Bridgeport Motorsports Park owners apologize for chaos around festival

Capt. Howard Bennett, a Camden firefighter, was laid to rest Feb. 11 and honored with a celebration of life.

LOGAN TWP. -- The owners of Bridgeport Motorsports Park have issued a lengthy apology for massive traffic-related problems that developed around a car and music festival held March 29 at their Floodgate Road facility.

Logan Township police issued a statement March 30 that conditions around the "Import Export" festival got so out of hand before 11 a.m. Sunday that its mutual assistance partners across Gloucester County came in to help with traffic and crowd control.

Doug and Brittany Rose took over in 2019 as owners and operators of the park, known in the automotive racing community as the "Kingdom of Speed." They posted an apology and explanation on the park Facebook page early Monday afternoon.

"First and foremost, my wife and I would like to apologize to the community for yesterday's inconveniences," the post reads. "I do not like to make excuses, and I do not want this to sound like an excuse.

"I would like to express to our neighbors, once we realized this was not what we expected as a facility, we, along with authorities diligently began to dissolve the event without causing things to escalate," the Roses stated.

Management could not be reached by phone or email on Monday.

Logan police say Sunday's event lacked local approval. The township also did not receive notice it was happening, police say.

"The area rapidly became inundated with motorists from as far away as Massachusetts and Virginia," police stated. "The park quickly exceeded its capacity and an estimated 25,000 individuals parked wherever they chose, exited their vehicles, and began walking to the venue.

The park website does include a schedule of 2026 events. The Import Export event is part of that list, including a provision for April 12 in case of rain.

According to Logan police, motor vehicle violations reported included speeding, unsafe passing, racing, and passengers riding atop vehicles.

In addition, they say, reports came in of public intoxication, public urination, lewdness, disorderly conduct, littering, and fights.

An emergency alert message was sent out with the help of the county Office of Emergency Management. The alert was lifted around 6:44 p.m. Sunday.

Police say one male was charged with disorderly conduct. He was released pending a hearing in Municipal Court.

The Roses stated that traffic was the basic problem. And after access to Floodgate Road was closed to vehicles, people parked and walked to the park.

"At that time, enough was enough and we decided to begin the process of shutting down the event, again with the mindset not to cause anything to escalate," the owners posted. "Once the event stopped and everyone was made aware is when the alerts went out over the phones asking everyone to disperse."

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey almost four decades ago, concentrating on housing, politics, real estate, business, and development. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Support local journalism with a subscription.