Owners Of Sonoma Raceway Looking To Bring Massive 4-Day Music Festival To The North Bay

SONOMA (CBS SF) – Could another music festival be on the horizon in the Bay Area? If the owners of the Sonoma Raceway have their way, the racetrack could play host to a four-day festival in the coming years.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the owners are seeking to get approval to host a music festival that would bring thousands of fans to the North Bay, and could someday rival Outside Lands in San Francisco and BottleRock in Napa.

"We've been getting a very positive reaction from the folks around here in the business community," Steve Page, the racetrack's president and general manager tells the Chronicle. "For a major festival to be happening in their own backyard is an attractive prospect."

Organizers are seeking permission to bring in upwards of 55,000 people per day for the festival, while also allowing for 6,000 people to camp on-site. Plans also include a dance party tent, where music would be played until 4:00 a.m.

The music festival is only part of the proposed renovations at the site. The racetrack owner Speedway Motorsports also wants to turn an old administration building into a wine tasting room, and add light stands to a go-kart track, while also extending the track's hours.

Misti Harris, a planner with the Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management District, said although Page and the group of investors backing the project are moving forward, the idea is still very much in the early planning stages.

The group submitted a change the use permit application in November, and there is still no firm set up to conduct an environmental impact report.

The Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission is holding a meeting Wednesday night, where both opponents and supporters will be able to speak publicly on the proposal for the first time.