Well, well. NASCAR has announced three “finalists” for its Hall of Fame. The France family will pit their home-base of Daytona against the corporate muscle of Charlotte and Atlanta. Had this one pegged back in June:
The point is that the city has been sucked into a losing game of trying to make previous “investments” in uptown – the Convention Center itself, the Westin Hotel, the $40 million trolley line – payoff by spending even more on adjacent sites even if it means stringing along other losing hands indefinitely. Now a $137.5 million, “once in a lifetime” racing museum is riding to uptown’s rescue. How will it all end?
Will Charlotte win NASCAR’s heart? Will NASCAR, a few months hence, announce “finalists” in the contest, the better to spur one last bump-up in the bids? Who knows who will win, but it is a good bet that local taxpayers will lose. They usually do.
This is a big nudge to Charlotte’s Hall backers to get that hotel-motel tax hike in line and ready to roll ASAP.
One surprise: It certainly looked like Kansas City had pulled into the running based on a history of funding such projects, but last month Daytona got a boost when Florida governor Jeb Bush signed a bill creating a special license tag to help fund Daytona’s bid.
As always, follow the money.
