KFDM COOP Posted March 7, 2006 Report Posted March 7, 2006 Charlotte picked as site of NASCAR Hall of Fam CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Hall of Fame for NASCAR's greatest will be built in downtown Charlotte, within miles of the race shops and sprawling mansions that make the region an epicenter of the sport, NASCAR and city officials said today. The selection of Charlotte as site for the $107.5 million hall ended a yearlong race against four other cities that saw the city's leaders and tourism officials campaign hard for an attraction expected to lure hundreds of thousands of NASCAR fans. "In the end, you look at what's going to best in the long run," NASCAR chairman Brian France told a crowd of about 1,000 people at the city's convention center. "I'm happy to tell you today the NASCAR Hall of Fame is going to be right here in Charlotte, N.C." Charlotte's proximity to the heart of the sport was cited repeatedly as a reason to put the hall in the city. Lowe's Motor Speedway, in suburban Concord, is home to the longest race on the Nextel Cup circuit, the Memorial Day weekend Coca-Cola 600, and has long hosted NASCAR's annual all-star race. Nearly all of the top race teams are headquartered in the cities and towns north of the city, and many top drivers own luxury condominiums in downtown Charlotte or palatial homes on nearby Lake Norman. In billboards and bumper stickers distributed as part of the city's campaign for the hall, officials boasted, "Racing was built here. Racing belongs here" and "We Eat, Sleep & Breathe Racing." The news came as a disappointment to finalists Daytona Beach, Fla., and Atlanta, where city and state leaders hoped the sought-after attraction would become an anchor of the city's downtown tourism initiative. "As a guy, I'm disappointed. They decided to marry the girl next door," said Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. "We had a lot to offer. It could have been a great marriage."
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