Landing the NASCAR Hall of Fame would be a major score for any major city, and in the final hours Charlotte sunk
the winning shot over fellow frontrunners Daytona and Atlanta. Charlotte put a $154 million financial package on the
table that will cover the cost of the Hall of Fame’s structure, a $43 million Convention Center and a possible
400 extra parking spaces. The majority of funding for the project won’t be coming from the city, per se, but
rather from travelers to Charlotte who will be forced to pay a new 2-percent hotel/motel tax.
Renowned
architect IM Pei and his firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners has been tapped to pen the building’s design. Pei is
known for his work around the world including the Louvre in Paris, the Jacob Javits Center in NYC (where we’ll be
next month for the New York Auto Show) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
Runners up Daytona
and Atlanta have each expressed their disappointment over not being in the Winner’s Circle for this one. Atlanta put together a
last minute competitive bid but lost out over the cultural connection Charlotte has to the motorsport. Daytona is disappointed but has
received confirmation from NASCAR that the brand’s HQ will remain in the city that hosts the sport’s most
revered event, the Daytona 500.