WA’s premier may be planning victory laps around his controversial election-promised Burswood Park racetrack, but his government is being coy about one crucial element that could sink the whole thing.

An element that could add to the project’s $217 million price tag — and one that appears vital to its success.

The element in question? The land needed to build it.

And given the scrutiny it’s under to keep the budget at bay, the government will be praying any potential deal to grab the land doesn’t cost a penny.

A social media ad promoting the Burswood street circuit during the WA election campaign. (ABC News: Gian De Poloni)

The project — officially known as the Perth Entertainment and Sporting Precinct — and colloquially coined by the Opposition as “Rita’s Racetrack” — has its fair share of critics.

Aside from noise worries from nearby apartment residents, the track has even split opinion within the Labor Party.

Sunbaking tourists will either love or loathe it, with the proposed track’s southern leg doglegging some 50 metres from the edge of the Crown Towers swimming pool.

“You could be high-fiving Garth Tander from a sun-bed by the looks of things here,” quipped Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas, one of the most vocal opponents of the project.

The racetrack butts up against the northern portion of the Crown Towers. (ABC News: Andrew O’Connor)

That led an unidentified state government spokesperson to have a swipe: “Basil Zempilas will say and do anything and stands for nothing.”

“He is now arguing you can’t have a vehicle within a kilometre of the Crown pool when we have hundreds of buses go past that very same pool every week.”

Whether buses breach the peace as much as V8 Supercars is a question for the consultants.

But the much more existential problem? It’s not the government’s land to use in the first place.

How did we get here?

A large portion of vacant land closest to the casino — which used to be a golf course — was sold by former Premier Colin Barnett to Crown in 2013 so it could keep expanding its resort.

The land was valued at $95 million — but Mr Barnett sold it for $60 million.

There was a caveat though — Crown would have to build on it and open its new development by September 2028.

If not, the government was entitled to buy it back at the original purchase price.

But Crown has yet to progress any work on the vacant site, and in 2020 was looking to drop that caveat altogether and keep the land.

It is still unresolved to this day, despite the plan for the racetrack being far progressed.

The government appears to be banking on that ‘use it or lose it’ clause to be able to get what it wants — and needs.

Crown licence woes

In the meantime, Crown had problems of its own, ending with the publication of the Perth Casino Royal Commission in March 2022 which found it was unsuitable to hold a casino licence.

The next year, then-Environment Minister Reece Whitby signed an agreement allowing the state to take control of casino land bordering Perth Stadium that would also be needed for the racetrack precinct.

The site of proposed Perth’s Burswood Park multi-use community hub and racetrack. (ABC News: Glyn Jones)

The rest is unclear.

How much, if anything, was paid? Had the government resolved to build the racetrack back then?

Mr Whitby was asked about that 2023 arrangement on Friday.

“Look, I don’t know the details of that, it’s not a portfolio responsibility of mine … it certainty wasn’t at the time,” Mr Whitby said on Friday.

WA government minister Reece Whitby. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)

“I’m not part of the current negotiations, I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

Land swap or sale?

Crown itself is on the record in support of the project.

Standing alongside the Racing and Gaming Minister in July welcoming the government’s decision to allow Crown to keep its casino licence, then-Crown Resorts chair John Van Der Wielen said the racetrack was a “really exciting possibility”.

“We’re clearly supportive of any further developments on the peninsula,” he said.

Crown Resorts chair John Van Der Wielen (right) was asked about the racetrack at a press conference in July. (ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch)

But what about the land issue? Would he consider a swap?

After all, the government controls several prized pieces of riverfront land adjacent to the Burswood site.

“I think it’s too early days to speculate on anything like that but we’re supportive of ongoing development,” Mr Van Der Wielen said.

Treasurer Rita Saffioti is on the record saying the government is “very confident we will not be buying any land.”

Political risk

It’s risky for the government to be banking on acquiring land without paying anything for it, but politically it’s even riskier.

It’s got an Opposition ready to pounce on anything racetrack related using its “axe the track” slogan at any opportunity.

Basil Zempilas has become one of the most vocal opponents of the project. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)

“For months now we’ve been asking in parliament will you need to acquire any land from Crown Casino to be able to complete this racetrack — acquire, purchase, land swap — we were told no by the state government,” Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said on Thursday.

“I’m not sure how that’s going to be possible.”

The Save Burswood Park Alliance rally on the steps of Parliament. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)

It’s understood despite the published maps of the racetrack, the designs are still being finalised, meaning it’s still unclear just how essential this piece of land is.

If it is, the government will need to negotiate a deal — or worse, concede the project’s cost will blow out, and it won’t want to do that.

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