New race track Mobile/Baldwin

HSVTiger · #1 09-12-2006, 03:52 PM

this is a big deal

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregiste...640.xml&coll=3

part of the article
By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor
It was fitting that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the man of the hour at a gathering of Alabama Motorsports Park investors -- most wealthy and celebrities in their own right -- on Monday night at Ruth's Chris Steak House in midtown Mobile. Lending his high-profile name to the planned race track project can only boost the attraction's credibility in the racing world, and in south Alabama.

Details of the multimillion-dollar motorsports park will be announced today at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center, according to Tonia Jackson of PSE-3, Partners In Sports and Entertainment, a marketing firm based in Raleigh, N.C.

Earnhardt Jr., son of the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr., will field questions from the media, along with his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, and his brother, Kerry Earnhardt. Earnhardt Jr. is the driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup. Kerry competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Earnhardt Jr. flew to Mobile in his private jet and arrived at the dinner party about 30 minutes after the guests arrived. Low-key, in a striped dress shirt and slacks, he stayed on the edge of the dining room, talking quietly to friends and posing for a few photos with newly met fans.

The media interviews with Earnhardt will be held today, according to Bill Futterer, owner of PSE-3, a motorsports marketing firm representing the Alabama Motorsports Park. His firm also works as a consultant for Earnhardt and his company, Junior Motorsports.

Investors in Gulf Coast Entertainment plan to build a race park that will include an oval speedway, a road course, a dirt track and a drag strip, along with an RV park, restaurants and other entertainment venues, according to Jackson.

The investors have three possible sites for the race park in Mobile and Baldwin counties, and expect to narrow that down in the next couple of months, according to former Mayor Mike Dow and some of the investors. Dow is helping launch and promote the motorsports park.

Mike06 · #2 09-12-2006, 05:25 PM

The three sites being discussed are in Mobile and Baldwin County. Just reported on the news that a site near the Foley Beach Express is one, a site in central Baldwin County, and land by the University of Mobile in Saraland. They also reported it should be finished by 2009.

DruidCity · #3 09-12-2006, 05:25 PM

One of the quotes later in the article :

Quote:

"I think this has a great likelihood of coming together and being the country's largest racing and entertainment complex. This is big."

BamaGrad04 · #4 09-12-2006, 05:31 PM

What about 'Dega? If plans are to eventually attract a Nextel Cup race, I can see some serious conflict with Talladega. Maybe Cup is not even in the plans for this complex. It still seems like an awesome project.

http://alabamamotorsportspark.com

Good looking site plans for 2 possible sites.

Some highlights:

7/10 mile D-shaped oval track w/ progressive banking; 75,000 permanent seats; expandable to 125,000

3/8 mile dirt sprint track

3.5 mile road course

1/4 mile dragway

nick1982 · #5 09-12-2006, 07:49 PM

I'm really hoping that Prichard becomes the selected site, because the city could really use the financial shot in the arm! The economic impact this project would have on Prichard and more over, north Mobile County is simply unfathomable. This project would be the catalyst for redevelopment in Downtown Prichard.

austin356 · #6 09-12-2006, 09:22 PM

I wish the best for Prichard, but I think the Baldwin site will win if land prices are not too big of a factor. The facility has perpetual potential in between Mobile, Pensacola, and GS/OB. The millions that visit south baldwin each year will surely influence Jr.'s decision. I also think, from a design standpoint, that the baldwin plan is a better designed plan. But please dont get me wrong, if I could choose who I rather have recieve this economic impact, I would choose Pricard; One of Americas poorest cities, one that soo badly needs something like this.

Prichard Site Plan:

Baldwin Site Plan (right at the big turn in the Foley Beach Express, north of Foley)

BamaGrad04 · #7 09-12-2006, 09:39 PM

I see the Baldwin site plan has an amusement park, but the Pritchard plan doesn't. What is taking the place of the amusement park in Pritchard?

nick1982 · #8 09-12-2006, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by austin356

I wish the best for Prichard, but I think the Baldwin site will win if land prices are not too big of a factor. The facility has perpetual potential in between Mobile, Pensacola, and GS/OB. The millions that visit south baldwin each year will surely influence Jr.'s decision. I also think, from a design standpoint, that the baldwin plan is a better designed plan. But please dont get me wrong, if I could choose who I rather have recieve this economic impact, I would choose Pricard; One of Americas poorest cities, one that soo badly needs something like this.

Prichard Site Plan:

Baldwin Site Plan (right at the big turn in the Foley Beach Express, north of Foley)

If Prichard doesn't land this development, then the site should be pitched for heavy industrial usage. That Industrial Parkway site would be prime for the purported steel mill.

nick1982 · #9 09-12-2006, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BamaGrad04

I see the Baldwin site plan has an amusement park, but the Pritchard plan doesn't. What is taking the place of the amusement park in Pritchard?

I'm guessing the enhanced Chickasabouge Creek will serve as a recreational component in the Prichard site. It would be marvelous if the Prichard site was linked to Chickasawbouge Park, the University of Mobile campus and other outdoor venues via a sweeping trail network.

elb401 · #10 09-13-2006, 03:10 AM

I think it should go near the university of Mobile. I have a feeling its going to go to the foley beach express way area.

Scottybo · #11 09-13-2006, 04:08 AM

Wow, biggest news in our area since EADS and the RSA Tower.

The smaller race tracks here (including Mobile International Speedway and SunnySouth Raceway) highly approve of this and say they will add as much support as they can.

This may be the pushover we've been waiting for in Mobile. The boom is coming!

Brown Duckz · #12 09-13-2006, 01:15 PM

Mobile is fastly becoming the next big water city!

DruidCity · #13 09-13-2006, 02:15 PM

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregiste...l=3&thispage=2

Quote:

Preliminary numbers derived by Semoon Chang, an economist at the University of South Alabama, included an estimated 4,800 permanent jobs associated with the ($624-million) complex and $458 million a year from visitor spending.

Scottybo · #14 09-13-2006, 05:21 PM

Hearing a lot from Mr. Chang lately.

pkp · #15 09-13-2006, 06:32 PM

I've been hearing rumors about this for a while, but what I was hearing incorrectly put the site in South Mobile County. I have mixed feelings on this development. If it ends up in South Baldwin County, I'm not sure how much spill over the rest of the metro is really going to see (kind of like the Wharf project in Orange Beach). And the jobs supported by this development will primarily be low paying retail jobs, I would imagine. If this were simply a Nascar track, like Taledega, I would probably like it a bit more. But, if it is a full fledged entertainment venue as it appears to be, I think this will likely pull potential attractions out of the central city. The only saving grace is that Dow is involved and loves downtown, so I'm hoping he can make something happen that will turn this into a positive for the entire area. I guess only time will tell.

Muskavon · #16 09-13-2006, 07:24 PM

...that's quite a development. As a Pensacolian, obviously I'd hope it'd be most advantageous to the investors to go with the Baldwin County site. I understand the sprawl thing. But it's inevitably growing together anyway. Might as well put something like that between the two of us to feed off both populations. I'd certainly check out various events there (understanding full well Cup is already over filled with dates and expansion plans elsewhere). I guess in 10 years when the Saints threaten to move again....maybe setting them down between the two MSAs would actually seem like a reasonable option. Ok, ok...maybe that's too far fetched. Well, maybe not. Ok, then an international airport somewhere in there too.

pkp · #17 09-13-2006, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muskavon

...that's quite a development. As a Pensacolian, obviously I'd hope it'd be most advantageous to the investors to go with the Baldwin County site. I understand the sprawl thing. But it's inevitably growing together anyway. Might as well put something like that between the two of us to feed off both populations. I'd certainly check out various events there (understanding full well Cup is already over filled with dates and expansion plans elsewhere). I guess in 10 years when the Saints threaten to move again....maybe setting them down between the two MSAs would actually seem like a reasonable option. Ok, ok...maybe that's too far fetched. Well, maybe not. Ok, then an international airport somewhere in there too.

I think the smart thing is to see the infill between Mobile and Pensacola handled "smartly". I don't see any intentions now of addressing the transportation nightmare on the horizon except for adding more, wider roads. It is ambitious, but I do not think high speed rail between Mobile and Pensacola is unreasonable seeing the growth in the general area, and an I-10 parallel route would be perfect. Good infastructure along the route would be nice, but if nothing else, park and rides near interstate exits would be effective. I've said it before - the money proposed on the building a new I-to bridge over the Mobile River (looks like upwards of a $1billion) would go along way to adding mass transit option in the Mobile Bay area and between Mobile and Pensacola. Although Mobile and Biloxi are actually filled in more densely now than Mobile and P'cola, I don't think we will see much growth between the Alabama State line and Biloxi in the near future (Jackson County is fairly stagnant). At the rate Baldwin is growing, along with Pensacola's steady growth and some actual recent growth in Mobile proper, I think I-10 will be totally built up between Mobile and Pensacola by 2010, i.e. I think we will at least see subdivisions along every existing exit on I-10 (with the addition of a couple of new exits) between Daphne and the Florida state line. There are already large developments popping up in Loxley (17 miles from dowtown Mobile and 22 miles from the Florida state line). I loathe this type of growth but if it exists, it needs to be controlled with good transportation. It is slightly less than 60 miles from dowtown Mobile to dowtown Pensacola:

Now is the time to plan good transporation along this route - before it costs the government much more to acquire land that will currently be fairly cheap.

Of course, I am still for the propsed ferry service feeding into dowtown Mobile from the Eastern Shore and South Baldwin in addition to rail transit options.

pboo74 · #18 09-14-2006, 05:40 AM

I have a feeling that this project will end up in baldwin county,instead of mobile?as much as i want it in mobile,because of all of the developers from the gulfshores,orangebeach area.

elb401 · #19 09-15-2006, 11:21 PM

yeah, thats what I was thinking too. oh well, its not like I'm going to go to it anyways.

Scottybo · #20 09-16-2006, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pboo74

I have a feeling that this project will end up in baldwin county,instead of mobile?as much as i want it in mobile,because of all of the developers from the gulfshores,orangebeach area.

I think it should. If they get a Busch/Craftsman race it should be ok. If Nextel comes, then there's plenty of room for people to stay in Baldwin whether it's Spring or Summer. All the beach houses and condos there add extra.