WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Three years ago it looked like SCRAMP, the all-volunteer organization that has operated Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca for 62 years, would be shown the offramp. Then SCRAMP got a reprieve. After looking over three proposals for new management in 2017, including one from Bruce Canepa, one from Chris Pook and one from International Speedway Corp. in cooperation with SCRAMP, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors decided to give SCRAMP another three years to run the track while it looked around for a more permanent operator. Now those three years are up and it looks like a new operator will likely be approved by the Board at a Tuesday meeting. After getting new proposals to manage the track from several interested parties – including SCRAMP – it looks like the new management will likely be A&D Narigi Consulting LLC.
“While all firms were considered, A&D Narigi Consulting, LLC brought a unique local business/hospitality approach to the forefront and is most closely aligned with the timeline and business model required for future success,” the Board said in a report released Nov. 14.
So who is A&D Narigi Consulting LLC? Meet John V. Narigi, who will likely be voted “the principal and sole responsible party acting as the General Manager for daily oversight and management of the real estate and all operations,” to use the description in Narigi’s proposal to the Board. Narigi was vice president and general manager of the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa for the last 25 years and worked at other hotels before that. In half a sentence in its own “Proposal for Management Contract” submitted last month A&D Narigi Consulting LLC said Narigi “is passionate about racing…”
That doesn’t mean the end for SCRAMP, the scrappy band of volunteers that have made Laguna Seca roar since the track’s founding in 1957.
“Staff and A&D Narigi Consulting, LLC continue to be committed to working with all volunteer groups to value and honor their continued service and spirit of volunteerism at LSRA (Laguna Seca Recreational Area),” the proposal said.
In fact, Narigi’s proposal goes on to say that, should he be chosen, “…all current management and associates would be re-hired with existing benefits…”
As for the racing, Narigi’s “Future Objectives” listed in his Proposal include “…maintaining the number of race events annually as actualized in 2019.” The 2019 calendar included Indycars, IMSA sports cars, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, World Superbike, Trans Am and the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
SCRAMP ceo Timothy McGrane said the County only gave potential bidders two weeks’ notice to submit proposals when it opened the process Oct. 15.
“This news comes as a surprise to the SCRAMP organization,” he said. “We were starting to make real progress on getting the facility and the raceway operations turned around and poised for the future, but it appears at this time we may not have the opportunity to see these plans through.
“As the existing facility operator, we were stunned by the fact that we were not provided the opportunity to discuss our proposal with the ACAO (Assistant County Administrative Officer). The entire process has been unconventional, ranging from the bypassing of the County’s usual Request For Proposal (RFP) process, the announcement in mid-October requesting proposals from any interested parties with only two weeks’ notice, and complaints that SCRAMP had not met deadlines to submit a proposal when in fact a submission date had been agreed upon in May, and subsequently met, has been challenging.”
More to come, surely.
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