Nashville, Bristol Motor Speedway explore agreement for NASCAR return

A potential agreement could bring televised NASCAR races to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in 2022

Bristol Motor Speedway and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway are in talks to bring television NASCAR racing to the Nashville Speedway by as soon as 2022.

SMI is in talks with Metro Nashville to form the agreement. The said agreement would also preserve and upgrade the facility.

Per the release, “A potential agreement envisions the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway attracting NASCAR-level racing events and continuing local racing, as well as attracting certain non-racing events, such as auto shows, live music, bicycle races and corporate functions. Community organizations would also have opportunities to use the renovated, multi-purpose facility.”

Bristol Motor Speedway previously submitted a bid to take over promotions of Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. That bid was rejected by Metro.

Related: City of Nashville turns down bid from Bristol Motor Speedway (2017)

Discussions between parties will include:

-Management of the track to be potentially taken over by Bristol Motor Speedway;

-Shifting financial responsibility for track renovation and maintenance to Bristol Motor Speedway; and

-Generation of additional revenue to the city through lease, rent and shared-event-revenue agreements.

Proposed improvements include:

-noise mitigation

-safety upgrades

-more seating

-addition of auxiliary facilities

“If a partnership is formed, Bristol Motor Speedway would expand its nationally acclaimed Speedway Children’s Charities to include Nashville. The organization’s mission is to solve challenges affecting young people, including health, learning, homelessness and other issues, by supporting local agency partners. In 2019, Speedway Children’s Charities donated more than $3 million to nonprofit partners nationwide, for total of more than $59.4 million donated since 1982.”

A website has been created: Restore Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway

Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway TN
Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway TN
Mayor John Cooper on Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville

Funding for the upgrades would come from ticket and track lease revenues.

“The racetrack can stop being a financial drain on taxpayers. Instead, it can generate positive cash flow and help fund community improvements at the racetrack, at the Fairgrounds and at Fair Park. This historic site can be a great, long-term asset for the community and the city,” Mayor John Cooper said.

“We have an obligation to maintain the track, so it’s smart for Nashville to engage a strong, long-term partner from the auto racing industry to operate it successfully,” Mayor Cooper said. “Modernizing the Speedway brings the track back to its historic prominence. It also brings us another step closer to a Nashville that values its unique assets and uses those assets to build a greater city.”

Full crowd at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2007
, driver of the #, during the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25, 2007 in Bristol, Tennessee.
Marcus Smith on Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville

“Bristol Motor Speedway and Speedway Motorsports are thrilled to take this step forward with Mayor Cooper, the Fair Board, Metro Council and the neighborhood stakeholders,” said Marcus Smith, president and chief executive officer of Speedway Motorsports and Bristol Motor Speedway.

He added, “We can work together to transform Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway into an amazing multipurpose entertainment destination. We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and go to work to fully restore the speedway, recruit national events and breathe new life into a venue that has a legendary status in auto racing history.”

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Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville | Bristol Motor Speedway | Speedway Motorsports Inc | NASCAR

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