For six days a year, the Talladega Superspeedway, off I-20 in northern Talladega County, is one of Alabama’s biggest tourist attractions. The numbers bear it out.
Nearly 400,000 people, 73 percent of whom were from out of state, attended a race at Talladega in 2017.
“You have to figure with our crowds, 73 percent of the things we sell are bought from people out of the state of Alabama,” Talladega Superspeedway chairman Grant Lynch said in an interview with Yellowhammer News.
“Average distance traveled is still right at 300 miles per person,” he added. “When you think about that, that means half our customers come from more than 300 miles away for us to be here.”
Over the past four years, that has paid dividends for Alabama’s economy.
According to a study conducted by economist M. Keivan Deravi, the dean of Auburn University at Montgomery’s College of Public Policy and Justice, going back to the 2014 season, the Talladega Superspeedway has had a total economic impact of $1.77 billion. When broken down, this has meant $248.7 million in tax money generated for local and state governments, $682.5 million in payroll and roughly 33,600 jobs for Alabama.
Tentatively, the venue is slated to see even more economic activity.
Coming attractions
Over the next six years, International Speedway Corporation, Talladega Superspeedway’s parent company, is planning to spend $500 million on upgrades for its portfolio of tracks across the country. According to Lynch, his track will be one of that effort’s beneficiaries.
“We got a chance to continue to ask for more money from the company, and the two things we need to do is we need to show a return on investment for the company at the rate we all are held to, and we think with the projects we’re looking at, we think we’re going to get at some of that $500 million,” Lynch said.
He added that he would like to get the same considerations from the Alabama State House in Montgomery.
“We are aggressively spending some time in the legislature talking to them about what our other facilities across the country are doing within their own states,” Lynch said. “And we have aggressively started a refurbishing of our facilities across the country.”
Currently the bulk of the government help the track gets from local and state government comes in the form of law enforcement. Lynch says the track pays for the county and municipal officers. However, the Alabama State Troopers, similar to how the state provides them for Alabama football and Auburn football games, are paid for by the state.
“The county helps us out at race time,” Lynch said. “Almost all the police and sheriff’s departments from these three counties and beyond come and help us at race time. The state troopers are here in large numbers. We have every federal and state security agency is represented here in our command center at race time. So we get a lot of help from the state bomb dogs and everything else from a lot of folks.”
“We don’t get a lot of financial help out of anybody,” he said. “And that’s one of the areas we really want to focus on going forward. We’re kind of a unique business in that while we give tours every day almost, we really only open our doors for ticket sales [other than] six days a year.”
‘We just think fair is fair’
Lynch referred to an earmark added to the state budget at the end of last year’s legislative session that awarded $300,000 to ZOOM Motorsports, the promoter and event management team for Barber Motorsports Park, a facility just to the west of Talladega Superspeedway near Birmingham.
He argued with an annual track operating budget of $33 million and increasing each year, and a demonstrable contribution to the public coffers, his facility should be considered for help from the state as well.
“If the state is going to work with motorsports facilities, you got a 49-year partner who is spending $33 million and generating these type of numbers,” Lynch explained. “I’m all for the state supporting motorsports facilities but I kind of feel like the girl that’s been at the prom dance for 40-something years, but there’s a new prettier girl, brand new, down the hall.”
“If you’re going to support somebody, why wouldn’t you look to a long-term partner who has been a partner of the state and been creating enormous wealth through taxes for the state and treat them in the manner that you would treat somebody new that has gotten them to the game.”
Lynch said other tracks with NASCAR-sanctioned events received assistance from their respective states, including the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Fla., Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. and the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
“We’re not bitter about it,” he said of Barber Motorsport Park. “We just think fair is fair.”
‘Aggressively’ pushing Birmingham
Lynch said he was willing to “partner better” with the Alabama Tourism Department. He explained his facility had worked to steer visitors over to Birmingham for lodging and dining while in town for a race. The effort promotes “Dega Rooms,” or hotel rooms at rack rates and transportation to and from the track.
With few options nearby, Lynch said the Magic City answered the call.
“What happens for St. Clair, Talladega and Calhoun [Counties], our rooms will go from $88-89 a night to $295 a night, three-night minimum, for the same hotel room,” he said.
“So, we are aggressively telling our people if they want a hotel room, go to Birmingham,” Lynch explained. “Not only do you get a great price in Birmingham, you got all the stuff they’re doing in Birmingham to rebuild the city with that great downtown area and hotels they got there, and the vast number of superior restaurants they got in Birmingham. People from out of this state don’t know what a food culture it is in Birmingham, but we do. And we try to feature all that for our folks.”
According to data provided to Yellowhammer News by the speedway, last year the spring event weekend brought $38 million and the fall event weekend brought $40 million to Birmingham.
“[We are] probably the biggest benefitting event to Birmingham that isn’t considered a Birmingham asset when people talk about us,” he said.
Lynch sees Talladega Superspeedway and Barber Motorsports Park as part of an “automotive corridor” that includes the Honda plant in nearby Lincoln, the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance and the Hyundai plant in Montgomery.
All of those facilities at some point have received help from the state government. Lynch said if ZOOM Motorsports’ Barber Motorsports Park was worth $300,000, they’d be worth “a lot more.”
“All we’re asking is if you’re going to help people bring events to the state, why wouldn’t you help a 49-year-old partner who is arguably spending more money than anybody.”
Jeff Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and works as the editor of Breitbart TV. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeff_poor.
