Nürburgring / Germany: Rhineland-Palatinate Terminates Lease Agreement

Germany’s Nürburgring and its operators have been mainly associated with negative headlines for the last three years. A theme park was opened adjacent to the race track in 2009, but its announced rollercoaster has not been in operation for technical reasons until today. According to Spiegel Online, the purchase and the expansion of Nürburgring required the former SPD government a total sum of 330 million Euros. The mainly state-owned operating company Nürburgring GmbH is said to have received further financial help during the year of 2011. Media reported that the State of Rhineland-Palatinate terminated the lease agreement with the privately-held Nürburgring Automotive GmbH (NAG) some days ago. According to Roger Lewentz, Minister for Infrastructure, the lease had not been paid. NAG announced to initiate legal proceedings. (eap)