Rain during NASCAR weekends in Sonoma and Charlotte combined with the weak economy triggered a decrease in ticket sales and a decline in Q2 revenue at Speedway Motorsports Inc. Revenue fell to $176.8M, a 2.3% decrease from the same period last year. Most of the decrease stemmed from diminishing ticket revenue, which fell to $34.2M in the second quarter of this year from $39M a year ago. For the first six months of the year, SMI revenue is down 1.8% to $261M. Ticket sales revenue for the first half of the year is down 9.1% to $55.9M and event-related revenue from sponsorship sales, concessions and other areas is down 4% to $77.3M. SMI President & COO Marcus Smith in a statement said that the company’s performance to date was in line with expectations. He added, “We believe attendance and other event-related revenues will eventually improve as the economy recovers. In the meantime, SMI is intensifying efforts to provide our fans and customers with unmatched race entertainment and to win over the next generation of race fans, particularly targeting families, kids and first-time fans.”
