Concord in the midst of major changes?

[Skyybutter]

This "billionaire" is like a little kid crying in the driveway. Let him leave. Ive lived in Cabarrus for 10 years and when those races are in town it becomes a very dangerous place. Drunk driving is out of control. Nudity(women) is everywhere near the speedway. Traffic is awful obviously. I used to work at Concord Mills and the race actually hurt sales because these people spend there money at the speedway not at the mall.The locals that would spend money avoid the whole area during the races. I say move this monster to the likes of Anson county or somewhere that really needs jobs. But knowing politics in the south the council will bow to Smiths cries and please him. YUCK!!!

[Justadude]

Smith is in today's Observer saying that he intends (with a "90%" likelihood, as usual) to raze LMS to the ground, buy out all the condos newly purchased there, and sell off the land piecemeal -- presumably in order to prevent anyone from replacing the speedway.

I still don't believe that he could be this stupid. Billionaires are not usually stupid people, especially those involved in a snake-oil industry like NASCAR (met an honest team owner lately?). LMS is the Lambeau Field or Boston Garden of stock car racing. Threatening to destroy it is basically shooting broadside at the history and fabric of the sport. Smith, surely, is a smart enough man to understand that he would be leaving one of the worst legacies of any sports figure in history. He would make the Wirtzes in Chicago look like saints.

At this point it's almost certain that he's bluffing. Or that he's the stupidest, most short-sighted executive in professional sports today.

[redjeep77]

At this point it's almost certain that he's bluffing. Or that he's the stupidest, most short-sighted executive in professional sports today.

Unfortunately, he's a redneck with way too much money. There's no denying he's an intelligent businessman, but i wouldn't be surprised to see him build a new track just to "prove" that he can.

[rooster8]

LMS is the Lambeau Field or Boston Garden of stock car racing. Threatening to destroy it is basically shooting broadside at the history and fabric of the sport.

He didn't seem to have much of a problem shutting down the track at North Wilkesboro. Admittedly a smaller operation, but it fits the analogy.

[maratletter]

I believe that the Boston Garden was demolished in November of 1997.

[monsoon]

He didn't seem to have much of a problem shutting down the track at North Wilkesboro. Admittedly a smaller operation, but it fits the analogy.

That was more to do with the fact they lost their Winston (now-Nextel) cup race as NASCAR decided to put that race in a much larger city. (don't remember which one now)

[monsoon]

Bruton Smith via Mark Becker said some very nasty general things about the city of Concord on the 6pm news on WSOC channel 9 this evening and how he fells he has not been worshiped enough for the good he has brought the area. This was followed by a statement from the lilly-livered Mayor of Corcord who obviously advocates giving Smith anything he wants to keep his track in Concord.

After this beotch slap from Smith it will be interesting to see if the Concord city council has any backbone at all, or will instead bend over completely for Smith and let the big money win out over the interests of the people. Given the expected outcome in regards to what the city council will do, one could at least expect that Smith might be a little more gracious about it. Maybe they should change the name of Concord to Brutonopolis.

It's also amazing to me the NASCAR people in Charlotte are completely silent about the whole matter.

[Raintree21]

It's also amazing to me the NASCAR people in Charlotte are completely silent about the whole matter.

Which NASCAR people are you speaking of? Associated with the HOF or the Speed Network or the Licensing group? Or the Cty of Charlotte itself. I'd think Charlotte would be tripping over itself to get the race moved here. I remember Brian France saying that it is a local dispute and NASCAR is staying out of it. Doesn't Smith and NASCAR have a love-hate relationship anyways?

Smith and France supposedly had a meeting scheduled for today so we'll see what comes of that.

[soccer1guy_99]

That was more to do with the fact they lost their Winston (now-Nextel) cup race as NASCAR decided to put that race in a much larger city. (don't remember which one now)

The reason they lost their races was because Smith moved the date to his new track in Texas. The other race was given to New Hampshire's owner who was his partner in purchasing the track. Smith was responsible for closing this track. I believe this was the same thing that happened at Rockingham thanks to Smith.

[Justadude]

I believe that the Boston Garden was demolished in November of 1997.

Which was the last year anybody cared about the Bruins or Celtics.

[Raintree21]

The Concord Planning and Zoning Commission approved the drag strip at tonight's meeting.

[AuLukey]

It will be interesting to see if Smith keeps up this whole "i'm most likely going to move" if they continue construction on the drag strip. Seems like that would be a pointless endeavor and a waste of money (as if it he cares) if he were truly planning on leaving Concord.

It's really to the point where Concord was just in acting against Smith, but now have bit themselves hard in the tookus over this whole thing. They arrived at the same conclusion as if they had never acted at all, and now they've just pissed off one of the biggest investors in their county. Second only to David Murdock (if that is indeed considered an investment either.)

[stadtguy]

Unfortunately, Bruton is not as dumb as he looks. I think he intentionally planned this controversy in order to point the finger at Concord politicians. Now, he has an excuse to leave. I think he's wanted to leave all along. As the Observer pointed out this morning, Lowe's is an older venue. We all know how older venues fare in an age of luxury boxes and the sports industry. If he voluntarily closed Lowe's down, he would have been villified by both NASCAR and non-NASCAR fans alike. Now, he can point at local government and has an out. Of course, he'll get millions in subsidies and screw up two cities in the process but his supporters will claim that he's a man of honor and principle.

[nowensone]

^ I was wondering about that being the underlying strategy, and if he didn't have a secret ally or two on the council helping fan the flames. Though wouldn't there be several sites just up 85 (and still completely within Cabarrus County) that would fit the size requirements and allow him to locate this directly off of an interstate? I certainly don't see a requirement to place it in Mecklenburg just as long as it remains within CLT's metro.

[Justadude]

^ I don't think there's a suitable site in Mecklenburg for the kind of project he has in mind. The only large parcels I can think of are near current subdivision development or adjacent to large bodies of water (which doesn't work well for a NASCAR facility due to parking needs). It seems like he'd have to be looking for another county -- personally I would think that Gaston County would be all too happy to be the site for a new speedway.

[monsoon]

I believe that South Carolina has said they will offer state subsidies for him to move there. (or at least it's implied they will) There is a lot of land where he could locate on I-77 south of the city and at least in that part of the highway, the SCDOT has done an excellent job in building a nice freeway there. This location is also close to the airport via I-485 and also not that far away from the other airport in Columbia. Taxes would probably be less there too.

[MZT]

Smith would raze Lowes Speedway before selling it. I'm sure the demo costs are justifiable to him just to force anyone else to find construction financing.

In fact, I suspect he's sell it off in parcels to prevent another track ever being built.

[monsoon]

^This is what he said he would do.

[Raintree21]

This is getting to be absurd. Charlotte.com has an article talking about the Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau's efforts to keep Smith from moving the track. Apparently they have hired a plane to fly over the speedway for 2 hours today (starting at 4pm) and again on Friday morning at exit 49 off I-85 saying "We (heart) you Bruton. Stay in Concord. SaveLMS.com"

[Justadude]

^ Apparently Bruton doesn't (heart) them back. He's 90% sure he'll pad his bank account by putting half the CCCVB's members out of business.

I would LOVE to see another plane flying around with a banner reading "(finger) you, Bruton."

[Andyc545]

I saw the plane flying overhead, but couldn't read it... so that's what it said....

Wow. Anyone else agree this whole situation is out of control? I mean, both sides just need to take it to the middle school playground and battle this out like the little boys and girls that they are acting like. Come on, I wish I could respect some of my elders around here...

[Raintree21]

So Smith is changing his tune a little bit now that Cabarrus County and Concord are giving him everything he could ever ask for. The CBJ has a 3 page article about his new opinions.

"I had come to the conclusion that maybe we had outlasted our welcome. What I'm hearing now is very flattering -- they are showing a desire to keep us here."

In addition to probably tax breaks, the projects that are being floated are:

• Building a pedestrian tunnel under U.S. Highway 29 at the main intersection in front of Lowe's Motor Speedway.
  
• Lobbying state legislators for improvements to roads near the track (Speedway Boulevard and George Liles Parkway)
  
• Launching transit service between Charlotte and Concord to shuttle fans between the NASCAR HOF and LMS
  
• Opening a racing-themed
  

welcome center off Interstate 85 at Speedway Boulevard

Edited October 23, 2007 by Raintree21

[AuLukey]

And just think, all this because 30-40 people that moved next to motorsports zoning complained about noise. I bet they feel really smart now. They fought for their cause and almost screwed over an entire city. Granted that these are improvements that have been needed for a long, long time; it's sad that this is what it took to get the city to commit to them.

Towards the end of the article, it makes mention of the transit line with the possibility of rail. This sparked my interest. What are the chances now that the speedway may get the extra mile extension of the Northeast LRT as originally proposed? I could see Cabarrus County, Concord, or some of the state legislature involved in the process pushing for this extension now. As Smith originally tried to convince lawmakers to build a monorail from Charlotte to the speedway, I think this little measure would be enough to keep the speedway for at least a couple more decades without any fanfare. The welcome center seems like a good idea as does the tunnel. I'm not sure what road improvements are needed on speedway and george liles. They could push for the extension of Liles to 29 and 49, but I don't see that getting top priority as Smith himself would not benefit from it. It would just make race traffic slightly more fluid, emphasis on slightly.

Edited October 23, 2007 by aussie luke

[CapeFearRiver10]

And just think, all this because 30-40 people that moved next to motorsports zoning complained about noise. I bet they feel really smart now. They fought for their cause and almost screwed over an entire city. Granted that these are improvements that have been needed for a long, long time; it's sad that this is what it took to get the city to commit to them.

Towards the end of the article, it makes mention of the transit line with the possibility of rail. This sparked my interest. What are the chances now that the speedway may get the extra mile extension of the Northeast LRT as originally proposed? I could see Cabarrus County, Concord, or some of the state legislature involved in the process pushing for this extension now. As Smith originally tried to convince lawmakers to build a monorail from Charlotte to the speedway, I think this little measure would be enough to keep the speedway for at least a couple more decades without any fanfare. The welcome center seems like a good idea as does the tunnel. I'm not sure what road improvements are needed on speedway and george liles. They could push for the extension of Liles to 29 and 49, but I don't see that getting top priority as Smith himself would not benefit from it. It would just make race traffic slightly more fluid, emphasis on slightly.

I'm starting to believe the Smith pull a fast one on Concord (this was all plan out)

[1979Heel]

^^^^

Tom Sorensen in The Charlotte Observer thinks so, too and so do I. Comments such as "I had no idea what this speedway was worth" are just disingenuous. Bruton knows exactly what his speedway is worth. What a character.