Two roadblocks "have emerged" in the ongoing talks between SMI and Nashville Mayor David Briley about bringing a NASCAR race to the Fairgrounds Speedway -- "clashing with plans" for the new MLS stadium there, according to Rau & Jeong of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Briley's administration has "not seen details on how the upgrades necessary to bring NASCAR to the fairgrounds would be financed." The feasibility of a major upgrade to the racetrack "remains questionable since the soccer stadium project will place a building so close to the track that the current operator says he’ll have trouble putting on races in the future." Despite those major questions, a top SMI exec "expressed optimism about the company’s talks with the city." Part of the site plans for the soccer stadium development "places a mixed-use apartment building and parking garage about 20 feet from the current front entrance to the racetrack." Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Promoter Tony Formosa said that a building in such close proximity "would make the flow of fans into and out of the stadium impossible." A possible solution to the financing question "appears to be on the table with state legislation that would redirect tax revenue generated at future NASCAR-sanctioned races to help pay for upgrades at the racetrack" (TENNESSEAN.com, 4/3).
