Ada County looks for Les Bois tenant

IBR Staff//February 17, 2009//

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Ada County’s Board of Commissioners has instructed staff to begin the process of identifying potential new tenants for the county-owned Les Bois Park horse racing facility.

In a letter dated Feb. 13, Capitol Racing owner Steve Bieri formally notified the county of the company’s intent to cancel its lease agreement for the site, according to a county release.

“The decision to cancel the lease must have been extremely difficult for Capitol Racing,” Ada County Commission Chairman Fred Tilman said in the release. “Steve Bieri and his team have been exceptional tenants. While we hate to see them go, we certainly understand this is a business decision the company was forced to make during this time of extreme economic uncertainty.”

Under the year-to-year lease agreement, Capitol Racing paid Ada County’s Expo Idaho/Western Idaho Fair enterprise fund $1.5 million over five years, beginning in October 2005.

The county accommodated Capitol’s request to renegotiate the terms of the lease agreement, but Capitol Racing did not respond with proposed lease modifications.

The county’s request for proposals packet will be available on the Ada County Web site in the next few weeks.