Speedway Motorsports reaches agreement with laborers union for racetrack renovation plan
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Cars race around the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in 2015. Photo: Stephen Furst/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Speedway Motorsports Inc. recently secured a binding workforce agreement with the Nashville laborers union as part of the racing company's plan to renovate the fairgrounds speedway.
Why it matters: SMI hopes to fix up the 121-year-old track and bring NASCAR back to Nashville for the first time in a quarter century.
- Under the new agreement, union workers would handle the construction, creating a significant political selling point for the project.
Between the lines: Together with progressive grassroots organizations, unions helped get many council members elected last cycle.
- As a result, the laborers carry clout on the Metro Council, which must sign off on any renovation plan.
- Securing the laborers agreement on the front end is a unique approach for Nashville sports venues.
State of play: The racetrack renovation plan is in a confusing status. Multiple sources tell Axios a deal between Mayor Freddie O'Connell and SMI is practically finished, but a spokesperson for the mayor painted a less clear picture.
- "There is no deal at this time and there is no announcement planned or scheduled about the fairgrounds speedway," spokesperson Julie Smith said in a statement Saturday.
The intrigue: Ever since its most recent renovation, which included construction of Geodis Park and new fair buildings, parking at the fairgrounds has been a problem.
- The prospective deal with SMI includes a plan to add more than 2,000 new parking spaces.
The other side: Opposition to the project is lying in wait. Several neighborhood groups, including the influential South Nashville Action People, along with environmental advocates and other community organizations, are lined up against the racetrack plan.
- Metro Councilmember Terry Vo said in a statement last week that she favors looking at other uses of the property. Nashville SC lead owner John Ingram made his opposition to the project clear earlier this year.
Flashback: The fairgrounds racetrack was first home to horse racing a century ago, before a dirt course was created for auto racing.
- After racing there for decades, NASCAR hosted its last top-level race at the fairgrounds in 1984. The last lower-level NASCAR event there was in 2000.
- The fairgrounds is also renowned for the list of drivers who cut their teeth there, including legends like Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip.