Aurora’s dream of motor sports, as part of an entertainment district on the outskirts of the city, have once again been dashed.

Even with all the city’s energy centered for years on striking a 1999 city charter amendment that bars public funding for motor sport projects, Aurora officials said late last week the campaign advocating for a ballot initiative never got off the ground, the Aurora Sentinel reports.

It’s a glum development for Aurora considering the challenges that have stalled ambitions in the past and the recent obstacles to pave the way for the entertainment district.

The city charter amendment has frustrated the city’s entertainment and NASCAR-style racetrack ambitions for years. In June, city officials agreed to seek voter approval via a ballot question to roll back the amendment (city voters have twice before said no through the ballot). Aurora residents then challenged the ballot question in court, but the city won the dispute.

As the Sentinel’s Kara Mason reports, an unforeseen medical issue affecting the chief strategist ultimately stifled the campaign:

Mayor Steve Hogan called the meeting at the request of councilwoman Sally Mounier, a chief sponsor of the measure that would end a ban against the city from cooperating with a possible race track project on a 1,700-acre plot of city-owned land near I-70 and Hudson Road.

Mounier said she asked to pull the proposal from the ballot because a critical campaign to pass the measure never materialized.

“Proponents of the amendment have informed the council that, due to an unexpected medical issue concerning their chief political strategist, their ability to run a campaign has been severely compromised,” the resolution said.

It’s unclear whether the city will pursue a future ballot initiative to realize the entertainment district.