More than two dozen Edmonton businesses involved in the 2012 Edmonton Indy could be out hundreds of thousands of dollars. A bankruptcy trustee filed a document on behalf of Octane Motorsports Events last month, outlining a long list of creditors.
Some businesses are out a few hundred dollars, others a few hundred thousand dollars.
Kyle Lupul of KDL Audio Productions has provided audio equipment and services for the Edmonton Indy for the past few years. His loss is on the lower side of the spectrum, he is out about $525. He says it usually takes a few weeks to receive payment from the company however, this year was a bit different.
"A couple weeks ago I received an email from their finance department saying that they're temporarily unable to pay any of their bills but, please hang on, we'll get to you shortly," Lupul explained.
This week, Lupul received a package from the company in the mail. In that package was a full list of all the businesses in North America that are owed money from the company.
"It seems like they didn't pay any of their bills and now everybody is just trying to scramble or negotiate to see what they can get out of it to cover their loses."
Mike Pratt from Precision Cut Painting painted the lines at the track at the Edmonton Indy this year. He is out about $12,000 in labour and supply costs.
"I actually have to pay the paint supplier now, the money that I owe them. So, it's going to be a loss but, if I could recoup my loss from them and just call it even, it's basically a business learning experience," said Pratt.
City Councillor Kim Krushell says she feels sorry for the businesses that have lost money however, Octane Motorsports is its own company.
"The city itself was not directly on the hook. It was a straight sponsorship deal. So, we basically cut a cheque and that was the involvement of the city of Edmonton," explained Krushell.
Lupul knows his loss won't impact the overall operation of his business but, feels sorry for others who will suffer.
"This is a nationally sanctioned event. It's just so large, it's just hard to imagine that it would go bad this way," Lupul said adding, "This leaves a big hole and a lot of companies may not be able to recover from that."
With files from Laurel Clark.
© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2012.