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NASCAR Hall of Fame


cityboi

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Atlanta has double the projected yearly attendance as you guys.. has Charlotte stepped up and said why it is a better candidate?

I imagine besides funding.. actual attendance and metro pop. are the most important factors. Why do we build a halls of fame? To be visited. So has there been any additional incentives from Char.

BTW, I want you guys to get the damn HALL!!!

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I think most people feel Atl's figure is highly padded and probably not realistic.

Before the opening of the Aquariam in Atlanta, I would agree. But that place has been insanely popular giving Atlanta a pretty strong argument that they can post those numbers. I think that if Atlanta can come up with the funding, they've got us beat. It appears to me that NASCAR had no other reason to 1) announce the cutdown to just Charlotte and Atlanta and 2) extend the timeline for the announcement, than to give Atlanta the incentive and time to come up with the extra cash and make it the perfect deal for the HOF. If they match our cash, we'll only be the sentimental favorite. NASCAR seems to be sponsor and money driven, and not sentiment driven. Every square inch of everything is emblazoned with one logo or another. Compare that to baseball where traditionalists fight commercialization of the sport, e.g., putting advertisements on the bases.

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The #'s thing doesn't really mean much. Yes Atlanta's was over scored, and yes Charlotte's was underscored.......but this project isn't supposed to be a NOW thing. It's supposed to be around for the long run. In the long run.....but charlotte and atlanta are perfect hosts for this. However, charlotte will always have that "edge" of being the center of the nascar world. In the long run, the smarter thing to do would be to put it in charlotte. This is what i have been saying all along

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I seem to remember something about the other big contingent in Nascar, the one controlled by Bruton Smith, saying that if it goes to ATL, then they would just build their own equivalent museum in CLT anyway. Given the huge number of teams based here, it would be an interesting competition.

Based on this, I don't think too much more money will be ponied up by CLT to win over this museum.

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Before the opening of the Aquariam in Atlanta, I would agree. But that place has been insanely popular giving Atlanta a pretty strong argument that they can post those numbers.

I read in a recent AJC article that quoted one of the Frances saying the aquarium was Atlanta's strongest point. He said that if the aquarium wasn't there, Charlotte would be a definite. Or something to that effect. Atlanta can pull the numbers they say. Especially with tourists, Atlanta is such a confusing place that they'll see something with bright lights and go in.

I'd still rather see it in Charlotte. I'm not completely happy with what's happening to that particular area of Atlanta.

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The Bruton Smith notion is an interesting twist. He had originally planned to build racing museum here before the NASCAR HOF competition came about. It will be interesting to see, if the HOF goes to ATL or Daytona, whether he will end up building in as grand a scale.

Of course, I hope we get the real deal, as long as someone pays to clean up the chicken bones downtown.

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I wonder if, in an 'Atlanta wins the HOF' scenario, and Bruton offers to fill the void, so to speak... would the same financing package be available to him? Could he just pick up where the Frances chose to leave off and move forward with that I.M. Pei masterpiece here? I mean, the City paid for the architectural concept, right? And speaking of the "Nascar museum" (and here's my ignorance when it comes to Nascar) do the Frances own the term "Nascar"? Would Bruton's alternative have to be called something else? Like the "Bruton Smith Museum of Stock Car Racing"? Doesn't really roll off the tongue...

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Well, it is hard to say it if it'd be the exact same project. The financing will instantly disappear if we are not chosen for the "NASCAR HOF", however, Bruton Smith has the power to drum up that kind of support again if he thinks he can still get the same number of visitors. Honestly, I doubt it'd be hard to get the 400k visitors for a racing museum here, especially if the drivers participate more with the Charlotte location. Maybe it'd be a way to kind of go "above" Nascar, and build an HOF for the whole sport, regardless of the specific league/corporation.

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Yeah NASCAR is a tradmarked league that is owned by the france family. They control the rights to the name NASCAR in any application. However, i still think that the hof will end up in charlotte. If however it doesn't.....do no be suprised if bruton puts up big bucks for his own museum.

On another note, the france family may decide to put this museum in charlotte as a way to "bury the hatchet" concerning his rivalry with bruton smith. This would also be a good thing for NASCAR in the long run.

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Even though Nascar owns all the Nascar brands, does that mean we couldn't build a museum that pays tribute to NASCAR drivers, and include images of their cars? Surely it is the individual teams that own those images and brands, and not the Nascar corporation. I am still hoping we get the Nascar museum, but if we don't I bet we could build a Racing Museum that could get the backing of all the major drivers and teams. It is just a hypothetical, of course, but one I think might be a good idea if Nascar snubs the city and region of its roots simply to mooch off aquarium visitors.

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well it couldn't have anything associated with "NASCAR". But it could be a stock car racing hall of fame. However, there are so many of these out there (i.e. Talladega, darlington, dawsonville etc.) that the "uniqueness" wouldn't be there.

It's true, most of the racing legends are from NC and around charlotte. And that's just one of the many reasons i don't think that we'll get "snubbed".

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More criticism on the AJC opinion page about Georgia's politicians rushing to give tax breaks and other incentives to try to get the HOF in ATL:

"Here in Atlanta, of course, a romance of an entirely different sort is playing itself out, with NASCAR the object of a lot of heavy romancing. Along with Charlotte and Daytona, Georgia's capital city is pitching woo at NASCAR officials for the right to host the much-coveted NASCAR Hall of Fame. NASCAR's ownership, the France family, has made it clear that would-be suitors for the hall better offer up a lot more than chocolates and flowers. In Harlequin terms, NASCAR is acting like some buxom gold-digger, egging her panting suitors into offering more, more, more

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I go to UGA, so I get the AJC everyday. They have been constantly covering the HOF bid. I think most people in the paper really want the project, yet most Atlantans don want the project. The writers understand Charlotte's lead in the bidding and are now becoming desperate by belittling Charlotte and reemphasising the project's importance nearly everyday. Hopefully WE will recieve the hall.

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I go to UGA, so I get the AJC everyday. They have been constantly covering the HOF bid. I think most people in the paper really want the project, yet most Atlantans don want the project. The writers understand Charlotte's lead in the bidding and are now becoming desperate by belittling Charlotte and reemphasising the project's importance nearly everyday. Hopefully WE will recieve the hall.

Hold on, nobody has determined that Charlotte has the lead. The City has a lot of money to give to teh HOF which is definitely an advantage for you guys, but Atlanta has an emerging tourist district that has the potential to draw in millions of visitors a year. The Georgia aqiaruim alone has generated close to 1 million visitors in the past 4 months it's been open. And actually, many Atlantans want the HOF. Georgia is Nascar country just as much as NC is. You should see all the Nascar fans out in the exurbs. Anyway, it seems like we both have advantages, but we should be finding out what city takes the prize in March. I'll be biting my nails until they announce it!!

-Oh, and you're right, the AJC does have a ton of coverage on the HOF. About two or three weeks ago there was a new article about it on the front page about 3 days in a row

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you might be right. Although i don't know why the AJC would care so much about the HOF. Does it have any connection to it?

There haven't been as many AJC stories about NASCAR HOF as there are Observer stories. The AJC is almost always critical of the HOF, at least very snotty about it, with the exception of the sports section. It was the AJC that sued over details about the HOF. I don't think they support it.

I'm sorry, Charlotteans. Some of you do seem a little desperate for the HOF. That isn't a bad thing, really. It's just the impression some of you are giving, whether intentional or not.

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I'm not sure if any city is truly desperate for the HOF. I meant there are some crazy people in Charlotte who are taking the HOF issue too seriously. Like the people threatening to boycott NASCAR if Charlotte doesn't get the HOF. Or the people who are personally offended that NASCAR didn't immediately choose Charlotte over the other cities.

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http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/spo...ts/13969681.htm

Inside sources are pointing to Charlotte as the already selected location for the Nascar Hall of Fame.

I am not a fan of the sport, but I am a fan of investing $130 million in a tourist mecca in an otherwise vacant part of downtown.

I am really excited at the prospect of getting the Pei building added to our skyline, too.

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