Post by Lisa Leeds on Dec 18, 2008 20:39:10 GMT -6
With Mattioli out, Motorplex future murky
By: Larry Woody, Sports Correspondent
Nashville City Paper
After five years of operating Nashville’s historical Fairgrounds racetrack, Joe Mattioli is out and the future of the facility – and 104 years of racing at the site – is in jeopardy.
“I want to keep racing here if at all possible,” said Buck Dozier, executive director of the Tennessee State Fair Board which oversees the racetrack. “I’d be optimistic if the economy weren’t such a factor.”
For the past 50 years the Board has leased the track to a series of private operators on a multi-year basis. Starting next season, however, the track will be rented race-by-race with the Fair Board in direct control.
Dozier plans to appoint an overseer to handle the daily operation of the track. He hopes to finalize details by the next Fair Board meeting on Jan. 6.
Mattioli had been offered a one-year lease extension through 2009 but Dozier said “the deal was killed” when Mattioli failed to meet a signing deadline. The contract stalemate involved disputed concession issues.
Exactly how the new arrangement will affect weekly racing is not clear. It could be difficult for drivers and team owners to build cars, sell sponsorships and make plans for a six-month season when races are run on a week-by-week basis. One possibility would be to reserve a block of dates on which weekly races would be run.
Mattioli said he is “extremely disappointed” to lose the track, “but I’ll move on.”
Although he said he “suspects some city officials have made up their mind to do away with the Fairgrounds,” he bears no ill will toward Fair Board members whom he termed “smart and dedicated.” Mattioli said he may bid to use the track for certain special events in the future.
Mattioli said he has no regrets about taking over the troubled track five years ago when the Fair Board was considering closing it.
“When I came here racing was almost dead,” he said. “We brought it back to life and kept it going despite a lot of roadblocks. I said then that Nashville has too great a racing tradition to lose, and I still feel that way. We kept the track alive for its 50th anniversary, on a site where the first [area] automobile race was run in 1904. I’m proud of that.”
Mattioli said he will remain active in racing. His family owns and operates Pocono (Pa.) Speedway, and he runs tracks in South Boston, Va., and Columbus, Miss. One of his sons is an aspiring driver.
“Nashville will always be a special place for me,” he said. “For someone who loves stock car racing and country music, as I do, this is heaven. I’ve made some lifelong friends since I’ve been here. “It’s been tough at times, but they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I’m still alive.”
By: Larry Woody, Sports Correspondent
Nashville City Paper
After five years of operating Nashville’s historical Fairgrounds racetrack, Joe Mattioli is out and the future of the facility – and 104 years of racing at the site – is in jeopardy.
“I want to keep racing here if at all possible,” said Buck Dozier, executive director of the Tennessee State Fair Board which oversees the racetrack. “I’d be optimistic if the economy weren’t such a factor.”
For the past 50 years the Board has leased the track to a series of private operators on a multi-year basis. Starting next season, however, the track will be rented race-by-race with the Fair Board in direct control.
Dozier plans to appoint an overseer to handle the daily operation of the track. He hopes to finalize details by the next Fair Board meeting on Jan. 6.
Mattioli had been offered a one-year lease extension through 2009 but Dozier said “the deal was killed” when Mattioli failed to meet a signing deadline. The contract stalemate involved disputed concession issues.
Exactly how the new arrangement will affect weekly racing is not clear. It could be difficult for drivers and team owners to build cars, sell sponsorships and make plans for a six-month season when races are run on a week-by-week basis. One possibility would be to reserve a block of dates on which weekly races would be run.
Mattioli said he is “extremely disappointed” to lose the track, “but I’ll move on.”
Although he said he “suspects some city officials have made up their mind to do away with the Fairgrounds,” he bears no ill will toward Fair Board members whom he termed “smart and dedicated.” Mattioli said he may bid to use the track for certain special events in the future.
Mattioli said he has no regrets about taking over the troubled track five years ago when the Fair Board was considering closing it.
“When I came here racing was almost dead,” he said. “We brought it back to life and kept it going despite a lot of roadblocks. I said then that Nashville has too great a racing tradition to lose, and I still feel that way. We kept the track alive for its 50th anniversary, on a site where the first [area] automobile race was run in 1904. I’m proud of that.”
Mattioli said he will remain active in racing. His family owns and operates Pocono (Pa.) Speedway, and he runs tracks in South Boston, Va., and Columbus, Miss. One of his sons is an aspiring driver.
“Nashville will always be a special place for me,” he said. “For someone who loves stock car racing and country music, as I do, this is heaven. I’ve made some lifelong friends since I’ve been here. “It’s been tough at times, but they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I’m still alive.”