A new seating and cabana area "combined with solar panels to reduce energy costs is the latest move by Charlotte Motor Speedway to jump-start attendance and interest in NASCAR races," according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. The changes continue a trend at CMS' parent company, SMI, and throughout the industry to "revamp race tracks." The moves at CMS follow the "recent removal of 7,000 seats" in Turn 4. Those seats are being "replaced by what’s billed as the Sun Deck, an area combining motor-home camp sites and cabana packages with a 42,000-square-foot deck featuring concessions service, restrooms, picnic areas and a concourse for live music and other entertainment." Capacity at the speedway is "now 86,000 permanent seats." The Turn 4 seating "torn down this year is the first major capacity change since the speedway finished removing 41,000 seats" in Turn 2 in '15. The Sun Deck seating and camping areas will be "ready in time for next month’s 10 days of racing" that includes NASCAR's All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600, in what is the speedway’s "busiest and most important time of the year." A 960-panel solar farm will "form the deck roof in the new seating area." Construction is underway, and a CMS spokesperson said that "capacity and final pricing are still being determined." CMS estimates that the panels will "create 375,000 kilowatts of energy, enough to power 416 average homes for a month." CMS has also "added asphalt paving and a gravel mix in turn two where the 41,000-seat Diamond Tower once stood." Those improvements will "make the area more convenient and attractive for luxury RV parking and vantage points to watch races" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/21).
