[bears9]

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- The owner of Lowe's Motor Speedway threatened to shut down the track and open another one somewhere else after the city council derailed his plans to build a drag-racing strip at the site.
City officials angered Bruton Smith when they voted this week to change zoning to ban drag strips, addressing concerns of nearby residents worried the noise would disturb their neighborhoods and decrease property values.
Smith said his team looked at two sites Wednesday and was contacted by two more sites. He would not say where they were.
Smith said he's prepared to spend the estimated $350 million it would take to shut down Lowe's Motor Speedway and build another track and drag strip elsewhere in the Charlotte area, especially because he was already considering spending a huge sum to update the existing track.
"In light of what's happened ... now I could take that $200 million and maybe another $100 (million) or $150 million and I could build a new facility," Smith said. But building a new track from scratch wouldn't be easy. While he promises fans a "bigger and better" venue, there are few sites in the Charlotte area that could replicate the 2,000-acre facility Smith now has at Lowe's. Those that can are not close to any major highways.

Lowe's owner threatens to close track

[PettyBlue]

Money talks,all other crap walks.The town is messing with a guy that can backup what he states.Watch out,towns people.

[simple simon]

id tell him to take his track and shove it

[PettyBlue]

Originally Posted by simple simon

id tell him to take his track and shove it

But he may take the track and shove it up their, etc...

[simple simon]

i think (and hope) the worst that would happen is the town would lose the property tax money for the track and maybe a few people would lose jobs

if they can afford to lose the tax money i would tell them to cram it

[PettyBlue]

It may come to a bit more than a few jobs or a bit of tax money for that town.As stated before,this guy can backup what he said. Charlotte.com : Charlotte news, events, Panthers, Bobcats, jobs, cars, homes

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by simple simon

i think (and hope) the worst that would happen is the town would lose the property tax money for the track and maybe a few people would lose jobs

if they can afford to lose the tax money i would tell them to cram it

the tax revenue and jobs revenue is a mere pittance compared to the mega bucks fans and teams spend in Concord. a lot of businesses that depend on the track, or that provide services at the track will be left hanging .. some will probably go under. Concord needs to study what the loss of the track will mean to the community, not just the track neighbors. after all, the track was there before many of those neighborhoods were and Concord has always gained it's primary revenue from racing.

and anybody that's followed NASCAR for very long knows Bruton Smith holds no allegiance to anyone nor anyplace.

[thunderfoot]

The city should be kissing his a$$ on this one. The money the city, county and state gets from the revenue of this facility should have some weight to it. Many times we (in the Northwest)have had to cut our program short or pay for going over the alloted time set by the county. Even though the track was there many years before the housing. When these people bought their homes they knew the track was there. Is this really progress?

[PettyBlue]

Sounds like people who buy a house next to an airport,then a new runway is added and the home owner cries about added noise.

[PettyBlue]

As the old saying goes,don't mess with money. Charlotte Observer | 10/06/2007 | NASCAR will wait and see, France says

[thunderfoot]

Originally Posted by PettyBlue

Sounds like people who buy a house next to an airport,then a new runway is added and the home owner cries about added noise.

Dial 1-800-WHAA or my favorite "Would you like 50 cents to call someone who cares?"

[Jeffrey4318]

This sounds like what happened in my city. A law was passed that said a Gentlemens club couldn't be opened more than a mile from a school or day care. So what happens? Someone opens a daycare right next door to one of our cities oldest Gentlemens club. Yep you guessed it the Gentlemens club was forced to shut down. Fair? I think not.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

the tax revenue and jobs revenue is a mere pittance compared to the mega bucks fans and teams spend in Concord. a lot of businesses that depend on the track, or that provide services at the track will be left hanging .. some will probably go under. Concord needs to study what the loss of the track will mean to the community, not just the track neighbors. after all, the track was there before many of those neighborhoods were and Concord has always gained it's primary revenue from racing.

and anybody that's followed NASCAR for very long knows Bruton Smith holds no allegiance to anyone nor anyplace.

I have not way of verifying this figure but it was mentioned on SIRIUS the other day that Concord sees approximately $900,000,000 ($900 million!!!???) worth of revenue directly attributed to the track being in their limits.

On one hand it seems high, but on the other hand, these new NASCAR love to spend money, so...???

Whatever, I think it would behove Concord to do a little butt snorkeling with Bruton.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by simple simon

id tell him to take his track and shove it

I agree totally. NASCAR need only say that if you close down you get no races. Concord needs to lobby NASCAR for help. I'm not sure I go along totally with the airport analogy. The drag strip was not there when they bought homes in the area. Why can't Smith just build the drag strip elsewhere ?

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

Why can't Smith just build the drag strip elsewhere ?

Maybe cause he's an a$$hole with money and thinks he can do whatever he wants, when he wants, to whomever he wants if he don't get his way?

The other day I talked to a guy from Charlotte, and this guy said " I hope Smith dies of a series of Heart Attacks that get stronger, causing him great suffering before his demise". I thought damn, I didn't think anyone could have that much hatred. Then I found out he was originally from around Rockingham. Then I thought that made a little more sense.





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