Great Bend’s proposed STAR Bond project for the SRCA Dragstrip and Expo Complex is built around a payoff plan that starts with short-term borrowing for construction and only later converts into long-term bonds sold to private investors. The financing is designed to give the upgraded dragstrip and event facilities time to open and establish revenue before the city issues STAR Bonds, which would be repaid using tax revenue created inside the district.
The Kansas Legislature created STAR Bonds in 1999 as a statewide tool to finance major commercial, entertainment, and tourism areas. To stay eligible, projects must meet Kansas Department of Commerce thresholds showing that at least 20% of visitors come from out of state and 30% come from beyond 100 miles. Great Bend’s feasibility study treats the dragstrip as the primary anchor, while also relying on additional attractions including a drag racing museum and a sports and banquet complex intended to draw tournaments and events across Barton County and beyond.
Under the current scenario, the city would issue about $30 million in temporary notes for up to four years, paying interest only during that period while the facilities begin operating. Once revenue is demonstrated, the city would issue STAR Bonds—currently projected at about $12.095 million—funding debt reduction by applying STAR Bond proceeds against the temporary notes. What remains would be a roughly $16 million city general obligation bond with an estimated annual debt service of about $1.3 million, which is due each year.
The structure also depends on continuing to generate enough sales-tax increment to support bond coverage. Great Bend City Administrator Logan Burns and other presenters tied the plan’s success to whether the dragstrip, event center, and related businesses perform at levels sufficient to produce the sales tax needed for investors, with further analysis promised in the third part of the series from the Great Bend Tribune.