Metro Fair Board says close to new deal to return NASCAR to Fairgrounds Speedway

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — FOX 17 News has obtained exclusive details of a proposed new agreement between Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Speedway Motorsports to revamp the Fairgrounds Speedway and return NASCAR racing to the historic Nashville track.

Metro Fair Board Chair Jasper Hendricks tells FOX 17 News an announcement is “close.” He says hopes to have more information to share “in the coming days.”

Features of the new proposal include:

• A 30-million-dollar bond
• Construction of a new grandstand to accommodate a maximum of 25-thousand seats
• At least one NASCAR race every two years
• Maximum sound levels lower than current standards
• A requirement that race cars be outfitted with mufflers for all non-NASCAR races

Other features of the proposal include construction of a new 500 vehicle parking garage with money generated by the garage going to the city along with $5 from every race ticket sold.

Speedway Motorsports, a major player in NASCAR racing, owns the Bristol Motor Raceway in Bristol, Tennessee as well as the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon in Wilson County. SMI would have exclusive rights to develop the Fairgrounds Speedway footprint.

The proposal requires Speedway Motorsports to guarantee any debt associated with construction. The proposal would require the track operator paying rent sufficient to make bond payments. The deal being discussed also penalizes SMI if it fails to deliver promised NASCAR races. Races would be limited to 10 race weekends per year and there will be a curfew for all non-NASCAR racing events.

Former Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced a similar agreement in principle with SMI March of 2021, but the project never moved forward. In recent weeks, a coalition of neighborhood groups opposed to expansion of the historic racetrack asked Mayor O’Connell to put expansion up for a public vote. This, after city residents approved a referendum to amend the Metro Charter to protect racing at the fairgrounds in 2011 by a 71% majority.

Nashville SC owner John Ingram has repeatedly voiced his opposition to fairgrounds speedway expansion. The speedway is located right beside Ingram’s 30,000 seat soccer stadium. Ingram worries having a similar sized venue next door would conflict with events at his stadium. The new proposal specifies races other than NASCAR events must be scheduled to accommodate Nashville SC games and women’s professional soccer with the fairground’s executive director to resolve any scheduling conflicts.

Mayor O’Connell’s Senior Director of Communications Julie Oaks Smith sent FOX 17 News a statement saying, “There is no deal at this time and there is no announcement planned or scheduled about the fairgrounds speedway. We have known this administration will need to make a decision on the speedway and have continued to receive ideas about the speedway from people since we took office. Mayor O’Connell remains committed to including the community in any discussions about next steps for the fairground.”

An informed source tells FOX 17 News the goal is for speedway renovations to be completed by 2027.

Get reports like this and all the news of the day in Middle Tennessee delivered to your inbox each morning with the FOX 17 News Daily Newsletter.