Here's how much the planned raceway in Casa Grande is projected to generate in economic impact (think billions)
For a long time, Casa Grande — and Pinal County at large — was where you stopped to go to the bathroom or filled up for gas on your way from Phoenix to Tucson.
These next few years will likely change that with several high-profile and high-dollar developments in the works.
Lucid Motors is bringing about 2,000 jobs and a $7 million auto plant to Casa Grande; Private Motorsports Group is bringing a $25 million private car club in Maricopa; and Danrick Builders is working on Attesa, a 2,360-acre motorsports center in Casa Grande.
Danrick is expecting entitlements from the city and county this spring, and they have yet to get any investors.
But according to a recent economic impact analysis by Elliott D. Pollack & Co., Attesa is going to bring in billions of dollars and thousands of jobs during construction and operation.
The study, which began in May 2016, evaluates construction, operations and tourism based on projected land use by type.
The total construction costs for the project come out to $1.1 billion, with the first phase costing an estimated $350 million. That phase is expected to start soon, and will include two separate 2.8-mile road courses plus a karting track, driver experience center and a multi-surface racing and event area, as well as residential, industrial and commercial properties plus a hotel and convention center and 6,000-foot private air strip.
The study estimates construction would employ almost 10,00 direct and indirect jobs with related wages reaching almost as much as the cost of building the first phase alone, at $347.6 million. Pollack & Co. and Danrick estimate this will have a $1.2 billion impact.
Upon completion, Attesa plans to hire more than 13,000 full-time and part-time employees, estimating that there would be a ripple effect of almost 2,000 jobs, reaching $1.8 billion in economic activity.
The study estimates annual visitation at 371,000, with visitors spending $40 million, which would support around 500 jobs with wages of $11.8 million and an economic output of $41.8 million.
Pinal County and the state would both benefit immensely from the development. Construction would bring in more than $50 million for the state and more than $12 million for the county in sales taxes and secondary revenue; operating revenues would hit $43 million for the state and almost $20 million for the county; and visitor spending would generate more than $2 million in tax revenue for the state and almost $500,000 for the county.
“Pinal County is very proud to be the location for Attesa,” said Tim Kanaval, Pinal County Economic Development Manager. “This economic impact study validates all our efforts toward locating this remarkable automotive R&D and motorsports community here. The numbers are remarkable and support our belief that Pinal County is on its way to being recognized as a global leader for transportation design technology.”
Steven covers retail, restaurants, hospitality/tourism as well as aviation, small business and nonprofits.
