800,000 visitors to Road America generate over $100 million in revenue each year, making it a major piece of Sheboygan County and Wisconsin’s tourist economy. Much of that comes from sales of alcoholic beverages to thirsty fans under the summer sun. But there was a problem: the permits required for those sales are usually issued by the municipality, and with Road America shared by the townships of Rhine and Plymouth, deciding who is responsible was complicated.
Representative Tyler Vorpagel of Plymouth has been working for several years with local municipalities, Road America and the State Department of Revenue to solve the issue, and on Tuesday a bill was passed out of the Senate to the Governor’s Desk and is expected to be signed into law. The bill solves the problem by having the State issue those permits for caterers, local groups, businesses and non-profits who operate on the grounds.
The bill needed to be crafted quite specifically in order to avoid unintended consequences, and as Vorpagel put it: “It’s very carefully defined so that I believe there’s only one racetrack that does, or ever will, qualify for it.”
The bill comes in time to streamline this season’s sales at Road America which is anticipating big crowds especially for the new NASCAR event coming in July.
