Fairgrounds Speedway Racetrack expansion to 30,000 seats

[titanhog]

2 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

I alluded to this previously as well. The soccer team does not own the soccer stadium, but they gained financial incentive by getting a massive ground lease on 10-acres of land around the stadium. There is no such leverage for the racetrack (again, part of the whole siloing off the racetrack frustration) to gain financial gain outside of racetrack related events. I'm sure that is part of why SMI is not completely willing to take on all the burden of the cost of renovation.

Unfortunately I feel that the soccer stadium plan royally screwed the racetrack. I'm not saying that getting MLS screwed the racetrack, but rather the planning exercise that went into the stadium screwed the racetrack.

Well…of course.  If the city was willing to lease SMI some land to build towers they could make money from including the track, it would probably be easier to swallow.

[markhollin]

With speedway negotiations still on ice, Fair Board calls for fresh condition assessment of race track:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/davidson/2022/09/14/nashville-speedway-condition-fair-board-wants-new-assessment/10366209002/
 

[markhollin]

Nearly one year after Nashville Mayor John Cooper agreed to a preliminary deal with Bristol Motor Speedway to renovate the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, the NASCAR-to-Nashville dream inched closer to becoming a reality.

On Tuesday, the Mayor’s Office and BMS President and General Manager Jerry Chadwell presented a proposal to the Metro Fair Board that reportedly includes a 30-year lease agreement that will make BMS solely responsible to “renovate, operate, and maintain” the speedway.

"This is a big step in being able to revitalize that great venue and turn it into something that can not only save what is there but make it better for the community as a whole, the racing community and the folks who live around it,” Chadwell said.

The deal is subject to approval from the Metro Council, the Metro Nashville Sports Authority and the Board of Fair Commissioners, who are expected to hold a formal vote in January 2023.

As part of the deal, NASCAR has agreed to hold Cup Series races at the track at least every other year for the duration of BMS’ lease with the city. In addition, NASCAR it will cover any deficits in revenue to ensure bond payments are met if a race is canceled or not held for any reason.

A $17 million grant from the State of Tennessee plus a $17 million payment from the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. (NCVC) would fund the track renovations, which include additional grandstand seating with a capacity up to 30,000, a state-of-the-art sound system, new driver safety features, 

Revenue streams for the speedway will be comprised of Metro Sports Authority-issued revenue bonds, $1 million annual rent from BMS, $650,000 annual rent from the NCVC, ticket tax revenue, a facility sponsorship payment of up to $600,000 annually and 10 percent of revenue from the facility naming rights.
 

More behind the Nashville Post paywall here:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/sports_business/bms-issues-proposal-for-fairgrounds-speedway-renovation/article_8d5384ba-5fe1-11ed-a514-1fccaa7207ef.html

[samsonh]

13 hours ago, markhollin said:

Nearly one year after Nashville Mayor John Cooper agreed to a preliminary deal with Bristol Motor Speedway to renovate the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, the NASCAR-to-Nashville dream inched closer to becoming a reality.

On Tuesday, the Mayor’s Office and BMS President and General Manager Jerry Chadwell presented a proposal to the Metro Fair Board that reportedly includes a 30-year lease agreement that will make BMS solely responsible to “renovate, operate, and maintain” the speedway.

"This is a big step in being able to revitalize that great venue and turn it into something that can not only save what is there but make it better for the community as a whole, the racing community and the folks who live around it,” Chadwell said.

The deal is subject to approval from the Metro Council, the Metro Nashville Sports Authority and the Board of Fair Commissioners, who are expected to hold a formal vote in January 2023.

As part of the deal, NASCAR has agreed to hold Cup Series races at the track at least every other year for the duration of BMS’ lease with the city. In addition, NASCAR it will cover any deficits in revenue to ensure bond payments are met if a race is canceled or not held for any reason.

A $17 million grant from the State of Tennessee plus a $17 million payment from the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. (NCVC) would fund the track renovations, which include additional grandstand seating with a capacity up to 30,000, a state-of-the-art sound system, new driver safety features, 

Revenue streams for the speedway will be comprised of Metro Sports Authority-issued revenue bonds, $1 million annual rent from BMS, $650,000 annual rent from the NCVC, ticket tax revenue, a facility sponsorship payment of up to $600,000 annually and 10 percent of revenue from the facility naming rights.
 

More behind the Nashville Post paywall here:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/sports_business/bms-issues-proposal-for-fairgrounds-speedway-renovation/article_8d5384ba-5fe1-11ed-a514-1fccaa7207ef.html
 

A race every other year, for 34 million dollars. I’ll let others decide if that sounds worth it. Sounds to me like the state is trying to spend ARO funds.

[Melrose]

12 hours ago, samsonh said:

A race every other year, for 34 million dollars. I’ll let others decide if that sounds worth it. Sounds to me like the state is trying to spend ARO funds.

Well, it's not just $34 Million,  it's $34  Million (the $17 M from NVC, it should be noted is ultimately Nashville tax dollars, since that is how NVC receives most of its funds), PLUS up to $100 Million in Revenue Bonds.  That  deal summary sheet omits the amount off the revenue bonds because they want to downplay the total price.  If you look at the financial review from May,  it models an  estimated $97 Million in revenue bonds needed.  That amount could go down just a bit as NVC is kicking in more money now  or could stay the same since construction costs continue to rise. 

https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/Financial-Review-Nashville-Fairgrounds-Speedway-Renovation-221108.pdf?ct=1667947830

The review is a very interesting read, but this conclusion on Page 37 is particularly notable:

"Based on these projections, it is likely that Metro would exhaust its debt service reserve funds and require the use of General Funds to meet its financial obligations."

[samsonh]

6 minutes ago, Melrose said:

Well, it's not just $34 Million,  it's $34  Million (the $17 M from NVC, it should be noted is ultimately Nashville tax dollars, since that is how NVC receives most of its funds), PLUS up to $100 Million in Revenue Bonds.  That  deal summary sheet omits the amount off the revenue bonds because they want to downplay the total price.  If you look at the financial review from May,  it models an  estimated $97 Million in revenue bonds needed.  That amount could go down just a bit as NVC is kicking in more money now  or could stay the same since construction costs continue to rise. 

https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/Financial-Review-Nashville-Fairgrounds-Speedway-Renovation-221108.pdf?ct=1667947830

The review is a very interesting read, but this conclusion on Page 37 is particularly notable:

"Based on these projections, it is likely that Metro would exhaust its debt service reserve funds and require the use of General Funds to meet its financial obligations."

AHHHH, this makes much more sense and makes the deal that much worse. Appreciate you linking that document!

[Bos2Nash]

I would also like to point out the document was put together in May of this year and this term sheet/preliminary agreement is published in November. It's not like progress stopped for seven months, things are guaranteed to have shifted since the report was issued. As stated in the article "In addition, NASCAR it will cover any deficits in revenue to ensure bond payments are met if a race is canceled or not held for any reason." which and the lease proposal calls out that Bristol is responsible for any cost overuns of the Speedway Improvements. That report is using alot of "unknowns" language to cover itself, but also because so much of these project are unknowns and wont be known until the project is up and running. I was having a very similar conversation with a CM at the Nissan public listening session the other day.

To me it sounds like they have worked out a pretty good deal - both financially and dates wise - that is pretty similar to the soccer stadium.  If Nascar/BMS is on the hook for financial securities during the lease you can bet whatever body part you love the most that they will host a race during that lease. I would like to see some termination language added in (similar to the 24 month language in the Geodis Park Lease) that would cover Metro if Nascar/BMS moved away from the track again.

[Melrose]

On 11/23/2022 at 1:29 PM, Bos2Nash said:

As stated in the article "In addition, NASCAR it will cover any deficits in revenue to ensure bond payments are met if a race is canceled or not held for any reason."

On 11/23/2022 at 1:29 PM, Bos2Nash said:

If Nascar/BMS is on the hook for financial securities during the lease you can bet whatever body part you love the most that they will host a race during that lease.

.The article is not correct in just copying the Mayor's press release,  and neither are these statements.  The Lease Agreement absolutely does not have Bristol covering full debt deficits/shortfalls.

  Here's a link,  see Section 3(c):

https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/Metro-Bristol-Motor-Speedway-Nashville-Fairgrounds-Lease-221108.pdf?ct=1667947760

There is a provision for a "contingent rent" payment,  which is only triggered under limited circumstances and is only for a partial payment amount well short of the full debt service,  absolutely not the full debt payment (other than possibly in the first year only and that isn't even entirely clear).  These partial payment requirements will also allow Bristol to "game" the scheduling;  if they can make more money holding the race at another SMI track,  then they will just be able to take the contingent rent hit,  and Metro will be the one that loses out.   

Further, see the Development Agreement,  which is quite clear that the Metro General Fund is backstopping the bond debt (see Exhibit H):

https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/Metro-BMS-Development-Agreement-Nashville-Fairgrounds-Speedway-221108.pdf?ct=1667947875

In short, this is not like the soccer deal at all.    

 

[Melrose]

Another scenario not covered under this Lease is generally about other event cancellations. 

You can see the projected types of speedway events and number of events on page 17 of the financial review report:

https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/Financial-Review-Nashville-Fairgrounds-Speedway-Renovation-221108.pdf?ct=1667947830

If any other speedway events  are rained out, delayed, or cancelled,  and then there is a resulting shortfall on ticket tax collections  or concessions from those events (the financial review already says  Bristol's revenue projections are too high)   then the Metro General Fund is on the hook for that  bond service shortfall, Bristol is not at all.   

[markhollin]

Update on progress of NASCAR at Fairgrounds track:

https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/citylimits/new-nascar-track-moves-through-fair-board/article_5eb63230-7583-11ed-b22b-6316ee0dffd4.html

[markhollin]

A sound engineering firm on Wednesday evening presented the Metro Fair Board with a plan to cut noise levels by half at a renovated Nashville speedway. 

The presentation addressed concerns about increased noise around the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway if proposed lease and development agreements between Metro and Bristol Motor Speedway are approved and the racetrack is restored.

The primary noise reducer? A 20-foot high sound-absorbing wall surrounding the speedway, said Jack Wrightson, a principal with Texas-based Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon, Williams. Also included were previously announced limits on the number of races, a curfew for start and stop times, a new grandstand building that seats 30,000 spectators, and other new facilities. 

More behind theTennessean paywall here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2022/12/22/nashville-fairgrounds-speedway-noise-reduction-plan-includes-wall/69749611007/?utm_source=pnas-DailyBriefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-briefing-with-greeting&utm_term=Content List - Stacking - optimized&utm_content=1056TN-E-NLETTER65
 

[Luvemtall]

9 hours ago, markhollin said:

A sound engineering firm on Wednesday evening presented the Metro Fair Board with a plan to cut noise levels by half at a renovated Nashville speedway. 

The presentation addressed concerns about increased noise around the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway if proposed lease and development agreements between Metro and Bristol Motor Speedway are approved and the racetrack is restored.

The primary noise reducer? A 20-foot high sound-absorbing wall surrounding the speedway, said Jack Wrightson, a principal with Texas-based Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon, Williams. Also included were previously announced limits on the number of races, a curfew for start and stop times, a new grandstand building that seats 30,000 spectators, and other new facilities. 

More behind theTennessean paywall here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2022/12/22/nashville-fairgrounds-speedway-noise-reduction-plan-includes-wall/69749611007/?utm_source=pnas-DailyBriefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-briefing-with-greeting&utm_term=Content List - Stacking - optimized&utm_content=1056TN-E-NLETTER65
 

Has anyone thought of imposing a nascar rule that this track requires mufflers? I mean nascar has “ rules” for damn nearly everything! It’s a small short track , they don’t need open headers to make the speed necessary for this track. They don’t go much faster then most of the cars on I-24 ! It would be a good compromise between the track and its neighbors.

[Bos2Nash]

Nascar most likely will never impose mufflers as muffler components are rather large and would not really work on the Next Gen cars. The Next Gen bodies are essentially flat, sealed units on the bottom and with the exhaust coming out the side of the car, midway down the body it would be quite difficult to engineer that into the cars. The Next Gen car is also designed to evolve to potentially electric version in future years. 

It is also one freaking weekend a year when mufflers would not be mandated. I'm sorry, but enforcement of mufflers for the other race weekends if a large win (granted I am unsure of what penalties are in the lease for lack of enforcement) + plus the sound wall will tremendously help. Let's just hope it is somewhat pleasing to the eye, otherwise it won't be a good look along Craighead or on national TV presence.  Plus that will just be the next thing neighbors complain about.

[Bos2Nash]

I stand corrected on the muffler issue. Nascar recently held a test at Phoenix Raceway with mufflers on the cars I. 40 lap segments. 
 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cn2UAE7JZwH/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[Luvemtall]

It’s a little less noise, just a step that can be taken to help the situation and be good neighbors. As mentioned, seems like a few years down the road NASCAR will eventually turn to electric and then the noise levels should drop considerably. 

[markhollin]

Received this flier in the mail from the Bristol Motor Speedway folks a few days ago (I live in 12 South neighborhood):

[Bos2Nash]

Fair Board has voted 3-2 in favor of moving the renovation forwards. Next steps will be to take the decision to the sports authority and council. 

https://www.tennessean.com/story/home/nascar/2023/03/14/nascar-fair-board-approves-proposal-bristol-motor-speedway-nashville-fairgrounds-speedway/70010462007/

Here is a site for all relevant information regarding the agreement, including a revised Lease:

https://www.nashville.gov/departments/fairgrounds/speedway-project-documentation

[Bos2Nash]

There is A TON of information in that relevant information site. One important thing is Bristol (or the events that Bristol is promoting) would be responsible for all the debt service related to the revenue bonds issued by the Sports Authority. All cost overruns from the GMP would be handled by Bristol. There is also provisions in the lease in which payments above and beyond the rent . Here are some rundown elements of the development agreement when compared against the agreement for Geodis Park. Remember, the racetrack did not have 10-acres of mixed use property to add to its revenue.

This is a breakdown of the lease. It might not incorporate all the questions or revised provisions in the new lease that was posted yesterday, but it appears to be pretty close.

I am also going to attach the spreadsheet that was provided where I am pulling alot of this information. This is certainly a ton of information and I think works out to be a pretty solid deal for Metro. All of this information is also coming out BEFORE it goes to Metro Council or even the Sports Authority for that matter. I only wish the NFL/Titans/Mayor's office did this for the NFL stadium.

Bristol-Motor-Speedway-Proposal-Summary-2023-03-10.xlsx

[Melrose]

On 3/15/2023 at 5:50 PM, Bos2Nash said:

One important thing is Bristol (or the events that Bristol is promoting) would be responsible for all the debt service related to the revenue bonds issued by the Sports Authority.

This is not true or correct.  See  Exhibit H to the Development Agreement:

https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/Speedway-Development-Agreement-3-10-23.pdf?ct=1678712490

"3. The Authority Bonds will be additionally secured by a pledge of Non-Tax Revenues by the Metropolitan Government to replenish any deficiency in the debt service reserve fund to be established for the benefit of the Authority Bonds, as more fully described in (6) below..."

Any revenue shortfall in bond service is backstopped by Metro,  not Bristol.   So this is just like the Sounds ballpark deal,  which incidentally has required Metro to cover shortfalls in debt service the last year or two.

[Rick Dalton]

Why tf are we embracing NASCAR

[DDIG]

5 minutes ago, natethegreat said:

Why tf are we embracing NASCAR

I'm not a big NASCAR or racing guy, but that race track is an eye sore and it is in the charter to stay as voted on by the people. It needs to be upgraded and probably the most effective way to do that is bringing a NASCAR race revenue back. I'd go atleast once to experience.

[Rick Dalton]

It needs to be bulldozed and turned into something useful 

[Luvemtall]

Can the Charter be changed by the will of the people? If so , I believe that it should be voted on by the whole of the citizens of Davidson County. If  the majority vote for a change in the Charter . Then do away with the track all together and get over it. But if it gets voted to keep the track and Charter as is, then sign the damn agreement and stop footing around with this. If voted on by the people, then no one can beotch! Period.

[Bos2Nash]

1 hour ago, Melrose said:

This is not true or correct.  See  Exhibit H to the Development Agreement:

https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/Speedway-Development-Agreement-3-10-23.pdf?ct=1678712490

"3. The Authority Bonds will be additionally secured by a pledge of Non-Tax Revenues by the Metropolitan Government to replenish any deficiency in the debt service reserve fund to be established for the benefit of the Authority Bonds, as more fully described in (6) below..."

Any revenue shortfall in bond service is backstopped by Metro,  not Bristol.   So this is just like the Sounds ballpark deal,  which incidentally has required Metro to cover shortfalls in debt service the last year or two.

Just gonna go ahead and leave this right here...

2 minutes ago, Luvemtall said:

Can the Charter be changed by the will of the people? If so , I believe that it should be voted on by the whole of the citizens of Davidson County. If  the majority vote for a change in the Charter . Then do away with the track all together and get over it. But if it gets voted to keep the track and Charter as is, then sign the damn agreement and stop footing around with this. If voted on by the people, then no one can beotch! Period.

As far as I know, this is what happened at the last referendum in which the fairgrounds were voted on.  The racetrack is a charter protected entity, hence my argument that it was the dumbest thing possible to exclude it from the MLS stadium discussion.

[KJHburg]

I live within a couple of miles of the Charlotte Motor Speedway but my mother lived closer within 1.5 mile until recently.  Honestly on race days you will hear it but with all those restrictions on times and how much testing and practicing you can do everyone will be fine.  I guarantee every night you hear more Dodge Chargers revving up and down the streets and that seems to be 365 days a year.  Most time a racetrack is a quiet neighbor ours here in Charlotte is used a lot more for testing, driving schools etc than yours ever will.

NASCAR and Nashville is a great match and your downtown crowd there tonight would enjoy a race and probably stay an extra day or two to do it and it is experience.  It is funny to me as they saying Bristol Motor Speedway will manage it as it is in reality Concord NC based Speedway Motorsports which owns our super track.