December 21, 2010
By Allen Madding
It has been a rough couple of years for NASCAR race track owners. Memphis Motorsports Park was a popular stop for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the Nationwide Series from 1998 through the 2009 season.
Memphis has set silent since the NASCAR trucks and cars left. The track has been for sale since Dover Motorsports Inc. closed it.
The track sold for $10 million but fell through when financing could not be arranged. Finally, the track sold at an auction this past week for $1.9 million marking a pretty hefty loss.
Dover Motorsports, Inc. also announced last month that it was closing operations of Gateway International Raceway which had been hosting the Nationwide races since 1997 and the Truck Series since 1998. When the $2.5 million tax bill came due, Dover Motorsports was forced to close the door of the Gateway and lay off the staff.
Both of these facilities were excellent venues with more than ten years of NASCAR racing history, but the economy and the high cost of operating a track that meets the requirements of NASCAR’s top three series were a lethal combination.
The Milwaukee mile was a regular stop on the Nationwide Series schedule since 1984 and the since the Truck Series formed in 1995. At the end of the 2009 season, the track announced they would be unable to host both series in 2010. The bottom line was the fair board could not find a promoter that was willing to take on the events due to the slim margin of profit potential.
While these tracks have been shuttered in the last two seasons, another track is on the horizon.
Russell Cook, a developer, announced that he intends to build a 1.25 mile 80-100,000 seat race track just outside of Branson, Missouri. As much as I want to get excited about someone building a new facility, my first response to this news was, “Don’t do it!”
Why? First, none of the top three NASCAR series need another track 1-mile or larger. Last year, the Nationwide Series competed on 18 tracks that are 1-mile or longer. Eight of those were 1.5-mile tracks. And, most of those are tracks the series visits twice a year.
To draw fans in a time when money is tight and people are carefully evaluating their entertainment options, giving them the same thing they are already seeing is not the hot ticket. So, why not a 5/8-mile or a ¾-mile track? NASCAR has always been a good show on a short track. Take a look at Bristol and Richmond. A night race at a short track has always been a winning combination. Build a short track and install lighting for a night race.
Secondly, do not build 80-100,000 seats. Iowa put 56,000 in the seats for the 2010 U.S. Cellular 250 when the Nationwide Series ran there and that was an impressive crowd at the .875-mile speedway. And did you notice? It is not a 1-mile track.
Kentucky had 61,000 for the Nationwide Series Meijer 300, Loudon had 40,000 for the New England 200, and Richmond had 55,000 at the Bubba Burgers 250. Bristol did not sell out this year which was a first in a long time, but they had 85,000 on hand - one of the few to break over 65,000 on hand.
So, if you are going to build it, build 55,000 seats and go for a sellout. If you sellout, take some of the profits and build another 10,000 seats, and go for a sellout again.
The worst thing you can do is build 100,000 seats and sell 40,000. It will look bad on TV and it will look bad to the fans in the stands. In fact, several tracks have removed grandstands over the last two seasons to drop the capacity due to lower turnouts. Tracks on the Sprint Cup Series schedule have lost dates due to lack of sellouts. So, do not build it too big. Build 55,000 seats and try to sell them all.
But before you invest millions of dollars building a new venue for the NASCAR Nationwide and Truck Series, carefully evaluate the empty seats at some of the other venues. Carefully evaluate why three tracks have dropped off the schedule and why two tracks have closed.
If you build it, give the fans something different than the current status quo. One more 1.25 or 1.5-mile track is not going to fill the grandstands.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Allen Madding at ..
