Dover Motorsports reports closing Memphis track will decrease value by $7.478 million
Without its NASCAR and National Hot Rod Association events, Memphis Motorsports Park, which was going to be sold for $10 million before the potential buyer couldn’t secure financing, has dropped in value by $7.478 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Dover Motorsports, which announced Friday it was closing the Memphis facility that included a .75-mile oval where NASCAR conducted one Camping World Truck and one Nationwide series race a year, noted the write-down in its third quarter results. Dover had been listing the value of the Memphis track as $10 million, so with the write-down it now lists the facility’s value without its NASCAR and NHRA events as $2.522 million.
Dover also noted that its NASCAR weekend in September saw lower attendance, sponsorships and corporate spending as a result of the weak economy and poor weather. During its conference call to discuss its financial statement, the company reported admissions revenue was down about 17 percent for the Dover weekend.
Dover Motorsports owns Dover International Speedway, which plays host to two NASCAR Sprint Cup events a year, as well as Nationwide/Truck venues Nashville Superspeedway, Gateway International Raceway and Memphis.
For the first nine months of 2009 – which is virtually Dover’s entire racing season with the exception of the Memphis Nationwide race – Dover has recorded a net loss of $1.324 million compared with a net profit in 2008 of $6.398 million. Operating costs from operations (not including interest and income taxes) showed a profit of $857,000 this year, down 47.6 percent from $1.636 million last year.
Admissions revenue has dropped 23.1 percent from $30.101 million to $23.149 million, while event-related revenue dropped 33.4 percent from $24.425 million to $16.260 million. Broadcast revenue was virtually flat, increasing from $27.134 million to $27.284 million.
Dover has the same number of NASCAR events this year but one less Indy Racing League event.
