The battle over the future of the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway property continued this week with a pair of noteworthy developments from the coalition assembled to preserve motorsports in Downtown Music City.<\/p>\n
Most notably, a lawsuit was filed by former racer Neil Chaffin challenging an anti-speedway group’s efforts to put a de facto motorsports ban on the ballot on\u00a0November 3. Specifically, it intends to rewrite the 2011 referendum that protects racing as part of the Nashville Fairgrounds charter.<\/p>\n
It seeks to replace the activity of ‘auto racing’ with the activity of affordable and workforce housing.<\/p>\n
This anti-racing group includes former Nashville Metro legal director Saul Solomon and political strategist Mike Kopp, both who were named as defendants in the suit brought against them by Chaffin.\u00a0Always in the background of this fight is Nashville FC team owner John Ingram who is believed to support the racing ban to expand mixed use purposes around the soccer team\u2019s footprint. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The team plays at the 30,000 seat stadium that was built directly behind the race track and opened in 2022.<\/p>\n
At the core of the legal challenge is Chaffin asserting that the motion to bring forth a vote on a racing ban for the Fairgrounds property contains numerous clerical errors that would mislead voters.\u00a0Language from the lawsuit is in italics below.<\/p>\n
Specifically, the petition to bring an amendment to the voters \u2018instructs the Nashville Fair Board to continue activities that include the Tennessee State Fair\u2019 but the Tennessee State Fair hasn\u2019t been in Davidson County since 2020. It\u2019s in Wilson County now thanks to a series of events and the passing of state laws:<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Tennessee State Fair relocated from the Fairgrounds (in Davidson County) to a new site in Lebanon, Tennessee (in Wilson County).\u201d<\/p>\n
The fair that currently takes place in Downtown Nashville is not the Tennessee State Fair, which is now in Lebanon. The fair in Nashville is The Nashville Fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBy passing Tenn. Code Ann. \u00a7 4-57-106 in 2012, the General Assembly, in effect, rendered null and void the reference in Section 11.602(d) to the Tennessee State Fair occurring at the Fairgrounds. Furthermore, the proposed amendment does not include the date description (\u201cas of December 31, 2010\u201d) that the current version has.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cBy embedding the \u2018Tennessee State Fair\u2019 within a mandatory continuation clause as a local charter duty, the proposed amendment commands an outcome that state law does not permit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, the Tennessee State Fairgrounds charter tasks the \u2018Tennessee State Fair, Expo Center Events, Flea Markets, and Auto Racing, shall be continued on the same site.\u2019\u00a0The proposed amendment adds two notable things:<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 Continue activities, other than auto racing, on the premises of the Tennessee State Fairgrounds \u2026 on the premises of the Tennessee State Fairgrounds including, but not limited to, the Tennessee State Fair \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Again, the lawsuit makes the argument that the proposal can\u2019t task the Nashville Fair Board to continue an activity that it currently doesn\u2019t have jurisdiction over — the Tennessee State Fair in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Nashville Fair Board\u2014a Davidson County body\u2014has no authority to ban any activity in Wilson on the premises of the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, located in Wilson County, Tennessee.\u201d
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\u201cBecause of these deficiencies, the Petition in its current form is impermissibly confusing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chaffin argues that the proposed update to the charter is not a neutral update but is instead one that is purely deigned to eliminate racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway despite the existence of a voter supported referendum in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese proposed new provisions constitute a total prohibition on a historically significant use of the Fairgrounds that has been in existence since before Metro was created.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurthermore, voters reading the title \u201cUpdating the Functions and Duties of the Metropolitan Board of Fair Commissioners\u201d could reasonably believe the measure concerns, for example, the administrative tasks of or procedural matters related to the Nashville Fair Board. They would not expect to find a total prohibition on an activity that has been conducted at the Speedway for over 120 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Should the amendment proposal pass this legal challenge, it would then need to collect about 50,000 Davidson County voter signatures to appear on the ballot in November. From there, the voters would ultimately choose to adopt or reject the amended fairgrounds charter.<\/p>\n
The complete lawsuit can be read in its entirety below.<\/p>\n
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\nTennessee House Bill 1660<\/p>\n
Representative Jake McCalmon (R) sponsored Tennessee House Bill 1660 last month designed to prevent any action to be taken against racetracks over noise complaints if the facility predates the property around it.<\/p>\n
Motor racing has been held at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway since 1904. The bill states:<\/p>\n
As introduced, prohibits any cause of action for nuisance, taking, or another claim against a racing facility or racetrack by the owner of a surrounding real property if the racing facility or racetrack was built before the owner of the surrounding real property purchased the real property or built in the area of the racing facility or racetrack, regardless of the date on which the cause of action is alleged to have arisen; prohibits a political subdivision from adopting or enforcing any ordinance, resolution, or regulation that would restrict, limit, or prohibit the operation of a racing facility or racetrack in a manner inconsistent. – Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 29.<\/p>\n
Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway has been a frequent target by the local community nearest to the track over noise ordinance policies. The track must use mufflers to abide by the charter and has largely adhered to those rules over the past decade.<\/p>\n
But HB1660 would prevent legal claims being made against the race track purely on the basis of noise complaints.\u00a0It will go to committee on March 4, then another committee, and then to the floor for vote at a to be decided date afterwards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Norm Partin, a longtime supporter of speedway activities, is seeking emails in support of the bill to be collected at ‘norm@partinandassociates.com.’<\/p>\n
Big picture<\/p>\n
Speedway Motorsports continues to pursue a plan to revitalize the speedway property, which is desperately in need of infrastructure improvements, which would also allow for the return of NASCAR national touring races.<\/p>\n
This would require a long-term lease and partnership between SMI and the City of Nashville. Fairgrounds Speedway is currently promoted by Track Enterprises and president Bob Sargent, who has operated racing in Downtown Music City since 2020.<\/p>\n
NASCAR Cup Series races were held at the speedway from 1958 until 1984. In the years since, it has continued with a weekly series program for local and regional races that also include touring series events promoted by ASA. CARS Tour will make its debut at the track in April.<\/p>\n
The charter allows for up to 10 events that must adhere to curfews, noise ordinance and numerous other community facing agreements.<\/p>\n
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