Don't Pack Your Bags Just Yet

[DebWilliams-GFN]

By Deb Williams

If you're planning a trip to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., don't be in any hurry to pack your bags. The state-of-the-art facility isn't scheduled to open until the first quarter of 2010.

During a recent Walter Mitty luncheon in Charlotte, NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley noted that the concept for the facility actually began in February 2004. And if a city didn't host a NASCAR Sprint Cup event, it couldn't even put itself into the running for the Hall.

When Charlotte officials presented the city's plan for the Hall, Kelley noted Charlotte's hotel industry agreed to a 2 percent tax to help build the NASCAR Hall of Fame. If this is confusing, then let me explain. The city of Charlotte is building the NASCAR Hall of Fame and will own it, not NASCAR. And it will be operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, not NASCAR. The sanctioning body is a development partner on the project with Charlotte and retains sole rights to the selection process for those inducted into the Hall of Fame, Kelley noted.

NASCAR Images, MRN Radio, and various NASCAR offices will occupy 25 to 30 percent of the 19-story office building that will be attached to the Hall, Kelley said, with TV and radio studios also housed in the structure. Kelley also said people could come and watch races in the theater, while the ballroom would be used for as many community events as possible. He said the 130,000-square-foot Hall would be “delighted” to host NASCAR awards banquets. Maybe those for the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series will find their way back to the Carolinas. Sure would be better on those teams' budgets.

Kelley said the Hall's first induction class would be May 2010, but NASCAR hadn't finalized the selection process.

Construction, of course, has already begun. That began in May. The office tower and parking deck are expected to be completed in March/April 2009. Installation of the Hall of Fame exhibits won't begin until August/September 2009. Testing of the Hall's exhibits will begin in late 2009/early 2010.

Oh, yes. And if you were wondering about the credentials of the Hall's exhibit design firm, don't give that issue a second thought. Your heroes couldn't be in better hands. Ralph Appelbaum and Associates is the world's largest interpretive museum design firm and has won more than 100 major design awards. The Appelbaum team's most notable works include the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tenn., the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla., the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

Kelley admitted the construction process can be overwhelming at times. But on those days he simply reminds himself that “amateurs built the ark and professionals built the Titanic.” And when he and others look at renditions of the finished product, they can't help but smile.

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