Smith: ‘90 percent chance’ I’ll move Lowe’s speedway, track would be demolished
Quote selected text Published October 17th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Lowe’s Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith now says there is a “90%” he will move his track out of Concord for another site around Charlotte. And if he leaves Concord, Smith said, he will raze the track and sell the property piecemeal. Smith’s comments to the Observer on Monday are the latest twist in an episode that began when the city of Concord moved to stop work on a $60 million drag strip on speedway property.
After the City Council’s Oct. 1 vote to rezone the property to ban drag strips, Smith threatened to move the track. Last week, the city reversed its position on the drag strip and started talking about offering incentives to help reduce noise from the drag strip, a concern among neighbors. Smith said he would feel obligated to buy back the 52 condominiums at the speedway from their owners.
A final decision on the move won’t be made until after the Concord City Council revisits the issue Oct. 26, Smith said. That meeting will be held at 6 p.m.; it originally had been scheduled for Oct. 24. Local officials are continuing to try to persuade Smith to stay put. Several state lawmakers approached him at Saturday’s Bank of America 500 race, telling him how much they appreciated his being in North Carolina, said state Rep. Linda Johnson, R-Cabarrus. Smith declined to encourage speculation that he was considering a move to Rock Hill, saying he has not disclosed where he is looking to move. He did say he was considering about 20 sites within an 18-mile radius of Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.
Smith also has said he is willing to spend $350 million to abandon the Concord track and build another elsewhere in the Charlotte area.
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drag strip at lowes speedway, people who bought condo’s at a race track are complaining about possible noise problems? hey stupid, you buy a home or condo near or in a race track you will have noise. buy a house on the ocean, chances are you will get water someday, i hope smith makes a pig farm out of the site.
Move it closer to the Cary/Chapel Hill area!! Haha, i’m moving to that area
Right now the Lowe’s speedway is about 1 1/2 hours away from Cary…it’d be nice if it was closer!
MAKE IT A PIG FARM, SMITH!!
If Bruton Smith pulls this move it might prove to be a very very costly mistake, The reason Lowes is so successful is the infrastructure of local race teams, Gannassi, Roush, Gibbs, Wood Bros, Hendrick, Hall of Fame that are close and the shopping and hotel opportunitys at Concord Mills mall. People want all that these days, they dont want to stay in a hotel 50 miles away and drive across Charlotte to go to a race. Im pretty sure this could end up being a very bad thing if he moves.
If I come cross country to see Lowe’s and the race shops - 50 miles
is not gonna make a hill of a difference to me. Sure it is all
convenient right now but being in the same state in convenient!!!
I hate the track anyways.
Clay, that is why Bruton Smith is being this way, he knows how much it will hurt the local economy…
Smart business move honestly, I bet they fold and let him do what he wants, if not all the local businesses will pay the price.
Most of the shops came to the area AFTER the track was opened in 1960. It is a great area. Smith and his operation bring in a jillion dollars a year to the local economy. This area won’t fall as bad as the Darlington area did, but it will surely suffer if Smith pulls the plug. He’ll sell pieces of the track and equipment on QVC or eBay, making more money. He says he wants to build it the same basic area, just not on the same town or county. If I were a local politician, I’d do everything I could to keep him in Concord. His taxes pay for schools, health services, fire and police. Who’s gonna pay for this if he leaves? Big tax increases would be a certainty. Evidently the people in Concord didn’t hear that Teresa at DEI killed her cash cow by letting Junior go. He’s just one guy and he generated about $75 million dollars for DEI. Just think what the area will lose if Smith leaves.
What a greedy old fart he is… I had heard on the interview on Speed, Wendy V interviewed the mayor I think and it sounded like to me they were gonna let Smith have whatever he wanted to stay…I might be wrong. But, to take a perfectly good track and close it down and/bulldoze it over just over a pissing contest, and dump a massive wad of money into another track is pointless.
I’ve been to Lowes and it is about an 8 hour drive for me, I love the fact that the raceshops are all so close. Move the track 50 - 100 miles away and I’m faced with the same hotel hassle I have when we go to Bristol, hotel room 30 - 50 miles away, my biggest drawback about Bristol races, and the fact that it also is about 8 hours away from my home.
Build away B.S., but I will be on boycott, I will find other race tracks to go to each year. I think it would be hilarious if there were only 1,000 show up (instead of 100,000) on opening day to pay probably double the price the current ticket at Lowes is right now. There is no way the council or mayor is going to let him pull out of Charlotte, they will give him whatever he wants to stay, it’s all just a bunch of hot air right now.
B.S. ain’t going nowhere..
Bruton thinks because he is so powerful in the Track business and he can up and take his toys and not play in Charlotte anymore. Do that tough guy & I will make sure we no longer have sponsorship at any of your tracks you grouch ol man. Take your Ducolax and relax!
A previous Bruton fan.
Bruton is doing what any smart business man would do. Give me what I want or I will leave. Concord will cave and give him what he wants, they just want to seem like they are in power when they truly know that Bruton holds all the cards. That city cannot afford to lose the track and Bruton ain’t going no where. Charlotte is his baby and he knows they will cave. There is waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much money involved in both ends. Bruton has the money to move and he will do if they don’t cave but they will.