Tax incentive package designed to lure Sprint Cup race
Gov. Steve Beshear, sitting in an Indy car, unveiled legislation Tuesday to attract a Nascar Sprint Cup race to the Kentucky Speedway, owned by Bruton Smith, right. David Stephenson|Staff
FRANKFORT – State lawmakers will consider a proposal to provide hefty tax incentives to help Kentucky Speedway attract a NASCAR Sprint Cup race next year.
Gov. Steve Beshear, at a Capitol news conference, said the impact of a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Gallatin County track is “undeniable.”
“NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport in the United States and is broadcast in more than 150 countries and 30 languages. I’m excited about the potential of Kentucky joining these ranks.”
Bruton Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Speedway Motorsports Inc., owner of Kentucky Speedway, said the economic impact to Kentucky could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
He said the track is looking at $75 million worth of expansion to lure the NASCAR race. The expansion, he said, would include adding another 50,000 seats to the 72,000-seat facility, tripling the number of rest rooms, adding more concessions, provide more parking and building more roads.
House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook, and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said the legislation would add a new eligible category – “legacy expansion” projects – to receive state incentives.
Under the proposed legislation, the projects must conduct events that are in the top league, series or sanctioned level of their type of event, provide permanent seating for 65,000 spectators and be broadcast nationally.
The venue previously must have been approved for incentives and the expansion project must exceed $30 million and present one or more “premier events” not previously held in Kentucky.
Adkins said more details of the proposal must be worked out, including what the cap should be on the incentives.
–Jack Brammer
Filed Under: Featured • Rocky Adkins • State Government • Steve Beshear
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Brian France has already said Kentucky will NOT get a race. We’re too close to Indianapolis, Michigan, Bristol and Talladega.
[...] Contests and Sweepstakes – Free Sweepstakes Worth Entering wrote an interesting post today on Tax incentive package designed to lure Sprint Cup raceHere’s a quick excerptTax incentive package designed to lure Sprint Cup race FRANKFORT – State lawmakers will consider a proposal to provide hefty tax incentives to help Kentucky Speedway attract a NASCAR race next year. Gov. Steve Beshear, at a Capitol news conference, said the impact of a NASCAR Sprint Series Cup race at the Gallatin County track is “undeniable.” [...]
Yeah, but that was before Burton Smith bought the track. It was always more about politics than the location of the track. Burton already owns several tracks with Cup events. He wouldn’t be investing another $30 million if the fix were’nt already in.
NASCAR received un Bush incentive plan tremendous federal tax breaks and now
Governor Beshear trying to lure Ky NASCAR
race using KY taxpayers’ funds.
Has anyone told him the $456 million he
just socked more taxes on alcohol and tobacco products in conjunction with raiding $50 million from Ky state employee health fund and using rainy day fund to
just get KY through June 30, 2009!
Where’s the fiscal sense in this?
I think the State of Ohio would benefit more than Kentucky would from the deal. Let them pitch in some money.
So let me see This is what we can expect from our Senators and Legislators. The state is already 456 million in the hole and now our elected officials are going to Give away more money and next session ….guess they’ll raise smokes and liquor another 20%… Yet Screw the little guy and give it ALL away to the Fat Cats. Sounds like our elected officials.
No NASCAR bailout!
Short sighted thinking here, I don’t think you know how much we have invested in that track already. We need to do somethin to recoupe some of the money we already have in the track.
The new owner will bring a sprint race to the track, just as soon as Carrol drops that stupid lawsuit he has already lost. That race will generate millions into the economy and a lot of that Ohio Money will be coming down to Ky.
This is a tax incentive not a cash outlay and a lot of beer gets sold at that venue. I see Toyota got a heck of a lot more in tax incentives and I don’t see anyone crying about them.
Check the figures about how many people will lose their jobs if that track closes.
Try pushing all these puritan dry counties to go wet and push for Sunday sales. You will make up for that alcohol tax and then some.
Uh, folks, hasn’t anybody noticed that NASCAR, like everything else, is undergoing an economic meltdown?
Their attendance is down in a major way. There’s no way Kentucky will see anywhere close to the economic impact a NASCAR race would supposedly bring.
When are our “leaders” gonna learn that we can’t have it all?
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