{"id":166029,"date":"2025-09-24T12:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T12:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/166029\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T12:08:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T12:08:08","slug":"nashville-needs-more-greenspace-not-a-nascar-racetrack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/166029\/","title":{"rendered":"Nashville needs more greenspace \u2014 not a NASCAR racetrack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nashville Fairgrounds neighbors seek \u2018collaborative conversation\u2019 for speedway site<\/p>\n

Josh Baxter, Nathalie Becker, Heidi Basgall Favorite, Kyle Frohock, T.S. Harkey, Katie Overby, Elizabeth Tanquilut, Brooke Wilson
\n\u00a0|\u00a0 Guest Columnists<\/p>\n

\"play\"<\/p>\n

Alice Rolli and Freddie O’Connell discuss racing at the fairgrounds<\/p>\n

Alice Rolli and Freddie O’Connell discuss racing at the fairgrounds<\/p>\n

Nashville Tennessean<\/p>\n

Dear Mayor O\u2019Connell:<\/p>\n

We voted for you in 2023. Most of our neighbors did, too.<\/p>\n

We believed you when you said Nashville had enough taxpayer-subsidized pro-sports coliseums. We believed you when you said neighborhoods would come first in your administration \u2014 and that parks and green space would be a priority, along with affordable housing.<\/p>\n

We still believe in you. But candidly: Our faith is shaken.<\/p>\n

Bringing NASCAR into our neighborhood doesn’t honor your pledge to us<\/p>\n

We\u2019re dismayed by reports that you’ve been talking with North Carolina-based Speedway Motorsports LLC<\/a> about nearly doubling the size of the Nashville Fairgrounds speedway and green-lighting NASCAR into our neighborhoods without talking with us.<\/p>\n

If true, this would be contrary to your pledge to include neighbors in planning the Fairgrounds\u2019 future\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and, frankly, a betrayal of your stated civic priorities.<\/p>\n

We worry that you may be subscribing to Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR\u2019s false narrative, which is: Neighbors have no right to complain about noise and traffic because we knew there was a minor-league racetrack at the Fairgrounds when we moved into the area.<\/p>\n

Surely you know that\u2019s a hollow argument \u2014 like telling residents in Green Hills they should welcome an NFL stadium at Hillsboro High just because Friday Night Lights were always part of the deal.<\/p>\n

The best use of Fairgrounds land is not a NASCAR racetrack<\/p>\n

We believe that, in your heart, you agree with us. Frankly, we\u2019re hoping you\u2019ll lead our community in a different conversation about the Fairgrounds \u2014 one focused on a core civic question: In 2025, what\u2019s the highest and best use of 25 acres of publicly owned land in the heart of Nashville?<\/p>\n

In no thoughtful plan for Nashville\u2019s future is the answer a NASCAR racetrack. Even James Weaver, Speedway Motorsports\u2019 top lobbyist, once agreed.<\/p>\n

In a 2010 Tennessean op-ed \u2014 back when he chaired the Metro Fair Board \u2014 Weaver concluded that the city should permanently close the racetrack after extensive studies and public meetings.<\/p>\n

Opinion: Struggling Memphians don’t need the National Guard. They need support and care<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the passion of the racing community was evident,\u201d Weaver wrote, \u201cthe city\u2019s continued operation of the racetrack did not make sense given the overwhelming opposition to it in the neighborhoods that surround us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only thing that\u2019s changed since then is Speedway Motorsports has spent millions on lobbyists, PR firms and astroturf campaigns to shift public opinion.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019ve failed.<\/p>\n

What Nashvillians really want for the Fairgrounds land<\/p>\n

A recent county-wide public-opinion poll showed more than 70% of Nashvillians prefer a comprehensive plan<\/a> to \u201cadd affordable housing, create a new public park and clean up Brown\u2019s Creek,\u201d the polluted waterway that runs right next to the racetrack, over bringing NASCAR to the Fairgrounds.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear: This isn\u2019t just about noise complaints. It\u2019s about public land, public priorities and fiscal responsibility.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s truly such strong demand for pro racing in Nashville, why does Speedway Motorsports need public subsidies to make it happen?<\/p>\n

Opinion: There’s power in public education \u2014 when we all get involved<\/a><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen no credible, independent evidence that this project would generate more long-term economic value \u2014 or public benefit \u2014 than a well-planned green space and community investment.<\/p>\n

Once the subsidies, infrastructure and environmental cleanup costs are factored in, this deal may not pencil out for anyone except Speedway Motorsports.<\/p>\n

This is about bringing ‘real value to all Nashvillians’<\/p>\n

And while we recognize the track\u2019s long history, let\u2019s not mistake nostalgia for necessity.<\/p>\n

The site operated as Cumberland Park from 1891 to the 1950s \u2014 a community green space, not a speedway. NASCAR only arrived mid-century and left town in 1984.<\/p>\n

What we\u2019re asking for isn\u2019t unprecedented. It\u2019s restorative.<\/p>\n

Opinion: Despite promises, Middle Point Landfill is no ‘good neighbor’ in Rutherford Co.<\/a><\/p>\n

Transforming the speedway into a regional park would offer real value to all Nashvillians: a cleaner Brown\u2019s Creek, space for festivals and outdoor events and a true midway for the fair.<\/p>\n

It would also support your \u201cPlan to Play\u201d vision<\/a>, which calls for adding 4,500 acres of public green space to Nashville\u2019s network of parks and greenways. Why not start at the Fairgrounds?<\/p>\n

Let voters decide<\/p>\n

Mayor O\u2019Connell, if the politics are too dicey right now \u2014 let\u2019s put this decision to voters. A broad coalition of neighborhood, environmental, faith, labor and planning groups supports that approach.<\/a><\/p>\n

But if you try to wave NASCAR into our neighborhoods, we\u2019ll be forced to mobilize \u2014 at the Metro Fair Board, at the Metro Sports Authority, at the Metro Council and in the court of public opinion \u2014 to protect our community and our city\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t want a fight. We want a collaborative conversation about what\u2019s best for Nashvillians \u2014 not an out-of-state racing operation.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re ready to talk, you know where to find us.<\/p>\n

The authors are voters and homeowners who live in the Wedgewood Houston neighborhood near the Nashville Fairgrounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nashville Fairgrounds neighbors seek \u2018collaborative conversation\u2019 for speedway site Josh Baxter, Nathalie Becker, Heidi Basgall Favorite, Kyle Frohock,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[9680,2571,49,60373,60376,48,1007,50802,3411,893,1337,884,50799,634,7595,47,2349,44051,44,1333,44056,714,582,82,1335],"class_list":["post-166029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-auto","tag-auto-racing","tag-ca","tag-campaigns","tag-campaigns-u0026-elections","tag-canada","tag-construction","tag-construction-u0026-maintenance","tag-elections","tag-government","tag-local","tag-local-news","tag-maintenance","tag-nascar","tag-nashville","tag-national","tag-national-sports","tag-negative","tag-news","tag-overall","tag-overall-negative","tag-politics","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-u0026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}