By Grant Kerr
Canadian Press

The auto race's current site can't be used after this year and noreplacement has been found. And organizers fear they'll lose tobaccoadvertising and promotional revenues because of new federal legislation.

"We're not on the critical list just yet," Molstar vice-president Phil Heardsaid yesterday. "But we haven't got a lot of time to fix things."

Molstar Sports and Entertainment, which promotes the Molson Indy races inVancouver and Toronto, has been given until March 31 by Championship AutoRacing Teams to clear up the confusion in Vancouver or risk losing theevent.

Yesterday, the promoters withdrew a proposal to hold the 1998 race on thegrounds of the old Pacific National Exhibition fairgrounds after East Endresidents voiced their disapproval.

The eighth Vancouver race will be held Aug. 31 on a temporary street circuitdowntown where a developer plans to build houses where grandstands areusually erected.

Several U.S. cities, including groups in New York, Houston and Seattle, areinterested in taking over the Vancouver date on the 17-race CART schedule.

"CART is being extremely positive with us because they love Vancouver andall that," Heard said. "We're the doorway into the Asia Pacific market, soVancouver is a strategic part of CART's future."

Heard plans to listen to several other local proposals, but many are forsites not close to the downtown core, a criterion set by Molstar.

"We're looking for the community to come up with something that maybe wedon't even know about," Heard said.

The Toronto and Vancouver races, along with a Formula One event in Montreal,also face being snuffed out by Bill C-71, proposed federal legislationdesigned to limit tobacco advertising in Canada.

"If it goes through as written, we would be out of business," Heard said."But we think the legislation may have some international exemption status."

Many teams on the CART circuit have tobacco companies as major sponsors,including driver Greg Moore of Maple Ridge, B.C., in an agreement withPlayer's.

Health Minister David Dingwall, who proposed the legislation in December,said yesterday he will meet with auto racing officials to explain hisposition. He added that his bill does not call for a total ban on tobaccoadvertising and racing sponsorship, but would regulate the size andplacement of tobacco ads.

Many CART teams have contractual obligations to tobacco firms.

"We bring two events to Canada that result in a huge amount of revenue,"CART president Andrew Craig said. "What the government is doing is puttingtwo big events that bring money into Canada at risk."

The Vancouver race attracts more than 160,000 spectators over three days,with $19-million in economic spinoffs, Molstar said in a statement.

See also our related editorial by Wayne Duval.

Source: The Globe and Mail Company