Metrolina Speed and Sport Center

[monsoon]

Sounds as if Speedway Investment Group wants to re-open the old Metrolina Speedway racetrack to it's former glory days by building a 40,000 sq ft $50M facility that will provide a lot of amusement stuff related to racing. It will have everything from go-karts to real car racing. Even the skateboarders can go. It will have a 3/4 mile asphalt track that can be configured for lots of different races. Supposedly it will employ 150 people. I vaguely remember this place and if you do some exploring you can still see the old stands. It is very close to the Metrolina Flea Market to give an idea of where this will be.

One can clearly see the silhouette of the old place.

[rockhilljames]

"rooftop skate park"

Something just sounds wrong about that.

[tozmervo]

"rooftop skate park"

Something just sounds wrong about that.

[JayGee]

Sounds like a cunning plan to reduce the skater population of Charlotte

After all the hullabaloo about acoustic privacy around the drag strip in Concord, I can't imagine that some of the folks in those neighborhoods would be terribly thrilled about this.

[HopHead]

I saw the news story on WCNC about it... Actually looks pretty cool. The city will kick in about $1.5 million for road improvements while Mr. Webber will put his own money (approx $50 mill) into the development. The city should get back about $9 million in taxes over time. Sounds like a no-brainer to me. Good thing is that this project is ready to go and could start on June 16th after a rezoning approval.

[tunedmassdamper]

Sounds as if Speedway Investment Group wants to re-open the old Metrolina Speedway racetrack to it's former glory days by building a 40,000 sq ft $50M facility that will provide a lot of amusement stuff related to racing. It will have everything from go-karts to real car racing. Even the skateboarders can go. It will have a 3/4 mile asphalt track that can be configured for lots of different races. Supposedly it will employ 150 people. I vaguely remember this place and if you do some exploring you can still see the old stands. It is very close to the Metrolina Flea Market to give an idea of where this will be.

One can clearly see the silhouette of the old place.

[monsoon]

^The Charlotte city council has to vote to approve the development. I assume they can exempt any area from the noise ordinance if needed.

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To put the size of this development in perspective, they spent $32 million on the National Whitewater Center, vs $50M+ for this development. It's fairly significant.

[nonillogical]

sounds awesome! i didn't know about the old one, but a large amusement complex that further cements Charlotte's racing reputation is a great idea. it sounds like it will have a broad enough appeal to draw in more than just families and racing enthusiasts (i know i'd go at least once).

[queensguy06]

I remember as a kid they used to have sprint car races on a clay track out there. This is the track that is still right next to the flea market, correct? It was actually a lot of fun from what I remember. I still have a bunch of framed pictures of the sprint car drivers with their autographs somewhere in storage, maybe I can donate them to their Hall of Fame.

[monsoon]

^Yes, I posted a satellite image of the location that shows the old track. There was also a big drive-in movie theatre named The Fox (I believe) near there as well as an airport that was used to teach skydiving from planes.

[JayGee]

^Yes, I posted a satellite image of the location that shows the old track. There was also a big drive-in movie theatre named The Fox (I believe) near there as well as an airport that was used to teach skydiving from planes.

[monsoon]

^Can't say that I have heard of that one, but there used to be a fairly large airport, that survived into the 80s at least, near the Hickory Grove part of Charlotte. (North East) It was clearly visible from the Newell - Hickory Grove Rd. This road essentially kinda disappeared with the construction of Harris Blvd through there, so I am unsure of how to describe the location now.

[InitialD]

I know this is off topic, but Monsoon's comment about an old airport made me think of it and I don't know where else to post this question. . . .

I remember quite a few years ago, some of the maps I used with various GPS' showed an airport near the corner of Westinghouse Blvd. and Hwy 160 (Steele Creek Rd.) in SW Charlotte, where the Westlake Industrial Park is now.

Anybody know any history on that?

[JayGee]

Carpenter Airfield

[palmetto75]

^Yes, I posted a satellite image of the location that shows the old track. There was also a big drive-in movie theatre named The Fox (I believe) near there as well as an airport that was used to teach skydiving from planes.

[queensguy06]

After checking out the website, it seems they have rented space for pretty much the whole summer. The fall and winter seem to slow down a bit, but I am guessing that's expected for the time of year. Here is the site: Metrolina Expo

[HopHead]

Does anyone know if City County gave the approval yesterday? I think it was pretty much a given that it would get approval, but was just curious if it did. Didn't see anything on the news about it other than saying the vote was to occur yesterday. Construction is supposed to start this week if approval is given.

[gometrolina]

I remember as a kid they used to have sprint car races on a clay track out there. This is the track that is still right next to the flea market, correct? It was actually a lot of fun from what I remember. I still have a bunch of framed pictures of the sprint car drivers with their autographs somewhere in storage, maybe I can donate them to their Hall of Fame.

[JayGee]

Does anyone know if City County gave the approval yesterday? I think it was pretty much a given that it would get approval, but was just curious if it did. Didn't see anything on the news about it other than saying the vote was to occur yesterday. Construction is supposed to start this week if approval is given.

[HopHead]

Re-zoning vote is tonight.

Article

[monsoon]

There was an article in one of the lake papers that said they were planning to have a ground breaking this month, but did not notice the actual date. (might have skipped over it) It did catch my eye they were planning to hire a lot of people locally and said it would be everything from accountants to hotdog vendors. Good for the local economy.

[gometro]

Hey Queensguy06,

I'm part of the Metrolina Project and I'm working on the history of the track. I would like to take you up on your offer of donating whatever pictures and memoriabila you have on Metrolina.

If anyone else has any stuff or information about the track, I can be reached at deleted

The groundbreaking ceremony will happen within the next week or two.

Thanks,

Gometro