NASCAR Hall of Fame gets approval for four companies to produce exhibits

By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

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Charlotte City Council unanimously approved $17.7 million worth of contracts Monday night for four companies to produce exhibits for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The city owns the hall of fame under a licensing agreement with NASCAR, and all contracts must be approved by the council. The total exhibit budget is $31 million.

The contracts, which were negotiated by executives in the city manager’s office and the hall, were approved without debate.

Kubik Maltbie will be the primary fabricator and installer of all exhibits. Its contract, including $1 million in contingency fees, is $9,991,527. Kubik Maltbie’s original asking price was just over $11 million before negotiations with the city. The firm’s past work includes projects at the Smithsonian Institution and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Electrosonic Inc. will do all of the audio-visual components and provide an on-site technician for one year for $6,652,859, including contingency fees of $500,000. Electrosonic’s original bid was about $6 million but did not include $1 million for a video screen and sound on the building’s exterior. Electrosonic, which has collaborated with Kubik Maltbie on numerous projects, has a long list of clients, including The Weather Channel sets, the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center and the World of Coca-Cola.

Two much smaller contracts also were approved.

The Sponsorship Service Group will design and fabricate the race-car simulators for $702,972.

And the city authorized negotiations with iRacing.com Motorsports Simulations to provide the software to be used with the simulators for a maximum of $400,000. The racing software company, endorsed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., is co-owned by John Henry, whose Fenway Sports Group is co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing.

The council also was informed that the city is meeting its goal of awarding 16 percent of the project to local small businesses. Nearly 8 percent of the construction contracts have been awarded to businesses owned by African-Americans.