NASCAR is returning to the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway per a new agreement between Speedway Motorsports and Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell that calls for the historic track to be renovated by 2027.
WZTV, the FOX station in Tennessee’s state capital, reported the new agreement includes:
A $30 million bond.
Construction of a new grandstand that will have a maximum of 25,000 seats.
At least one NASCAR race every two years.
Maximum sound levels lower than current standards.
A requirement that race cars are fitted with mufflers for all non-NASCAR races.
Construction of a new 500-vehicle parking garage. The money generated by the garage will go to the Metro Fair Board as will $5 from every race ticket sold.
Speedway Motorsports, which owns Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., and Bristol Motor Speedway, has exclusive rights to develop the Fairgrounds Speedway footprint while the agreement requires SM to guarantee any debt associated with construction. WZTV reports the contract includes the track operator paying rent sufficient to make bond payments.
It also penalizes Speedway Motorsports if it fails to deliver promised NASCAR races. Races would be limited to 10-race weekends per year and there would be a curfew for all non-NASCAR events.
Ironically, it was just a week before the agreement was revealed that Chase Elliott said NASCAR’s All-Star race should be held at the Nashville Fairgrounds.
Former Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced a similar agreement in principle with Speedway Motorsports in March 2021, but the project never moved forward. Recently, a coalition of neighborhood groups opposed to the track’s expansion asked O’Connell to put the expansion up for a public vote. In 2011 city residents approved a referendum by 71% to amend the Metro Charter to protect racing at the fairgrounds.
Nashville SC (Soccer Club) owner John Ingram has continuously opposed Fairgrounds Speedway expansion. The track is adjacent to Ingram’s 30,000-seat soccer stadium. The new agreement specifies that races other than NASCAR events must be scheduled to accommodate Nashville SC games and women’s professional soccer with the fairground’s executive director to resolve scheduling conflicts.
The NASCAR Cup Series raced at Nashville Fairgrounds from 1958 until 1984. The defunct Superstar Racing Experience all-star series raced there in 2022.
Comments