Hall of Fame

The Brain · Mar 1, 2006 at 12:34 PM

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/motorsports/13986945.htm

Charlotte in Victory Lane?
Sources expect announcement Monday; costs of NASCAR Hall of Fame unclear
JIM UTTER AND JIM MORRILL
[email protected] | [email protected]

Charlotte has won the yearlong race to land NASCAR's Hall of Fame, three sources told the Observer on Tuesday night.

Charlotte beat out Atlanta and Daytona Beach, Fla., to win the $100 million-plus shrine to stock car racing, the sources said. An official announcement is expected Monday afternoon in Charlotte.

"It's coming to Charlotte," said one source, who like the others asked not to be identified because of the confidentiality of the process. The source said final logistics must still be worked out, but "it's going to happen."

"Monday will be a great day for the city," said another source.

A NASCAR spokesman, reached late Tuesday, would only confirm that NASCAR would announce the project site this month.

Sources said NASCAR Chairman Brian France is expected in Charlotte on Monday for the announcement.

Charlotte began competing with four other cities in early 2005 to host the shrine, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. Two months ago, NASCAR eliminated Kansas City and Richmond, Va., as candidates, leaving Charlotte, Atlanta and Daytona Beach.

Charlotte's proposal calls for a futuristic-looking $137.5 million building at Brevard and Stonewall streets that would also include a new ballroom for the uptown Convention Center.

It would be paid for largely through a 2 percentage point increase in Mecklenburg County's tax on hotel rooms, as well as contributions from state government and local companies. All but $15 million would be public money.

Sources said the Charlotte City Council would finalize details of the deal on Monday.

Mayor Pat McCrory, reached late Tuesday, said only: "No comment."

City officials released most of the city's initial bid to the Observer last summer, but withheld a portion known as the "pro forma" that projected the hall's long-term expenses and operating budget.

Related documents, however, showed the city would operate the hall and pay the bulk of construction costs, while NASCAR would get payments for the use of its name and merchandise.

Details veiled

Charlotte taxpayers may have to wait a while longer to know details of the city's negotiations with NASCAR.City leaders said Tuesday they see any NASCAR deal as an economic development package, like those that lured Johnson & Wales University, Time Warner Cable's back-office operations and other private companies.

Typically, those deals get worked out in closed-door meetings. Most details stay secret until just before an announcement.

It's not unusual for companies to require city officials to sign nondisclosure agreements pledging to keep details under wraps. But, of course, city officials can't talk about those either.

The Charlotte City Council met for three hours behind closed doors on an "economic development issue" Monday night, but members refused to even say what it was about.

"We're trying to recruit businesses to our community, and we need to treat those with a different kind of caution because they're competitive," said John Lassiter, chair of the council's economic development committee. "The public had ample opportunity to weigh in (on the hall) when we put together the financing for our bid last year."

Council members said earlier Tuesday they won't make the same mistakes they made in 2002 and 2003, when they quickly approved thick contracts with the NBA to build a $265 million arena uptown. Later, some details surprised them, such as the lack of a requirement for the team to pay for policing outside arena events.

"We've already asked about the policing and traffic control around the new cultural arts facilities," said council member Patsy Kinsey, referring to a recently approved package of museums.

Council members also reiterated they would not spend revenues from property taxes on the hall of fame and said they would carefully scrutinize any documents before voting on them.

They also noted that because state law requires all votes be taken in public, citizens would have at least some opportunity to comment before any final action.

Successful campaign

Charlotte's selection climaxes a high-profile pitch by city and Chamber of Commerce leaders to woo NASCAR with the slogan "Racing was built here. Racing belongs here."

Backers touted the city's financial plan and built-in fan base, and pointed out that the region is home to 90 percent of NASCAR's race teams.

Atlanta was seen as a strong competitor, because its regional population is more than triple Charlotte's, and because of corporate ties between its companies and NASCAR. It planned to raise $92 million for construction, with as much as $30 million from city and state governments and the rest from corporate sources.

Daytona Beach emphasized its status as home to NASCAR's headquarters. It was expecting to spend about $105 million, mostly from private sources.
Click to expand...

PantherFanz · Mar 1, 2006 at 4:43 PM

Picture of what it is going to look like

QueenCityHillbilly · Mar 6, 2006

It's indeed official. Come visit Charlotte, USA!!!!! We'll charge you an exhorbitant tax on your hotel room and rental car! But oh boy, what a nice Hall of Fame we have!

woohoo!!!

BlueTrain · Mar 6, 2006 at 4:36 PM

PantherFanz said:

Picture of what it is going to look like

Click to expand...

All the seating is outside?

The Warden · Mar 6, 2006 at 5:26 PM

Charlotte Wins!

Charlotte will be the home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060306/ap_on_sp_au_ra_ne/car_nascar_hall_of_fame

Charlotte Gets NASCAR Hall of Fame

By TIM WHITMIRE, Associated Press Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - NASCAR's first Hall of Fame will be built in downtown Charlotte, within miles of the race shops and sprawling mansions that make the region an epicenter of the sport.

The selection of Charlotte as site for the $107.5 million hall ended a yearlong race against four other cities in which the city's leaders campaigned hard for an attraction expected to lure hundreds of thousands of NASCAR fans. Officials hope the hall will open in 2009.

"In the end, you look at what's going to be best in the long run," NASCAR chairman Brian France told a crowd of about 1,000 people at the city's convention center on Monday. "I'm happy to tell you today the NASCAR Hall of Fame is going to be right here in Charlotte, N.C."

The other finalists were Daytona Beach, Fla., and Atlanta, where city and state leaders hoped the hall would become an anchor of the city's downtown tourism initiative.

"As a guy, I'm disappointed. They decided to marry the girl next door," Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said. "We had a lot to offer. It could have been a great marriage."

Charlotte's proximity to the heart of the sport was cited repeatedly as a reason to put the hall in the city. Lowe's Motor Speedway, in suburban Concord, is home to the longest race on the Nextel Cup circuit, the Memorial Day weekend Coca-Cola 600, and has long hosted NASCAR's annual all-star race.

Nearly all of the top race teams are headquartered in the cities and towns north of the city, and many top drivers own luxury condominiums in downtown Charlotte or palatial homes on nearby Lake Norman.

In billboards and bumper stickers distributed as part of the city's campaign for the hall, officials boasted, "Racing was built here. Racing belongs here" and "We Eat, Sleep & Breathe Racing."

VA49er · Mar 6, 2006 at 9:20 PM

Wow. That was a big surprise.

York1 · Mar 6, 2006 at 10:01 PM

QueenCityHillbilly said:

It's indeed official. Come visit Charlotte, USA!!!!! We'll charge you an exhorbitant tax on your hotel room and rental car! But oh boy, what a nice Hall of Fame we have!

woohoo!!!
Click to expand...

:bananalam :bananalam :bananalam

It honestly didnt belong in Atl.

planetahead · Mar 7, 2006 at 2:38 PM

oh god now my family will never stop coming to charlotte to visit.. must make plan of escape

Log in or Sign up

Hall of Fame

The Brain Defiler of Cornflakes

PantherFanz Go Panthers

QueenCityHillbilly Bitch, I Will Kill You

BlueTrain Abused Registeree

The Warden Full Access Member

VA49er Full Access Member

York1 LarryD is a goat!

planetahead Full Access Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Hall of Fame

The Brain Defiler of Cornflakes

PantherFanz Go Panthers

QueenCityHillbilly Bitch, I Will Kill You

BlueTrain Abused Registeree

The Warden Full Access Member

VA49er Full Access Member

York1 LarryD is a goat!

planetahead Full Access Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches