New management selected for Laguna Seca

SALINAS, Calif (KION)

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors selected a new management team to take over operations at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, which includes the world-famous WeatherTech Raceway.

A&D Narigi Consulting, LLC was the unanimous selection by the Board on Tuesday, with local businessman John Narigi acting as General Manager. This is a three-year agreement with Narigi taking control January 1, 2020.

Narigi has been at the head of the Monterey Plaza Hotel and has been heavily involved in several local business groups and organizations.

Narigi however does not have experience running a race track. Supervisor John Phillips tells KION that he is not concerned.

"You have to find other ways to bring people in," said Phillips. "When you go to the car races a lot of the people are my age. You have to do some things that are encouraging young people to come and be involved in the sport. There's a lot of hospitality things that can be expanded on and other opportunities where you can make money."

The race track had been run for decades by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP). SCRAMP was hoping to keep operating Laguna Seca and felt that they weren't getting a fair shot by the county.

In a statement to KION last week, SCRAMP CEO Tim McGrane said “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. 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.”

There was also a report published Tuesday by outlet "Voices of Monterey Bay" writing that Narigi and/or his involved organizations have been major contributors to the political campaigns of Supervisors Phillips and Chris Lopez.

KION found that Narigi and the Monterey Plaza Hotel made donations to Phillips' 2018 Supervisor re-election campaign.

When asked by KION about the Voices report and how campaign contributions could have played a role in the management decision, Phillips responded that the report was a "cheap shot."

"I don't think it deserves any more response," Phillips said.