Waterford — Waterford Speedbowl owner Terry Eames is not expecting an investor in shining armor to rescue the racetrack from the foreclosure auction scheduled for noon Saturday at the 1080 Hartford Turnpike property.



“At this point, I think it’s a fairly good bet that the auction will take place,” Eames said Thursday in a phone interview.



Eames was in foreclosure when Speedbowl fan Rocco Arbitell and business partner Peter Borrelli lent him $750,000 to keep the track.



Arbitell and Borrelli later filed for their own foreclosure against Eames in 2008 and the Speedbowl track for car racing was slated for sale at auction on Halloween in 2009. The auction was canceled when Eames filed for bankruptcy.



Saturday’s auction will precede “Smacktoberfest,” the Speedbowl’s last scheduled racing event of the season. Doors for the event open at 1 p.m., and a demolition derby is scheduled for 3 p.m., according to an automated recording at the phone number for the Speedbowl.



“I think there’s a good chance Saturday’s event could be the last one at the track,” Eames said, meaning the last car race on the track, ever.



He said he believes there is about a 50 percent chance of the property continuing to be used as a racetrack, based on conversations about interested parties with New London-based attorney Garon Camassar. Camassar is scheduled to oversee the auction as the New London Superior Court-appointed Committee of Sale.



Camassar said he was also selected as committee of sale five years ago, at the time the first auction was scheduled.



“There are some interested parties,” Camassar said of possible bidders. “There are at least three people that have expressed a lot of interest, that we have sent materials to.”



He said he expects the auction to last about 15 minutes. He said it will take place wherever he finds space on the property, commenting that he often conducts auctions sitting on the roof of his car.



“I start promptly at noon, so don’t be late if you want to watch what little excitement there’s going to be,” he said.



The 26.7 acre Speedbowl property has an appraised value of $2.8 million, buildings and land included, according to the Waterford assessor’s office. Town tax collector Mark Burnham said Eames is current on his property taxes, which total roughly $56,000 a year.



Zoning of the three parcels owned by Eames and the Speedbowl allows for industrial uses including warehousing, manufacturing and studios for motion pictures, recording and television and radio production.



The new purchaser of the Speedbowl may also continue use of it as a racetrack provided the racetrack is not expanded and no new uses are added, according to Mark Wujtewicz, planner in the Waterford Department of Planning and Development.



He said it is possible for a purchaser to continue use of the Speedbowl and sell off portions of the land deemed unnecessary for track operations for other uses. He said any new uses would require approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission.



Eames sold 8 acres of overflow parking space at the Speedbowl to Harvey Industries in 2006 for $1.6 million, to make good with Washington Mutual, which was foreclosing on him at the time.



Court records list nine creditors in the current foreclosure suit against Eames, which was filed by Arbitell and Borrelli in 2008. In April, Eames estimated his debt to creditors at $1.9 million.



A racer who declined to state his full name said Thursday that Speedbowl fans were considering tailgating Saturday’s auction.



Speedbowl fan Dennis Savage of Norwich said the impending auction had set a sad tone among his fellow fans. Savage said he hopes that the Speedbowl continues as a racetrack, and that he would be willing to volunteer his time for the track as long as car racing continues.



Savage said Facebook posts indicated some mixed feelings among fans about how races might continue at the track.



“Many people, for many reasons, would like to see it operate, but under new management,” he said.



t.townsend@theday.com



Twitter: @ConnecticuTess

