Organizers turn in enough signatures to put fairgrounds racing ban on the ballot
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The fate of Nashville's publicly owned fairgrounds racetrack will likely be in the hands of voters next year after organizers on Friday turned in enough petition signatures to put the issue on the ballot.
Why it matters: The racetrack has been the source of political intrigue, activism and debate for more than 15 years.
- A plan from the group Restore Our Fairgrounds would permanently ban auto racing at the fairgrounds and replace it with affordable or workforce housing on the list of required programming there.
Catch up quick: After several false starts, Restore Our Fairgrounds got the green light earlier this year from city officials to begin collecting voter signatures to try and put their plan on the ballot.
- Yes, but: The proposed referendum needed more voter signatures than any previous petition drive in Metro history at around 41,000.
- In order to pull it off, Restore Our Fairgrounds hired a slate of consultants.
By the numbers: The group said it turned in more than 74,900 voter signatures, which is the most for a Nashville initiative in recent memory.
Between the lines: Because the measure hasn't advanced to the ballot, the group has not yet been required to disclose its fundraising.
- John Ingram, the wealthy lead owner of the Nashville SC, is a known supporter of the plan to ban racing.
Zoom in: Backers of the petition drive say auto racing doesn't make sense at the fairgrounds. They describe the track as a noisy neighborhood nuisance and also a pollutant of nearby Browns Creek.
- They say park space and affordable housing are better uses of the racetrack site.
The other side: Racing supporters fought the signature collection with a campaign called "decline to sign." They accused the anti-racing group of misrepresenting their proposal by focusing on affordable housing — the most pervasive political issue in Nashville right now — and not the racing ban.
- The opposition group also was not required to disclose its donors, but Speedway Motorsports Inc. executive Marcus Smith is a known supporter of fixing up the fairgrounds racetrack.
The proposal doesn't actually require Metro to build more affordable housing at the fairgrounds. The plan would amend the charter to say Metro must have workforce or affordable housing at the fairgrounds.
- However, there's already workforce housing as part of the development surrounding Geodis Park, so some stakeholders believe those units would meet the new charter requirement.
Friction point: For racing supporters, the fairgrounds track is hallowed ground. It's been around since 1904 and previously hosted NASCAR's top circuit races.
- Future stars like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Sterling Marlin got their starts at the fairgrounds.
- There hasn't been a NASCAR race since 2000.
Flashback: Voters have already weighed in on the future of the fairgrounds once. In 2011, they voted to preserve racing, a fair, flea market and other programming at the fairgrounds under a charter amendment that passed by a wide margin.
- That amendment also created a high bar of at least 27 council votes to demolish any building at the fairgrounds.
State of play: There's a proposal in the works from Speedway Motorsports Inc. to partner with the city to build a new racetrack facility and bring NASCAR back to Nashville.
- Mayor Freddie O'Connell expressed skepticism about the racing ban, but has not advanced a racetrack financing plan.
- With thousands of voters supporting a referendum, it may be unlikely that O'Connell files a racetrack renovation with the Metro Council until after next year's election.
What's next: The Election Commission must verify the signatures. During such petition drives, it's common for some signatures to be tossed for a variety of reasons.
- If the signatures are approved, a legal challenge from the pro-racing side is all but certain.
The bottom line: If such a challenge fails in court, then voters will decide the fate of auto racing at the fairgrounds once and for all.