RICHMOND — The group driving Virginia's effort to attract the NASCAR
Hall of Fame to the city revealed portions of their unfinished proposal
Saturday at Richmond International Raceway.
Virginians Racing for the Hall of Fame, a public-private partnership,
must make its proposal to NASCAR by the end of the month. Also vying for
the hall are Charlotte, N.C., Daytona Beach, Fla., Atlanta and Kansas
City, Mo.
Doug Fritz, president of the track and vice president of the group, said
Richmond makes sense as the hall's site because of its location on
Interstate 95 and its already thriving tourism industry because its
history as the Confederate capital and its proximity to Colonial
Williamsburg and Jamestown.
"Just look at the history of Richmond and the racing industry," Fritz
said, noting the city was holding races in 1946, before NASCAR was
formed.
Fred Agostino, president of VRHOF, said the group's proposal to NASCAR
will include several potential locations for the hall, one on the
property of the track and the others within a few miles of it.
"We're not putting all our eggs in one basket," he said, adding that the
hall the group is proposing would cost an estimated $103 million, have
68,000 feet of exhibit area and would require a 20-acre tract of land.
The sport's governing body, Agostino said, has set two chief criteria
for the final decision: the best place for the hall to be accessible to
fans, and the place where it will introduce new fans to the sport.
The proposal is not yet completed -- "It's going to be a very hectic
push to the end," Agostino said -- but the group said an economic
analysis suggested the hall would attract 700,000 fans its first year.
The Richmond group has been criticized for not being more public about
its plans and reason why the city would be a good home for the hall, but
Agostino said NASCAR has repeatedly stated that its criteria will matter
most in the decision, not the results of a public relations competition.
Fritz dismissed suggestions that Richmond is an underdog.
"We believe we have a much better shot than a long shot," he said.
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