News Scan: City Panel Shows Green Light To Bruton Smith For Drag Strip At Lowe’s Speedway
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Oct 16, 2007
LMS
The owner of Lowe’s Motor Speedway got approval Tuesday night from one city panel to build a drag strip near the speedway.
The planning and zoning commission in Concord approved the drag strip on property owned by Bruton Smith. The City Council, which cited neighbors’ concerns about noise when it voted Oct. 1 to halt the $60 million project, is scheduled to hold a public hearing Oct. 26.
In that earlier vote, the city council approved zoning that banned drag strips near the speedway. After Smith threatened to close the speedway and relocate it, the council asked planning officials to consider rezoning the area so drag strips are allowed. wsoctv.com
On Tuesday, some in the neighborhood said Concord and Cabarrus leaders should have been more forthcoming with neighbors about plans for the drag strip.
They said they’re worried about noise and traffic that the project could bring. They say they have heard there could be as many as four nights of racing each week.
John Brinsfield has lived in Riverwalk for three years, and said just like a grandfather clock, he’s gotten used to the race sounds. He said he had hoped that the noise would be buffered some as more homes were built in the neighborhood.
Brinsfield, who lived near a drag strip in New Jersey, said drag racing at Lowe’s could be “exceptionally” louder than the speedway, and just as noisy if not worse than the small track races. Charlotte.com
Even though the city’s zoning board is set to review and likely reverse their earlier position and clear the way for a drag strip near the speedway, it’s clear that Smith is still not satisfied. He said he’s prepared to move the speedway and not look back.
On Tuesday he told Eyewitness News the decision makes business sense. The land is now worth seven to eight times as much as it was when he started. He also said he’s prepared to spend more than $350 million to build a new speedway, but that’s not that much when you consider he was prepared to spend $200 million anyway in improvements to the existing speedway. wsoctv.com
