With the massive facility between uses and temporarily empty, vandals have left their mark at Bandimere Speedway.
They’ve broken windows, stripped electrical boxes and other devices, and tagged walls with graffiti. Bandimere representatives said people are living in the buildings as well.
Several videos depicting the damage are posted on TikTok and YouTube.
The speedway’s former facility and operations manager recently shared his concerns with the Morrison town board.
“There have been people all over the suites breaking windows,” said Larry Crisp, who is also son-in-law of the speedway’s former owner, John Bandimere Jr. “Homeless people that have been chased out of here. It’s on all kinds of videos, and it’s kind of the laughing stock of Morrison because there are no cops.”
While two trustees said they agree with Crisp that the issue should be addressed, no formal motion was taken.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said it has no record of vandalism at the site.
Securing the property
Bandimere hosted its last race in July 2024, and stopped doing any business at its Morrison site in October.
Global auto company Copart plans to operate a vehicle auction center on most of the former speedway site at Morrison Road and C-470. Copart representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Sheriff’s office spokesperson Karlyn Tilley said Copart has not been in touch with them about issues on the site.
“Someone from the town of Morrison reached out to let us know the new owner wanted to speak with us about securing the property,” said Tilley, estimating that the call came in March. “Since we never heard back from them, we don’t have any official records of it, just what people remember.”
Despite Crisp’s observations, Tilley said the Sheriff’s Office has no information about criminal incidents at the abandoned speedway.
“I couldn’t find any case reports related to vandalism at that address, so that leads me to believe we have not received any requests for us to respond out there,” she wrote.
In addition to an office, the Bandimere site has a VIP tower with four floors. Future plans call for razing the towers, stadium lights and grandstands, leaving only the office for Copart’s use. Its agreement with the town also includes fencing and revegetating much of the speedway site.
But town manager Mallory Nassau said the company’s site plan is not yet approved.
“Copart is still working on its site plan application,” she wrote in an email. “It is my understanding that once the plan is submitted and approved, construction will begin.”
John Bandimere, Jr., whose family has run the speedway since its 1958 opening, sold the land to move the operation to a much larger site in Hudson. But he agrees with Crisp that there are issues at the Morrison site.
“The land has been annexed into Morrison,” he said. “It’s something they should be paying attention to, and apparently they’re not.
“People have gone through the tower, pulled every wire and everything so they can sell it. It’s ridiculous. And people are living in every building there. You would think Morrison would not want people on the property. They’re making a mockery out of it on TikTok.”
Bandimere acknowledges his family has moved its business interests elsewhere.
“It’s not our responsibility,” he said. “But we were part of the town for years, and we are still tied to it emotionally.”
The property had been in Jefferson County, but Morrison agreed to annex the 125-acre site in August 2024. That deal includes the transfer of 16 acres to the town.
Morrison disbanded its police department in late 2024, and instead contracts with the sheriff’s office for law enforcement services.