New proposal seeks to ban auto racing at Nashville fairgrounds
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ARCAR cars prepare to race at the fairgrounds speedway in 2015. Photo: Stephen Furst/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images
Racetrack opponents are reviving their long-running effort to stop auto racing at the Nashville fairgrounds with a new proposal that would amend the Metro Charter to ban it outright.
Why it matters: The proposal is the latest iteration of the passionate debate over racing that has bedeviled generations of city leaders.
Between the lines: Rumors persist that Mayor Freddie O'Connell intends to introduce a plan to effectively build a new racetrack and bring NASCAR races back to the fairgrounds.
- A charter amendment proposal could complicate those plans.
Driving the news: A group of racetrack opponents plan to file a notice with the Metro Clerk today about their intention to put a charter amendment proposal on the November 2026 ballot.
- The proposal is from residents and nearby neighborhood leaders who have pushed the city to consider alternative uses for the racetrack property. Metro Councilmember Terry Vo, who represents the area, signed on in support of placing the proposal on the ballot.
Zoom in: The latest proposal goes further than an abandoned attempt from 2024 to change the charter. The new amendment would delete auto racing from the list of programming required at the fairgrounds and replace it with workforce or affordable housing.
- The measure would also explicitly prohibit auto racing from occurring within 1,000 feet of Browns Creek on the fairgrounds property.
Reality check: In order to get the measure on the ballot, the plan must garner signatures from at least 10% of the registered voters in Davidson County.
What he's saying: "NASCAR voluntarily left the fairgrounds in the mid-1980s, but our city has moved on," Mike Kopp, co-founder of the Fairgrounds Preservation Partners group behind the new referendum effort, told Axios in a statement.
- "It's time, once and for all, to re-envision the fairgrounds speedway site as something that can benefit the entire community — not just the select few special interests who want to keep it as their own personal playground."
State of play: Earlier this year, the O'Connell administration seemed on the brink of introducing the NASCAR plan, with multiple outlets reporting an announcement was close.
- The announcement never came. The O'Connell administration has instead focused on a new TPAC facility for the East Bank.
While NASCAR does not race at the fairgrounds, the facility hosts other regional races during warmer months.
- Racetrack opponents want to shift the debate over the racetrack's future to other issues like affordable housing and cleaning up Browns Creek.
- The environmental group Cumberland River Compact has supported the effort to consider other uses of the property.
Flashback: The fairgrounds is hallowed ground for racing fans, having hosted races there since 1904. But NASCAR's top series hasn't raced there since 1984.
Opponents say the property would be better used as a park and housing.
- "The speedway site can and should be restored to its original use as community open space. It's overdue time to let the voters decide," Kopp said.
The other side: SMI, the company that runs Bristol Motorspeedway and other events, wants to pursue a massive racetrack renovation in hopes of attracting NASCAR's return.
What's next: The Metro Charter Revision Commission must sign off on the plan before the group can begin collecting signatures.
- Proponents of the charter amendment don't have to disclose their financial backers at this juncture.
- However, John Ingram, lead owner of the Nashville SC, whose stadium is next-door at the fairgrounds, has been clear about his opposition to a NASCAR plan.