Gateway Motorsports Park has sold venue naming rights to St. Louis-based data management company World Wide Technology, a move that execs are betting will elevate the track’s stature. Exact terms are not being released, but the long-term deal is worth several million dollars in total over the duration. It includes signage, hospitality and other assets typically included in such a deal. The sides announced the news this morning during a press conference with attendees including IndyCar President Jay Frye, NASCAR Managing Dir of Racing Operations & Int'l Development Ben Kennedy, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and NHRA President Glen Cromwell. The venue, which is located just outside St. Louis, will be called World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. WWT Founder & Chair Dave Steward also has made a separate equity investment into the track and will now be on its BOD. Gateway Owner & President Curtis Francois said that WWT will help the venue develop new fan experiences and upgrades, use the track to host business summits and give the track capital to invest in renovations. Gateway is looking to build a new media center and race control among other areas slated for improvement. Francois and track Exec VP & GM Chris Blair said that the sides have already started brainstorming ways to use WWT’s solutions to upgrade the track but that they have not yet homed in on what to tackle first. WWT is a primary sponsor of NASCAR team Richard Petty Motorsports; WWTCEO Jim Kavanaugh has been heavily involved in trying to bring MLS to St. Louis.
ONLY COMPANY CONTACTED: The deal took about eight months to put together, and Francois said WWT was the only company he talked to about the naming rights. That was largely because WWT is a local company. Gateway currently hosts a NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race, and Francois conceded that adding a naming-rights partner hopes to be another indicator to NASCAR that the venue should be under consideration to eventually get a Cup Series event. Francois: “It was a unique opportunity with tremendous alignment of both goals and values -- and it was uniquely situated to make Gateway stand out as a premier facility in the country.”
