefined into something new."
Shelby Development LLC's owner, Chris Payne, told 27 News in April he will use the sales from the auction to pay back the property's tax debt owed to Shawnee County, which has reached more than $3 million. The tax debt was a driving factor in Heartland's shutdown.
The bidding is all done online. You can find the auction details by clicking here. It closes at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 17.
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