Lowe's Motor Speedway to remain in Concord, N.C.
There was never a threat to move Cup racing out of the Charlotte area, but a threat to move the location of the race track is no more.
Lowe's Motor Speedway is staying right where it's at, the same place where it held its first NASCAR race in 1960.
Speedway Motorsports Inc. Chairman Bruton Smith and Concord (N.C.) Mayor Scott Padgett announced an $80 million incentive package Monday that will aid in $200 million of improvements to the facility.
The city of Concord will commit $30 million, Cabarrus (N.C.) County will commit $30 million, and the rest will come from the state.
The 1.5-mile track currently has 162,000 seats on a site that encompasses approximately 1,301 acres. The 162,000 seats makes it the biggest in the SMI portfolio, which includes Atlanta, Bristol, Infineon, Las Vegas, Lowe's and soon-to-be-acquired New Hampshire.
"There was something about bluffing - I'm not a gambler. I'm a businessman," Smith said. "We had a lot of opportunities. When I built this place, it was a long time ago. ... it was very, very difficult to build this speedway. It was one of the most difficult jobs I ever attempted in my life.
"It is here. You're going to like what we do."
Smith would not go into specifics about the improvements, but he said he would replace seating and add suites.
Among the community projects that are expected to get accelerated as part of the agreement are a realignment or widening Interstate 85 as well as roads near the track (even re-naming one of them Bruton Smith Boulevard) as well as replacing a bridge near the track. All of the roads are public facilities already in use.
John Cox, president and chief executive officer of the Cabarrus County Economic Development Corporation said the capital investment in the area surrounding the track, not including a major mall, is $500 million.
"We can't ever forget an impact a superspeedway has on our community, especially on the [economic front]," Cox said. "It was not a game for us at all. We have taken it very seriously, and so seriously, the loss of one more job or one more corporation simply cannot be withstood."
Smith and the city butted heads when the city leaders temporarily zoned the Speedway property so it could not have a drag strip. That move came after Smith cleared and graded land for the proposed drag-racing facility, and the two sides argued about whether Smith had the proper permit to grade the land for that purpose.
After the city threatened the construction of the drag strip, Smith announced that he would consider bulldozing the current complex and building somewhere else instead of trying to renovate the current facility. He said he had several offers from other communities.
The city, facing potentially substantial tax revenue losses if the race track moved (the track pays more than $1 million in taxes, the fourth-largest amount in Cabarrus County) as well as seeing the viability of area business threatened, then came up with the incentive package.
Smith said he received 12,000 cards from the community in support of keeping the track.
"All of a sudden, you're wanted," Smith said. "I think back to the very beginning of this brouhaha. I thought maybe this speedway was not where it ought to be. .... We're here forever."
