Fairgrounds Speedway Racetrack expansion to 30,000 seats

[Bos2Nash]

Here is the key details in the image above if anyone has trouble with the image:

Quote

Key terms of the letter of intent, signed late Thursday by Mayor Cooper and Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith, include:

• Metro would issue no more than $50 million in bonds for racetrack renovations, as is already specified in the Capital Improvements Budget. Debt service and project-related expenses would be fully covered by revenues generated from racing and non-racing event activities held at the track, including lease payments, and taxes and fees generated by track event patrons
• Under a lease and management agreement, BMS would pay Metro an annual Lease payment for track management and operations and share a percentage of revenues from events. Additionally, for four weeks a year BMS would all Fairgrounds proper (except for the MLS stadium and commercial developments) for $1 million annually to host major racing events
• BMS, which possesses decades of major auto racing design, construction, and operations experience, would serve as development manager for track and facility renovations. Improvements would include safety upgrades, spectator amenities, an new ancillary facilities for both racing and non-racing experiences.
• Noise mitigation would be an integral part of the redesign and track improvements.
• BMS is committed to an extensive community engagement process with neighborhood residents and Nashville organizations.
• The new operating model for the speedway will provide the neighborhoods around the track with schedule certainty so residents know in advance when racing and practice will occur.
• BMS will renovate the racetrack to meet NASCAR safety and design standard necessary to host national series events and modernize NFS as a multi-function facility for non-racing special events to generate tourism-related revenue that is healthy for Nashville.

YES!! This is great news!! Now the community engagement process can begin on parameters for the speedway operation. Will be excited to see what BMS comes up with for a design (because we know it wont be that early rendering). 

Additionally, their commitment to lease all the property for four weeks each year - to the sweet tune of $1 million - shows that they are really committed to bringing Nascar back to the track. 

[DMilner]

Living in Wedgewood-Houston, I'll try to keep everyone up to date on the neighborhood meetings.  For me,  noise mitigation is going to be the main part I'm interested in.  Yes the track was here long before we purchased our home, but we're going to be talking about louder cars and I assume more racing dates. They're going to really have to sell how they're going to mitigate the noise. It will also be interesting to see if any of my neighbors are going to be complete jerks like the Save Our Fairgrounds folks were when we had the community meetings for the soccer stadium. 

[Melrose]

Four race weeks per year, plus BMS also managing the speedway the rest of the year sounds like a quantity of racing that has never been done before in the history of the speedway.   Kind of throws the "speedway was there first" argument (which is dumb anyway) out the window.....  

[markhollin]

Nashville Post coverage of the deal:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/sports-business/article/21146376/bms-cooper-sign-loi-to-renovate-fairgrounds-speedway

The Tennessean coverage:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2021/03/05/nascar-nashville-mayor-cooper-strikes-deal-bring-racing-back-fairgrounds/4596017001/

NBJ:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2021/03/05/cooper-bristol-motor-speedway-nascar-fairgrounds.html?cx_testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_34&cx_artPos=2#cxrecs_s&s=print

[titanhog]

Guess that was the reason Dale Jr. was in town.  Wonder if he has a stake in what is going to be happening?  Good to have some big names attached along with Bristol.

[Luvemtall]

I know this is a touchy topic and a road most don’t want to go down. But I’ve been a longtime race fan, been to many during the last 40 or so years. These events are LOUD, no way around it. Having this track, smack down in the middle of a blossoming neighborhood with many nearby houses, restaurants.. etc. not sure this is going to work out. Imagine trying to do wfh on a zoom meeting or sitting down to a relaxing evening on your porch, and the building is shaking and you can’t hear conversations. It’s going to happen, no doubt. And more buildings around it will intensify the rumble, been there.. done that. That’s why racetracks are best in rural areas, away from intercity neighborhoods. Just my two cents, I hope it all works out in the end. But what is now considered Nashville area includes Wilson and Rutherford Counties and there’s a beautiful racetrack with lots of open space and easy access with tons of parking just 20 minutes to the East. 

[titanhog]

2 minutes ago, Luvemtall said:

I know this is a touchy topic and a road most don’t want to go down. But I’ve been a longtime race fan, been to many during the last 40 or so years. These events are LOUD, no way around it. Having this track, smack down in the middle of a blossoming neighborhood with many nearby houses, restaurants.. etc. not sure this is going to work out. Imagine trying to do wfh on a zoom meeting or sitting down to a relaxing evening on your porch, and the building is shaking and you can’t hear conversations. It’s going to happen, no doubt. And more buildings around it will intensify the rumble, been there.. done that. That’s why racetracks are best in rural areas, away from intercity neighborhoods. Just my two cents, I hope it all works out in the end. But what is now considered Nashville area includes Wilson and Rutherford Counties and there’s a beautiful racetrack with lots of open space and easy access with tons of parking just 20 minutes to the East. 

But this track has been there 100+ years.  It had top level NASCAR races there until 1984.  It’s had local weekend races with loud cars for decades, every year for over 100 years.  There will have to be some give and take with the locals…but this is really not going to be something new for the neighborhood…just something that may be a bit more of a nuisance to some who bought into the area not fully understanding there is a racetrack nearby.

Hopefully Bristol’s sound mitigation can help…but I would imagine the neighborhood is just going to have to live with the noise to an extent…and of course, keep the track honest on any times they break the “rules."

[samsonh]

3 hours ago, Luvemtall said:

I know this is a touchy topic and a road most don’t want to go down. But I’ve been a longtime race fan, been to many during the last 40 or so years. These events are LOUD, no way around it. Having this track, smack down in the middle of a blossoming neighborhood with many nearby houses, restaurants.. etc. not sure this is going to work out. Imagine trying to do wfh on a zoom meeting or sitting down to a relaxing evening on your porch, and the building is shaking and you can’t hear conversations. It’s going to happen, no doubt. And more buildings around it will intensify the rumble, been there.. done that. That’s why racetracks are best in rural areas, away from intercity neighborhoods. Just my two cents, I hope it all works out in the end. But what is now considered Nashville area includes Wilson and Rutherford Counties and there’s a beautiful racetrack with lots of open space and easy access with tons of parking just 20 minutes to the East. 

Agreed but that wouldn’t work for nascar. They need excitement for their brand, which is cratering in popularity, and races 2 miles from Broadway are a draw, races in Wilson county less so. 
 

It’ll be interesting to see what the total $ investment is from all parties, but Metro’s contribution does not seem unreasonable. 

[henburg]

I'll be honest- if I lived nearby, I would not be excited about the racetrack restoration at all. As @Luvemtall said,  it's essentially going to bring 2-4 hours of extremely loud noise and vibration (far exceeding anything from a concert or sports game) in the heart of a dense residential area on a regular basis for the sake of what essentially boils down to nostalgia for many. Yes, the track has been there longer than a vast majority of its neighbors, but I don't know if anybody ever seriously counted on anything larger than small races being hosted on that track ever again, let alone an extensive renovation that would allow for the return of NASCAR. I think that I'd understand more of the urgency surrounding this if we didn't already have a basically brand new, barely used Superspeedway just 30 minutes outside of downtown that would be far better suited for these events. I mean, are there even any similar tracks around the country that would compare to this one in regards to its surroundings and location?

 

I don't know, this feels like a rare case where NIMBYs would have a strong argument to oppose this. I'll admit that I'm biased in that I really don't enjoy the sport, but I'm open to hearing other perspectives on this. 

 

[MLBrumby]

I recall that I went to a Sounds game at Greer Stadium circa 1990 and at some point in the game (a crowded Greer stadium) I heard the continuous rumble of car engines coming from the direction of the Fairgrounds. And I'm guessing that was NOT a NASCAR event. But the fact is that track has been there for over 100 years and everyone else is "new" to the neighborhood.  

This reminds me of when I was going to buy my first house. Found a really great house near RR tracks in Chamblee.  My old friend was sitting with me at the fast food restaurant where we met...and he patiently listened as I debated with myself over buying a great house so close to a RR crossing.  This went on for several minutes until he obviously tired of my indecision.  Suddenly, he reached over to the other side of the (bolted down) table with both hands and started rocking it forcefully back and forth... then said, "If you can eat that burger through this, then I think you should buy the damn house!" 

[titanhog]

2 hours ago, henburg said:

I'll be honest- if I lived nearby, I would not be excited about the racetrack restoration at all. As @Luvemtall said,  it's essentially going to bring 2-4 hours of extremely loud noise and vibration (far exceeding anything from a concert or sports game) in the heart of a dense residential area on a regular basis for the sake of what essentially boils down to nostalgia for many. Yes, the track has been there longer than a vast majority of its neighbors, but I don't know if anybody ever seriously counted on anything larger than small races being hosted on that track ever again, let alone an extensive renovation that would allow for the return of NASCAR. I think that I'd understand more of the urgency surrounding this if we didn't already have a basically brand new, barely used Superspeedway just 30 minutes outside of downtown that would be far better suited for these events. I mean, are there even any similar tracks around the country that would compare to this one in regards to its surroundings and location?

 

I don't know, this feels like a rare case where NIMBYs would have a strong argument to oppose this. I'll admit that I'm biased in that I really don't enjoy the sport, but I'm open to hearing other perspectives on this. 

 

First of all…what you are calling “small races” still produce a ton of noise…maybe as much as a NASCAR race.  Those go on most weekends when it’s warm…right?  I really don’t think this is going to produce a huge difference for the neighborhood…other than traffic on the 3-4 weeks they have NASCAR races there.  I think people are envisioning a whole new use for the traffic…but it’s just going to be upgraded with nicer amenities, allowing for nicer local races and crowd comfort.  Other than the one BIG NASCAR race there a year, I don’t think it’s going to be out of the realm of what’s already been happening there.

And…the reason they want to race there is because of history to the sport and getting back to the roots of NASCAR, where they grew up on smaller tracks like Nashville.

 

[DMilner]

1 hour ago, titanhog said:

First of all…what you are calling “small races” still produce a ton of noise…maybe as much as a NASCAR race.  Those go on most weekends when it’s warm…right?  I really don’t think this is going to produce a huge difference for the neighborhood…other than traffic on the 3-4 weeks they have NASCAR races there.  I think people are envisioning a whole new use for the traffic…but it’s just going to be upgraded with nicer amenities, allowing for nicer local races and crowd comfort.  Other than the one BIG NASCAR race there a year, I don’t think it’s going to be out of the realm of what’s already been happening there.

And…the reason they want to race there is because of history to the sport and getting back to the roots of NASCAR, where they grew up on smaller tracks like Nashville.

 

Nicer amenities mean nothing to us that live and own property in the neighborhood. Nicer amenities do nothing to mitigate sound when you have to turn a white noise machine up to have a conversation in your own home. The races are a nuisance, but we signed on for that when we bought. We didn’t sign on for multiple NASCAR races with louder engines. Again, it’s all going to boil down to noise mitigation. I do know many, many neighbors are going to fight this tooth and nail. I honestly have no problem with it if they do it correctly. 
 

I will add that even though the racetrack has been here for 100 years, it’s been a hindrance to the neighborhood for years. I knew this neighborhood had potential back in 2012/2013, but it took me two years to convince my wife to move here. I am in real estate and clients also avoided this neighborhood because it was thought of the fairgrounds and being rundown. People ended up desiring this neighborhood for the amenities and convenience when it started being developed; in spite of the fairgrounds and racetrack. 

Edited March 6, 2021 by DMilner

[titanhog]

31 minutes ago, DMilner said:

Nicer amenities mean nothing to us that live and own property in the neighborhood. Nicer amenities do nothing to mitigate sound when you have to turn a white noise machine up to have a conversation in your own home. The races are a nuisance, but we signed on for that when we bought. We didn’t sign on for multiple NASCAR races with louder engines. Again, it’s all going to boil down to noise mitigation. I do know many, many neighbors are going to fight this tooth and nail. I honestly have no problem with it if they do it correctly. 
 

I will add that even though the racetrack has been here for 100 years, it’s been a hindrance to the neighborhood for years. I knew this neighborhood had potential back in 2012/2013, but it took me two years to convince my wife to move here. I am in real estate and clients also avoided this neighborhood because it was thought of the fairgrounds and being rundown. People ended up desiring this neighborhood for the amenities and convenience when it started being developed; in spite of the fairgrounds and racetrack. 

But that’s what I’m saying.  If you buy near a racetrack, you have to expect this.  People who buy into an area thinking everything will stay the same are often disappointed.  When there is a racetrack nearby that is 100+ years old and once had NASCAR races…there was always a chance it would again.  To believe it would only have the current noise level (at the most) is just wishful thinking by those who move into the area.  It’s like living near an airport.  If you can currently take the noise…but then the airport expands and starts bringing in noisier aircraft and more often…it just kinda comes with the territory.

I feel for the residents who will be angry about this…but I also know it’s the one big thing each resident should have considered when they were purchasing.  I personally would not buy into that neighborhood because of that track…knowing the possibilities.

Good luck.  Maybe you guys will win some concessions…but I think the age of the track and its history is going to win out.

[BnaBreaker]

Probably difficult to stage a guess at this point I imagine, but if you had to @titanhog how many races do you think they'd really be holding there?  If it's only a couple every other weekend in the summer months or something like that then I don't think people will have any trouble acclimating.  But if auto races are held several times per week all throughout the year then I could certainly see how that might lower the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhood.  Apologies if that's a dumb question, but I know very little about stock car racing.  

[titanhog]

20 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

Probably difficult to stage a guess at this point I imagine, but if you had to @titanhog how many races do you think they'd really be holding there?  If it's only a couple every other weekend in the summer months or something like that then I don't think people will have any trouble acclimating.  But if auto races are held several times per week all throughout the year then I could certainly see how that might lower the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhood.  Apologies if that's a dumb question, but I know very little about stock car racing.  

I’m not sure, to be honest.  They used to have racing there more often than they do now…but because of issues in the past few years, I think they’ve had less racing than previously.  Between April and October…I’d guess at least a couple of weekends a month on average…but I’m sure there have been times when they raced there nearly every weekend during that time frame.  I’m sure they’ll have to come to some kind of understanding with the community that they will have X number of races per season (and no more)…provide noise mitigation the best they can…and provide an in-depth parking plan…not to mention traffic plan.  

They already race ARCA and late series model racing…so even though NASCAR is another level, they’ve had lower-level NASCAR racing there in recent years.  I don’t think this will be that huge of a difference, other than there may be 3-4 weekends a year that are a little more of a “pain in the butt” than now.

[henburg]

10 hours ago, titanhog said:

First of all…what you are calling “small races” still produce a ton of noise…maybe as much as a NASCAR race.  Those go on most weekends when it’s warm…right?  I really don’t think this is going to produce a huge difference for the neighborhood…other than traffic on the 3-4 weeks they have NASCAR races there.  I think people are envisioning a whole new use for the traffic…but it’s just going to be upgraded with nicer amenities, allowing for nicer local races and crowd comfort.  Other than the one BIG NASCAR race there a year, I don’t think it’s going to be out of the realm of what’s already been happening there.

And…the reason they want to race there is because of history to the sport and getting back to the roots of NASCAR, where they grew up on smaller tracks like Nashville.

 

Yeah that's a good point, and something I hadn't really considered. I think that it's clear that NASCAR needs to change up what they're doing now as shown by declining fans, so if that means shorter tracks in more unique locales, then the Fairgrounds would stand out as an attractive track for them. Pair that with the historic significance of the site, and I get the push. Still, I don't know how much can be realistically done to mitigate the sound that this will produce, but if they can strongly limit the number of races there and only race in the daytime, then this might work. This is not the typical racetrack project for them, and I only hope that those in charge treat it as such. 

 

Still, how would this affect the Lebanon Speedway? Will both be hosting NASCAR races, or will the two not be able to coexist?

 

[titanhog]

1 hour ago, henburg said:

Yeah that's a good point, and something I hadn't really considered. I think that it's clear that NASCAR needs to change up what they're doing now as shown by declining fans, so if that means shorter tracks in more unique locales, then the Fairgrounds would stand out as an attractive track for them. Pair that with the historic significance of the site, and I get the push. Still, I don't know how much can be realistically done to mitigate the sound that this will produce, but if they can strongly limit the number of races there and only race in the daytime, then this might work. This is not the typical racetrack project for them, and I only hope that those in charge treat it as such. 

 

Still, how would this affect the Lebanon Speedway? Will both be hosting NASCAR races, or will the two not be able to coexist?

 

It seems more and more, NASCAR is trying to limit the number of “super speedway” races and do more small tracks and road races to mix it up.   They’re also trying to focus on some more “traditional” markets for NASCAR fans….and Nashville is one they have overlooked for decades and they are finally realizing that was a mistake.  As some others have mentioned before, it seems we could potentially have two races a year here…one at the Fairgrounds and one at the Superspeedway.   But in the end, NASCAR probably would prefer the Fairgrounds track over the Superspeedway, just for the history and uniqueness.  It also may depend upon what Dover eventually decides to do if NASCAR decides to limit them to just one race a year.  Do you stay in Dover, DE or move everything to the Nashville Superspeedway?

And btw…I know just enough to know I don’t know a whole bunch about all of this other than what I’ve read elsewhere.

Edited March 6, 2021 by titanhog

[Bos2Nash]

2 hours ago, henburg said:

Still, how would this affect the Lebanon Speedway? Will both be hosting NASCAR races, or will the two not be able to coexist?

They can certainly co-exist, but it will come down to the product that both tracks put out. Like Titanhog said, Nascar is tryingt o get back to their roots and guys like Dale Jr. is a big reason for that. Nascar would really only limit Dover Motorsports if the products decline at either track. Contracts with track ownership also play a huge role.

We discussed this during the meetup today, but one of the scenarios I could see playing out is one series staying at the big speedway while two come to the Fairgrounds. Indianapolis did this for years with the Cup series at the Brickyard and the trucks/xfinity series at Indianapolis Raceway Park. 

12 hours ago, DMilner said:

Again, it’s all going to boil down to noise mitigation

Noise Mitigation is always going to be a concern around a racetrack, but if you are being truly honest with yourself - as it has been stated several times - the racetrack has always been there and the noise is always been a thing. Not to say how people will feel, but when looking at the racetrack in the grand scheme of the year, it will be a mild inconvenience for a couple weekends a year. The soccer stadium will host more games than the speedway will host races (most likely) so if someone can put up with the noise from the soccer stadium, they can do the same with the racetrack.

From a scheduling perspective, there are currently lights around the racetrack, so I would presume Nascar/SMI will want more Saturday night racing for the big events here. Depending on what series run here, I would think they can only have two series at a time at the track - Martinsville is a little smaller and they only fit the trucks and cup series on a given weekend - and if that is the case I would think they will be looking at Friday and Saturday nights. 

What many non-fans don't realize is the engine volume will probably only get louder because of the field size. Many of the local races (non-ARCA) don't really have engine restrictions and many times those engines don't have exhaust systems and are straight engine/header noise which is exponentially louder than engines that are "muffled".  Wedgewood/Houston will have noise no doubt, but for the most part the new buildings going up between the racetrack and the neighborhood will block alot of the sound. Most of the sound concerns will be for the neighbors to the east as there will not be a lot of mitigating structures.

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Bos2Nash

[Luvemtall]

Like I have said before, history is only that for those that have the memories of the past. The OLD Nashville is quickly leaving, a thing of the past, I can bet that surrounding area was more open and not as much residential back 50-100 years ago. Things are different now , what about the new mixed use area at the fairgrounds about to be built . How do they sell restaurants and residential knowing what will be with the track. It’s time to let the past be and let it go. It’s the new Nashville, a cosmopolitan Big city not what it used to be

[titanhog]

3 hours ago, Luvemtall said:

Like I have said before, history is only that for those that have the memories of the past. The OLD Nashville is quickly leaving, a thing of the past, I can bet that surrounding area was more open and not as much residential back 50-100 years ago. Things are different now , what about the new mixed use area at the fairgrounds about to be built . How do they sell restaurants and residential knowing what will be with the track. It’s time to let the past be and let it go. It’s the new Nashville, a cosmopolitan Big city not what it used to be

That really makes no sense when it comes to the track.  The track has been there for more than 100 years and is as viable now as it’s ever been.  NASCAR is probably a lot bigger now than it was in 1984, as well.  It may not be as big as it was in the 2000’s…but it’s still a huge sport.  If anything, having the highest level racing there just insures the success of all of the new development of the fairgrounds.  In all honesty, the track and the track’s success deserves to happen there more than anything else.  It’s the oldest continually operating track in America.  

[donNdonelson2]

The track, the stadium, and the new expo buildings are all a part of this growing and changing face of Nashville. But the track is the great granddaddy of the neighborhood. You don’t kick him to the curb just because the new hip relatives have moved back to shake things up. In families and in neighborhoods, RESPECT your ELDERS!

[titanhog]

43 minutes ago, donNdonelson2 said:

The track, the stadium, and the new expo buildings are all a part of this growing and changing face of Nashville. But the track is the great granddaddy of the neighborhood. You don’t kick him to the curb just because the new hip relatives have moved back to shake things up. In families and in neighborhoods, RESPECT your ELDERS!

Yeah…y’all quit pickin’ on grandpa!! 

[Luvemtall]

Ok, points taken and lesson learned. All respect to all! Just some friendly conversation, no disrespect to anyone. I think we are all here , because we love Nashville and ALL it has to offer. Now if we can just get a hold of Ron’s magic 8 ball....

[titanhog]

1 hour ago, Luvemtall said:

Ok, points taken and lesson learned. All respect to all! Just some friendly conversation, no disrespect to anyone. I think we are all here , because we love Nashville and ALL it has to offer. Now if we can just get a hold of Ron’s magic 8 ball....

Ron hides that 8 ball in some cave up near Joelton.  Bet on it. 

[nashvylle]

23 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

Wedgewood/Houston will have noise no doubt, but for the most part the new buildings going up between the racetrack and the neighborhood will block alot of the sound. Most of the sound concerns will be for the neighbors to the east as there will not be a lot of mitigating structures.

I do think if this deal is approved it creates opportunity for the houses next to the track to sell to hotel developers. New hotels could help with noise mitigation as well.