Speedway
Motorsports, Inc. Chairman/CEO Bruton Smith has done it again.
Roughly
24 hours after telling Charlotte, NC television station WBTV that there is a
“70/30 chance” he will move Charlotte Motor Speedway’s fall Sprint Cup Series
race to Las Vegas, Smith now claims to have been misquoted. He also took the
opportunity to renew his long-running feud with the town of Concord and
Cabarrus County over a series of economic incentives promised during the construction
of ZMax Dragway.
In
a written statement today, Smith said, “The ‘done deal’ report by WBTV
regarding moving a race is false. No final decision has been made regarding any
race date move, and I have not discussed this with NASCAR.
“Instead of what ‘could’ happen, let’s set the facts straight about what has happened. We’ve invested $100 million in the Charlotte Motor Speedway complex in the past six years to make it even better for the fans. We’ve expanded our fan zone, added pit road suites and built the world’s largest HDTV for every fan to enjoy. We’ve put more people to work with these projects and we’ve added more events to the calendar to bring in more tourists and fans. And we’ve done this during the worst economy since the Great Depression.
“We’ve done this without asking for a handout from the government, like we’ve seen from so many other sports facilities, teams or franchises, and yet at the same time property values are falling during the recession, our Cabarrus County taxes have doubled since 2005. We absolutely love the fans that come to Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s frustrating to think about the future and consider that the local government doesn’t share the same excitement about Charlotte Motor Speedway that our fans do. The Cabarrus County politicians may say nice things to the media, but raising taxes does not support the tourism business, the area economy or companies trying to grow.”
“Instead of what ‘could’ happen, let’s set the facts straight about what has happened. We’ve invested $100 million in the Charlotte Motor Speedway complex in the past six years to make it even better for the fans. We’ve expanded our fan zone, added pit road suites and built the world’s largest HDTV for every fan to enjoy. We’ve put more people to work with these projects and we’ve added more events to the calendar to bring in more tourists and fans. And we’ve done this during the worst economy since the Great Depression.
“We’ve done this without asking for a handout from the government, like we’ve seen from so many other sports facilities, teams or franchises, and yet at the same time property values are falling during the recession, our Cabarrus County taxes have doubled since 2005. We absolutely love the fans that come to Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s frustrating to think about the future and consider that the local government doesn’t share the same excitement about Charlotte Motor Speedway that our fans do. The Cabarrus County politicians may say nice things to the media, but raising taxes does not support the tourism business, the area economy or companies trying to grow.”
#BillionareProblems
ReplyDeleteHoward Hughes went crazy also
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if I put 100mil in my house, that would raise the value and my taxes.
ReplyDeleteSame old same old with BS. Again I'm at the point to where I wish his bluff would be called.
ReplyDeleteMove it to a road course or a short track, so sick of the nap time 1.5 mile tracks!!! Charlotte and other 1.5 mile tracks all you have to do is watch the first 35and last 35 laps.
ReplyDeleteSounds like he wrote a check that he can't cash
ReplyDeleteYou Know that Bruton worked his way up from nothing and Is not asking for money just a break to help him do more. It is a business and he has bent over backwards to improve his product. You may not like him because he is rich but he will put his money out to to give the fans what they want ie: Bristol.I have been to CMS and it is a great track.So If they lose the fall race then they lose half their revenue and a ton of business.
ReplyDeleteI don't care if he's rich -- I just don't like him. "Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
DeleteBruton is reminding me more and more of Donald Trump. We are all in business to make money, but why does he have to play these games in order to get his way? I think he could handle this behind closed doors or maybe in a county meeting. This is embarrassing to NASCAR and maybe "actions detrimental to NASCAR"
ReplyDeleteWow! This sounds like a man who is now challenging Viv Bernstein to see who can back pedal faster.
ReplyDeleteI guess maybe the NASCAR fans got to him and he quickly changed his mind about what was truly in his best interest.
If a Bruton Smith keeps yammering on endlessly, and nobody is there to care what he's saying, does it really make a sound?
ReplyDeleteEither do it or don't Mr. Smith.