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NASCAR Hall of Fame


cityboi

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I'm betting the HOF goes to Atlanta because it will help expand the sport.

I don't see how putting it in Atlanta would do that.

If its about diversity, which is often brought up, Atlanta is NOT a diverse place, Charlotte's more diverse! (White 55.1% Black 32.7% Hispanic 7.4%) (NOTE: I don't consider CLT diverse so don't get me on that) but Atlanta is mostly black (over 60%) and few whites (30%), and even fewer Hispanics (5%). Just because there are not many whites does not make a city diverse.

On that thread, Hispanics now are the second largest group in America so one would think NASCAR would go after them if they were looking to diversify their fanbase. NASCAR would be looking at a city out west for diversity.

If the concern is local businesses and their support of NASCAR the cities are not too far apart. In Atlanta you have Coca Cola, Home Depot, UPS, and possibly a few others. Charlotte has BankofAmerica (official bank of NASCAR, and sponsorship of a race), Lowes (a racetrack, car, other sponserships), Sonic(they have an ad on like every car), Speedway Motorsports(own many tracks), not to mention the vast array of teams that have their operations here...

That said, NASCAR's fan base has been growing very quickly by targeting middle class males. Business sense says, if it's not broke don't fix it.

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^ Of course that is municipal population, kind of hard to compare that. Not sure what the exact population figures are - so that is all I have to say :P

I've noticed more negative commentary here though, I personally would still expect Charlotte to win it. And discoverdilworth - regarding your comment, speak for yourself, I don't want it (in Atlanta) :)

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Also interesting commentary from one who has Asslanta listed as the place where he lives. :whistling:

I am reminded of that saying on glass houses and throwing rocks.

What are you talking about? Negative in the sense that there are more Charlotte forummers believing that Atlanta will win the HOF than before.

This is nothing personal, let's try to keep it that way...

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If its about diversity, which is often brought up, Atlanta is NOT a diverse place, Charlotte's more diverse! (White 55.1% Black 32.7% Hispanic 7.4%) (NOTE: I don't consider CLT diverse so don't get me on that) but Atlanta is mostly black (over 60%) and few whites (30%), and even fewer Hispanics (5%). Just because there are not many whites does not make a city diverse.

And Charlotte is a bigger municipality than Atlanta, but we all know that municipal figures mean squat in these situations. Metro area stats would be a more accurate indicator here, and even then, because the HOF will be more of a regional draw, that figure would fall short as well.

And even then, there's no big gap between 55% and 60% (whites), 32% and 30% (blacks), and 7% and 5% (Hispanics). I could see if we were comparing Detroit and Charlotte, but the demographics here are virtually the same.

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random thought.....

Since "diversity" is NASCAR's priority, do you think that bob johnson has been an influence on this project at all? I mean i know that he's no longer with BET, but he must have connections and abilities to advertise/introduce NASCAR to the black community? This could be a huge deciding factor in the charlotte big. This may be nothing at all, but i thought it was an interesting point to bring up nonetheless.

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I will stress by saying as I have said earlier....I feel the land slated for the NHOF in Atlanta could be put to much better use. Having said that, I must comment on Moonshield's comment. Obviously NASCAR is not considering the Atlanta city proper as it's slated market. NASCAR is considering Atlanta's metro population....and I would be hard pressed to believe that metropolitan Atlanta is over 60% black. Ironically enough, Atlanta is in Fulton county and as of the 2000 census, Fulton county was 48.11% white, 44.57% black, 5.89% hispanic, 3.04% Asian, 2.06% Other races, 1.45% two or more races, .19% Native America and .04% Pacific Islander. Interesting enough, Mecklenburg county is not that much different....in the grand scheme of things.

NASCAR is probably considering Atlanta's prominence in the convention industry. Perhaps this is the market NASCAR is really after and not necessarily a particular race. Someone attending a convention from California only would have to walk across Centennial Olympic Park to discover what all the hoopla is about concerning NASCAR. A family of four attending the Children's Museum a few block up may also add the HOF to the itinerary. Nevermind the fact that the Georgia Aquarium has already had 800,000 visitors since it's November 23th opening.

Okay, wait....it sounds like I'm making a bid FOR Atlanta to get the HOF. Quite the contrary. While critical mass is good and adding the HOF to an already thriving and growing area will definitely bring more people downtown; especially now since Mayor Franklin has made it her mission to keep this area a crime free as possible. I feel, however, that Atlanta could best use this prime piece of property for something a little more grandiose. If the true NASCAR fans and drivers hold Charlotte near and dear then the France family should listen to their very loyal fanbase. History should prevail over the dollar. If the HOF is placed in Charlotte, it will draw people. Who knew the Georgia Aquarium would be so successful....well the NHOF in Charlotte can be just as successful.

It baffles me that people want to say that Atlanta could draw a greater headcount than Charlotte. On paper perhaps but it's not like Charlotte is in the middle of Alaska. Just as people can fly in and out of Atlanta, they can fly in and out of Charlotte. Charlotte is easily accessible and a diehard fan could easily make the trip to Charlotte. The drivers live there and there is a very major track there. Seems to me that someone could make a NASCAR weekend out of a trip to Charlotte. The Ritz could stay full with business travellers lingering to visit the HOF. I defintiely hope the decision doesn't come down to money. That could be a grave mistake. It appears that the fans and drivers choose Charlotte...although weather wise I wouldn't have mind it going to Daytona.

Charlotte would be a wonderful choice. It has a beautiful and growing downtown area, great people, good weather and it's safe...but more than that it has the history....and that NASCAR should be enough to help make your decision that much easier.

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Obviously NASCAR is not considering the Atlanta city proper as it's slated market. NASCAR is considering Atlanta's metro population....and I would be hard pressed to believe that metropolitan Atlanta is over 60% black. Ironically enough, Atlanta is in Fulton county and as of the 2000 census, Fulton county was 48.11% white, 44.57% black, 5.89% hispanic, 3.04% Asian, 2.06% Other races, 1.45% two or more races, .19% Native America and .04% Pacific Islander. Interesting enough, Mecklenburg county is not that much different....in the grand scheme of things.

Yes that is true, but some people say that NASCAR is looking for diversity and I'm saying that Charlotte and Atlanta are not that different in terms of diversity. That's all.

Lady C, your post was well put.

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I would be shocked if the hall goes anywhere besides Charlotte. Charlotte has the most solid bid with a solid funding package and a revenue source that can be tapped in the future to support the hall. Racing fans are what will sustain the hall in the long run, not tourists that can give a hoot about nascar. Charlotte is the hub of nascar, and the most racing fans concentrate on this area, far more than ATL. France even commented after touring ATL's main tourism district, "well all the people are nice, but Charlotte has the guaranteed money." Now ATL is scrambling to pull money from this source and that source, and all along Charlotte has had their bid solid and ready to go tomorrow if need be.

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Excerpt from an interesting article in an Australian paper today about ATL and NASCAR's desire to "diversify" the sport:

"But NASCAR, the country's fastest-growing sports spectacle with hopes of rivalling the National Football League, is doing everything it can to diversify. It is recruiting drivers and track employees on black campuses, running races in Mexico City and considering opening a hall of fame in downtown Atlanta, a city famous for its diversity. The other rivals for the hall are Charlotte and Daytona Beach. "I tell people that if we don't get diversity right, we won't be successful," NASCAR chief Brian France said. "We are America's sport, and we need to reflect America in every way we can." But will a largely white sport with white fans and white drivers venture to a showpiece of their sport in downtown Atlanta, the cultural seat of the black South?"

Here a link to the article:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/nascar...0284003391.html

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that's crazy that this story made news in other countries......let alone australia. I still think that charlotte has it in the bag. Yes atlanta may be a "large metro", but charlotte ain't too small either. Not to mention that this attraction is supposed to be there for the long run........a time where undoubtably charlotte will eventually be one of the largest metros in the country.

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http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/13921949.htm

It was announced in the news before, but there is another article about it today. Bottom line: Bank of America is now the official bank of NASCAR.

Actually BofA is just the official bank of nine NASCAR tracks, not of the entire NASCAR organization (yet?). The 4 added today are all owned by ISC, which incidently is owned by the France family. This can't hurt CLT's chances to get the HOF.

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