12-Year-Old Controversial Public Vote Holding off Nashville Fairgrounds’ Demolition as Political Pressure Brews up Yet Again

The last time the historic Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway faced the risk of demolition, the people came together to vote against it. Since the 2011 referendum that delayed the hopes of the city officials, the track has been embroiled in constant pressure from those wanting to use it for purposes outside NASCAR. The question on the minds of the Nashville voters back then was not if it had to be made more difficult to tamper with the fairgrounds, but if it should exist at all. Though it has stayed safe from lawmakers thus far, a proposal from a new group in the neighborhood has come knocking at doors again. Worryingly, this proposal doesn’t include any plans for future NASCAR races.

A new redevelopment proposal tries trumping NASCAR’s future at the fairgrounds

The issue stemmed from the altering opinions of racing fans who hold the track’s past to a high standard against the neighbors who are more concerned about the problems that arise from having an entertainment center so close. Back in 2011, when Mayor Karl Dean proposed a plan to redevelop the site, he was met with great opposition. Councilman Michael Craddock said, as reported by wpln.org, “So this is a loud, clear message to every political officeholder in this entire county not to fool with that fairgrounds, and if you’re going to fool with it, make it better – improve it, spend some money on it and make it better.”

From the start, the fiasco surrounding the track has seen 5 mayors come and go without a positive solution. As reported by Axios Nashville, The latest proposal that has come in from a group called ‘The Fairgrounds Preservation Partners’ is the first to completely exclude NASCAR from its plans. The founders of the group include entertainment industry professionals. The proposal called for the 23-acre property to be transformed into a park that included housing, an electric race track, and a rehearsal space. Bob Pokrass, noted NASCAR journalist, tweeted,

Mike Kopp, one of the group’s founders contended that the space was opened as a park in 1891 and not as a race track or fairgrounds. Regardless, of their arguments, the NASCAR community staunchly believes that the track needs to be maintained and developed to host future races.

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Richard “King” Petty expresses his desire to see NASCAR races at the Fairgrounds again

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Supporters of the track put forward the idea that a century-old track is an autosports gem that needs to be preserved. An improvement plan costing $100 million that favored the track’s redevelopment was put forward by the former mayor John Cooper, but ended up being stalled in August. With the 2011 voting remaining the strongest defense against those wanting to get rid of the race track, the NASCAR icon Richard Petty has thrown himself behind the track.

Talking last week when he was inducted into the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Hall of Fame, he said, as reported by tennessean.com,  “I would like to see NASCAR come back here as it came back to Wilkesboro (North Carolina) to show the history to people that this is where it all started. I mean they wouldn’t have that big race track on the other side of town (Nashville Superspeedway) if it hadn’t been for this race track here. It took tracks like this to nurture NASCAR into growing into what it has become.”

Petty had also wanted to see the city go ahead with John Cooper’s proposal. Should the former mayor’s plan get the better of the latest proposal and the ones that will follow it, the project would facilitate Bristol Motor Speedway to a 30-year maintenance lease. Let’s hope the city’s agenda for 2024 ends up in favour of racing fans worldwide.

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