Kentucky officials back move to aid Cup effort
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear today voiced support for an amendment to the Kentucky Tourism Development Act to add a new category of so-called “legacy expansion” projects in an effort to help lure a NASCAR Sprint Cup race to Kentucky Speedway.
At a Capitol news conference, Gov. Beshear and the bill’s sponsor, House Majority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins, were joined by representatives of Speedway Motorsports Inc. to discuss the positive impact this legislation would have on the future of motorsports in Kentucky, according to a news release.
Bruton Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of SMI, owner of Kentucky Speedway, and Jerry Carroll, consultant to SMI, said that passage of the legislation would put Kentucky in position to host a race in the Cup series.
SMI purchased Kentucky Speedway for $78 million in a deal that closed in December. The track operators had previously filed a lawsuit in which they claimed that NASCAR, a privately held company that sanctions races and is owned by the France family, conspired with International Speedway Corp., a publicly traded company that owns race tracks and whose majority of stock is owned by the France family, to keep tracks such as Kentucky Speedway from getting Cup races. SMI later was named as a co-conspirator in the lawsuit. The suit is currently in U.S. Appeals Court, and NASCAR officials have said that they would not consider a realignment request to move a Cup date to Kentucky until that suit is concluded.
“The impact of a NASCAR Sprint Series Cup race for Kentucky is undeniable,” Gov. Beshear said Tuesday. “NASCAR is the number one spectator sport in the United States and is broadcast in more than 150 countries and 30 languages. I’m excited about the potential of Kentucky joining these ranks.”
Under the proposed legislation, legacy expansion projects must conduct events that are in the top league, series or sanctioned level of their type of event, provide permanent seating for 65,000 spectators and be broadcast nationally. The venue must have previously been approved for incentives and the expansion project must exceed $30 million and present one or more “premier events” not previously held in Kentucky.
“I am hopeful that this legislation will receive favorable consideration in light of the significant impact landing a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Kentucky Speedway would have on our economy,” Rep. Adkins said. “The governor and his staff are to be commended for pursuing this exciting opportunity for Kentucky.”
The legislation, which Rep. Adkins plans to file next Monday, would also expand the availability of time over which the tax credits can be taken for the original investments made and the significant expansion at the Kentucky Speedway.
