This weekend's Daytona paper gives a preview of the 2016 Daytona experience after completion of the Rising Sun ... oops, Daytona Rising reconstruction of the Daytona International Speedway.
I checked the artist's rendering of one of the new 2016 luxury suites to see if I saw old Daytona veterans Tim Leeming or Bobby Williamson in the picture, but didn't find them.
I guess we old timers will just have to depend on you newer and younger race fans to report back here on your 2016 Daytona 500 experience. That should make for interesting reading. I'll be particularly interested to hear where you parked and what it cost.
Preview of the 2016 Daytona 500 experience: A whole new destination
An artists rendering shows what one of the modern luxury suites might look like.
Images courtesy of International Speedway Corp. Published: Saturday, February 8, 2014 at 7:25 p.m.
DAYTONA BEACH Race fans have two more years to catch Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway as it exists today.
Come 2016, it will be a whole new race. The cars on the track will still go fast and turn left, but everything else will change, and transform the citys gateway in the process, bringing new stores and restaurants that have never opened in this market before.
Two years from now, the scaffolding and construction equipment that adorn the Speedways exterior today will be gone, replaced by a new facade complete with a quarter-mile-long Daytona International Speedway sign designed to evoke images of the speeding cars that can be found on the track. The interior of the building will sport new goodies for race fans.
International Speedway Boulevard already a bustling street lined with chain restaurants and stores will be a different beast, with the new retail, residential and dining development, dubbed One Daytona, taking up the now-empty land around the International Motorsports Center on the north side of the street near the pedestrian bridge.
Its a whole new destination for fans, said Jim Renne, design principal with Rossetti, the architectural firm for Daytona Rising, the Speedways renovation project.
Those traveling to Daytona Beach by car might notice some changes before they even get to town, as the expansion of Interstate 4 from four lanes to six between DeLand and Daytona Beach should be completed by then.
Once in town, race fans could be checking into one of several new hotels, including a Hard Rock Hotel and Cafe or a large two-tower luxury hotel-and-condominium complex at the east end of Oakridge Boulevard on the beachfront. One Daytona also will have a pair of hotels with 660 rooms between them.
And, though it isnt exactly new, the Desert Inn, the beachside 200-plus-room hotel that was once named one of the dirtiest in the nation by TripAdvisor, will be cleaned up, renovated and flagged with a national hotel brand by the time fans start to arrive in 2016.
NEW STORES, LIVE MUSIC
The shopping and dining situation also will be different, and visitors might find themselves lingering near International Speedway Boulevard longer than they did in previous years.
One Daytona alone will sport 75 shops and restaurants, and all will be brands that are new to the Daytona Beach area, said Brian Leary, managing director of Jacoby Development, which is developing One Daytona.
The fact that theyre bringing in retailers that arent already here is really important, said Evelyn Fine, president of Daytona Beach-based market research firm Mid-Florida Marketing & Research Inc. It just adds to our enticement and makes us a destination in which (race fans) will want to stay a little bit longer.
Which restaurants and stores those will be is still largely in the air. Bass Pro Shops and Cobb Theatres have signed letters of intent to put a store and a movie theater the latter of which will be near the back of the development in the new One Daytona neighborhood, but no other companies have made firm commitments to build yet, said Speedway spokesman Lenny Santiago.
Visitors also will be able to watch live shows at music venues throughout One Daytona, Leary said.
Leary said the firm is designing One Daytona to be a walkable neighborhood, so visitors can park their cars and stroll from shop to shop.
Jacoby took inspiration from walkable neighborhoods throughout the world when developing the initial designs for One Daytona, Leary said.
It will be an eclectic mix of architectural styles with a consistency of quality and materials, he said. It complements the forward style of the Daytona Rising project while feeling comfortable to those who live in Central Florida and are used to walking in neighborhoods (like downtown DeLand and Winter Park).
When its race time, getting to the track will be simply a matter of crossing the pedestrian bridge over International Speedway Boulevard. For those who are farther north, the Speedway expects a new pedestrian bridge to open near the intersection of International Speedway Boulevard and Bill France Boulevard, Santiago said.
YOUR OWN RACE MACHINE
The Speedway itself will be difficult to recognize in 2016. The nearly mile-long structure will have shed the Erector set-like appearance it has now.
There is actually a facade that grandstands dont typically have, said Renne of architectural firm Rossetti.
The surface will bend and angle to give the building the look of a racing automobile in motion, Renne said.
Five injectors large gates for fans to enter the facility will dot the front of the Speedway. Above each one will be the name of the company that sponsors the gate. So far, auto maker Toyota has agreed to sponsor an injector just east of the start/finish line.
As the fan enters through the injector, he or she will travel by escalator to one of the Speedways three concourses.
The idea is that we lift the entire stadium experience off the ground, as if youre going into your own race machine, Renne said. Were trying to get people to their seats, but its a journey.
On the way to their seats, fans will pass cafes, gift kiosks and dining areas. Those hungry for traditional stadium food will be able to get their hamburger or hot dog fix, but the new Speedway will have more types of food from which to choose. Want a salad or deli sandwich? There will be a place to buy that, Renne said.
If none of those tickle the fans fancy, he or she still will be able to bring a cooler with food into the Speedway.
Also, the new Speedway will have a permanent store where the race fan can buy souvenirs.
Fans will notice that the Speedway is broken into 11 neighborhoods or clusters of places to eat, shop and linger. Each one will share certain thematic elements with the others, and, if all goes according to plan, each will be sponsored by a different company and will have unique activities, Renne said.
Toyota, for instance, will have a neighborhood behind its injector where it will have activities and attractions.
By 2016, backstretch seating should be gone, Santiago said. Instead, the Speedway will have new seating built atop its current frontstretch grandstands, giving attendees of the 2016 Daytona 500 a higher vantage point from which to view the race.
The seats themselves will be wider 21 inches, as opposed to 20 inches and some will have armrests and cup holders.
If the race fan is at the Speedway for a corporate event, he or she might be going to the new hospitality level between the concourses. It wont be enclosed like the traditional suites in the Speedways tower, but it will feature more amenities than the standard grandstand seating, including a lounge area and a vantage point at the start/finish line.
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/16/16 07:54:05AM
