Capitol Ideas

By Lisa

February 16, 2006 08:26 AM | Link to this

There is no way Atlanta can match Charlotte in terms of interest for the NASCAR fans. If Atlanta does win the Hall, it will not bring the massive amounts of tourism dollars that is expected. NASCAR fans, myself included, will visit the HALL in Atlanta ON THE WAY to Charlotte. Charlotte is the hub of NASCAR racing with literally hundreds of race shops, museums, and other activities related to racing.

In my opinion, the only way that Atlanta wins the Hall is by giving more dollars than either Charlotte OR Daytona. That would be foolish and irresponsible.

By jack

February 16, 2006 08:51 AM | Link to this

What Lisa doesn’t seem to factor in is, most race fans have to go through Atlanta to get to Charlotte or Daytona and we do have two of the biggest races of the year here in Atlanta they will be very likely to stop at the NASCAR Hall of Fame as they are passing through. Also, since Atlanta is approximately three times the size of Charlotte the local fans will support the Hall the same way they support the local races. Atlanta should do whatever it takes, within reason, to obtain the Hall.

By Pete

February 16, 2006 09:04 AM | Link to this

I hope we here in Charlotte don’t get it…NASCAR is like the NBA and it going dowhill and since they don’t think much of us southerners, I am finished with them.

By Lee

February 16, 2006 09:25 AM | Link to this

I strongly disagree with Lisa … Atlanta’s tourism dollars are much higher than that of Charlotte’s and to me theres no doubt that it would be a major attraction for Atlanta. The prospective site, across from the aquarium, would do nothing but help increase the attendance for the NASCAR hall. I do think the hall belongs in the South, period. As far as the legislature and the City of Atlanta, I would be pulling out all the stops to win this attraction.

By Chad

February 16, 2006 09:26 AM | Link to this

Forgetting for a sec about where the most fans are, I’d say Atlanta makes sense because people could see the NASCAR HOF, the acquarium, CNN Center, Coca-Cola, all that stuff and the downtown area would really turn into a tourist mecca so to speak. Combined with the no-panhandling thing (let’s not open a discussion about this please) that has been put in place, Atlanta is showing it’s serious about doing that.

On the other hand, it seems to me that Daytona makes the most sense. It’s the grand-daddy of them all so to speak, and being such a huge weekend it seems to make sense that it’d be there where the world shows up at the beginning of the NASCAR season. Daytona may seem out of the way to some, but Springfield, MA (NBA), Cooperstown, NY (MLB) and Canton, OH (NFL) aren’t exactly easy to get to either compared to Atlanta.

By Bob

February 16, 2006 10:15 AM | Link to this

I live in North Georgia,where we had what was called Thunder Road. Built in Dawsonville,home of Bill Elliot. It was a total flop and is now out of business. The same would happen if the HOF was built in Atlanta. Atlanta’s population would not support it.

By Steve

February 16, 2006 10:15 AM | Link to this

Since the Georgia General Assembly introduced the new Nascar license plates for various drivers back in December there doesn’t seem to be enough “advertisement” of these plates. When I went to inquire at my local tax office there was no sign or example of the new plates. I signed up for a driver’s plate for $25.00 not knowing what the plate will look like. Also, there must be 1,000 applications before they will be manufactured. This needs to be “cranked upâ€? by the Georgia Media. Also, on the Georgia Motor Vehicle Website there is no mention of the new Nascar tags.

By dee

February 16, 2006 10:28 AM | Link to this

Why bother? The city of Atlanta has run down streets, sewer systems, can’t find the money to pay all of their employees fairly, has tons of problems.

By John

February 16, 2006 10:57 AM | Link to this

We here in West Point and LaGrange would rather you spent the money on cleanig up your sewage. We are tired of being Atlanta’s cesspool.

By Greg

February 16, 2006 10:59 AM | Link to this

Charlotte has the history, Daytona the France’s, but Atlanta is the hub. Attendance estimates before the Aquarium results were 1 million plus vistors a year with Charlotte estimating 400,000 and Daytona about the same. Many people discount Atlanta without actually visiting. Go to CNN, the Aquarium, Centennial Olympic Park, and those areas during the day or on the weekend and you’ll be really impressed. The NASCAR HOF would fit right in.

But unlike Charlotte and Daytona we don’t have to pour State and Local Revenues to attract the HOF. Atlanta has the big business supporters of NASCAR that they don’t. Charlotte has Lowe’s..anything else? Daytona has the France family and the beach. Atlanta has Georgia Pacific, Home Depot, Rubbermaid, Coke, Cingular, and more that already support NASCAR and it’s teams heavily. They really should want the HOF in their back yard.

As to the license plates, Steve is absolutely right. Why has the media and the State been so quiet about these plates? In FL NASCAR plates made front page news (heck it was even in the news in GA and nothing about the GA plates were ever mentioned). And remember these are suppose to be racer plates. Number 8 fans will probably be the most common, but all other fans can get their own plate as well. That is why the designs aren’t in. They don’t know how many of each driver’s plates to make.

By Jason

February 16, 2006 11:14 AM | Link to this

Jack obviously has no idea what he is talking about. I attend races at 6 or 7 different tracks a year, and rarely do I see empty seats like we have at Atlanta. So your claim that local fans support the local races is bogus.

As far as the HOF goes, NASCAR should stick with Charlotte. It is the central point of stock car racing as has many racing attractions that cater to NASCAR fans. They have already proven that tradition means nothing by taking away races at Rockingham and Darlington. Picking Atlanta would do nothing but alienate more faithful fans.

It wouldn’t surprise me if they turned down Charlotte though. Atlanta is focused on diversity and nothing else, and it looks like NASCAR is headed down the same path.

By Bob

February 16, 2006 11:22 AM | Link to this

Atlanta is the perfect site given NASCAR’s growth vision of attracting international and diversity attention…especially given the demographics of Atlanta and our established reputation as an international business and convention city. The Charlotte area is virtually peppered with NASCAR related museums and race shops already, each competing for the visitor’s dollar—-that market is saturated already. With the Hall here in Atlanta, it will bolster the city as a tourist destination; and will generate untold millions in business and tax revenue. For example, think of all visitors that arrive from neighboring states for Braves games and Six Flags! Hosting the HOF, will drive more dollars into the downtown business district…it’s mathematical. Likewise, with major sponsors headquartered in Atlanta, the HOF presents a synergistic opportunity for our city to expand it’s image as a corporate base. NASCAR is huge; and is growing…in fact, only the NFL delivers a larger TV audience for sports viewership——and NASCAR is gaining on football each year. Most who oppose Atlanta’s bid for the HOF, do so out of mis-guided “political correctness” bigotry. We’d be fools if we didn’t grasp the long-term benefits of being the HOF’s host city!!!

By MrHughes

February 16, 2006 11:41 AM | Link to this

I think something some of y’all are missing is the fact that NASCAR’s targeting the causal fans. That’s where the dollars are. Look at the NFL and the advertising revenues generated from the Superbowl. I’m not a NASCAR fan, but have tried to watch the races/buy the video games to understand it. However, I would never go to the hall in Charlotte! On the other hand, having the hall in Atlanta near all those attractions would definitely make me think about checking it out. With that said… Atlanta does not need the hall. The NASCAR hall needs Atlanta if they want to get new fans in the doors and exposed to their brand. And, weren’t they talking about having award shows and red carpet events there? Atlanta wins that competition hands down! Daytona and Charlotte don’t have the convention, hotel space and amenities Atlanta does. If NASCAR is smart, then they are looking at this as a marketing opportunity. Giving 100+ million like Charlotte is insane. Their package is basically half what they spent on a brand new arena for the Bobcats. I’d think that the arena brings more revenue there than NASCAR would. I’m all for upping GA’s package, but anything above 50 million would be absurd.

By Francis P

February 16, 2006 12:16 PM | Link to this

Who Cares?

By Tammy

February 16, 2006 12:26 PM | Link to this

Atlanta does not deserve to have the NASCAR. They only want the extra money. It should be in Daytona.

By Bob

February 16, 2006 12:45 PM | Link to this

Atlantais finally becoming a city with more to offer out of towners than the old Gold Club. We poke fun of Alabama , but they’ll come with dollars in hand. This goes great with the new aquarium. I say go for it, full throttle. And Francis P, it’s your opinion that no one cares about, butt out, there’s one in every crowd…tag you’re it.

By Steve

February 16, 2006 12:46 PM | Link to this

Based on what Bill France stated when he made his visit to Atlanta last week… “It is about getting the visitors to the HOF”. This should be interesting if that is the approach the committee is taking. I think it is very hard for each city to come up with a good estimate on number of vistors at this point. Yes, Dawsonville had the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame and I attended once. It was very hard to get visitors to attend due to the fact of the location.

By Lee

February 16, 2006 01:09 PM | Link to this

I agree Steve, the Hall in Dawsonville was simply not easily assessible…another thought…perhaps some reserved space in the new NASCAR HOF, if indeed it does locate here, can be reserved for Bill Elliotts contribution/collection to the sport Naysayers, the HOF would thrive here….remember … its location-location-location!

By Steve

February 16, 2006 01:51 PM | Link to this

Good point Lee, I enjoyed going to the Elliott museum when it was out at the old shop outside of Dawsonville. But must say it was nothing compared to the visit I made to Earnhardt Enterprises in Kannapolis a couple of years ago. Last summer while on vacation in Orlando we made a trip over to Daytona USA that was awesome also. The museum at Talladega is nice also; a lot of the old Allison cars are there. For us die hard racing faces it is neat to speculate who is going to get the HOF.

By Larry

February 16, 2006 03:05 PM | Link to this

I was at the first Atlanta race and have been to many since then. Between the rule changes, leaving Southern tracks, moving the Labor Day race from Darlington, ticket prices, and forgetting the people who made them who they are, I really don’t care where they put it. It’s not on my list of places to visit. Why don’t they put it in Texas or Las Vegas. I’m sure it would draw more traffic there.

As for Dawsonville being to hard to get to for a museum, I live in Marietta and I’d drive to Dawsonville twice before I’d go inside I-285 for anything.

By Chev-Do

February 16, 2006 03:10 PM | Link to this

Atlanta first needs a plan to bring in more convention traffic. Crucial to that plan are the needs of massively increasing the number of hotel rooms downtown, greatly reducing traffic to and from the convention center, and cleaning up areas in and around public transportation stations leading to the Convention CTR (5 points). Atlanta’s local population won’t provide continual support for the HOF like it has done with the Aquarium (it certainly won’t be a destination for school groups). The HOF may be mobbed during a few race weekends a year, but the HOF will need to rely on a continual stream of visitors that can only be brought in through steady convention traffic.

By WOT

February 16, 2006 03:36 PM | Link to this

Georgia and Atlanta’s suburbs are filled with Nascar fans. However, downtown Atlanta is not. In case you hadn’t noticed, it has been very difficult to convince people that don’t live downtown to come visit. The city has not done enough to create a safe and comfortable environment for visitors. Each attraction has a “honeymoon” period after it opens, but once the freshness dissappears so do the crowds. The City of Atlanta doesn’t deserve things like the Nascar Hall until it cleans up it’s act.

By the anti-nascar

February 16, 2006 03:40 PM | Link to this

great…just what we need is a bunch more rednecks flocking to the city. my tax dollars are going to something i don’t support…what’s new? ‘spose i’ll just grin and bear it like everything else i can’t change and have to pay for.

sure hope this is worth it to youn’s.

as for the fellows asking about the themed license plates…what? y’all aren’t content with your stickers? you would actually, seriously pay that much extra money to have that little insignia on your license plate instead of the $3.50 for the sticker? what, does some of the money go to support your favorite driver, because i think they’re getting more than enough support from their sponsors. at least i know my money’s gonna go to breast cancer research or wildlife preservation and not to some race car driver or their team (if it even goes there to beginwith).

btw…ever hear about how the word “nascar” originated? one redneck said to another, “hey, that sure does look like a niiiiiiiice car. bet it goes real fayste, too.”

By dool

February 16, 2006 03:50 PM | Link to this

MrHughes, you nailed it right on the head.

Lisa, what you’re forgetting is that fans like you will probably go to the hall of fame no matter where it is located. NASCAR is all about increasing diversity, expanding their reach, appealing to new and casual fans, etc. Among the remaining contenders, Atlanta is the city that could best help them get all of that, especially diversity.

By Tom

February 16, 2006 04:09 PM | Link to this

No. No. No! You guys chill down there. There is one home of NASCAR racing and that is right here in Charlotte. The only reason it might NOT come here is because the France family wants to snub Bruton and Humpy. If you don’t believe this is the heart of NASCAR racing then come here for our Raceweek - Memorial Day week…. This place is overrun with fans. AND - it’s getting just as crowded for the Fall race. You guys stick with the fish thing. Leave the racing to us up here in Nawth Cakalakki……

By Bill Craig

February 17, 2006 09:55 AM | Link to this

The HOF is already here, its not public yet. Great location, easy access, the right people behind it. The France family knows the HOF in Atlanta will bring in alot of money, alot! The HOF belongs in NC, but Atlanta will bring in the most traffic and that results in $$$. All of us red necks have come a long way, but Nascar is a business and business makes money. Thanks, Bill Craig

By Steve

February 17, 2006 09:59 AM | Link to this

To Anti-Nascar, not sure where you are originally from as it appears you are not from the South. As far as the license plates it is all about choices in life. I have a feeling you do not have one of the “Sons of the Confederacy� license Georgia plates on your vehicle.

By atltoday

February 17, 2006 11:56 AM | Link to this

i do not watch nascar at all but i would visit the museum if it were close to other attractions like the aquarium and world of coca cola just to say i did it thereby it reaches more than just the average nascar fan.