Our local Charlotte NASCAR Hall of Fame dominated the upper fold of today's Saturday Charlotte Observer front page, along with coverage of the Carolina Panthers NFL playoff game here this afternoon against Arizona.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame story is not a pretty one. Most are familiar with how local Charlotte officials (no longer employed by Charlotte) cut back room deals with two banks and NASCAR, using incredibly inflated attendance projections to secure financing and win the bid to locate the NHOF here in the Queen City.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is located next door to the multi-story NASCAR Office Building, many of whose NASCAR tenants have now relocated back to newer digs in Daytona Beach across from the Speedway. The NASCAR Office Building is also the temporary home to the corporate headquarters of the Chiquita Banana folks, to whom Charlotte gave millions of dollars three years ago to move from the other Queen City - Cincinnati, Ohio. Unfortunately for our local taxpayers, Chiquita has been acquired by a South American consortium and the distinctive Chiquita logo on the side adjacent to the NASCAR logo will soon come down.
Current Charlotte city officials are now attempting to have the two banks involved in the financing forgive one of the construction loans, which with updated interest now amounts to $21 Million. There is no guarantee they'll be successful, but maybe with all the bad publicity Bank of America and Wells Fargo have generated the past several years for the billions in Federal government fines, perhaps they'll see this as a chance to placate the locality that is home to two huge downtown bank skyscrapers and home to thousands of Charlotte employees.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is an impressive facility. My personal opinion continues that neither the NHOF staff nor the City of Charlotte have figured how to advertise and market this jewel. I sure hope that changes.
A RacersReunion outing to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is scheduled for Saturday, January 10, 2015. I hope the group is large. It is an enjoyable place to visit and the interaction with fellow race fans and racers can't be beat.
Council to hear proposed changes to NASCAR hall loan
Efforts to persuade two banks to forgive a $19.1 million loan to the city of Charlotte that helped build the NASCAR Hall of Fame appear to have made progress, with City Council members set to hear about proposed amendments on Monday to that agreement.
On Friday, Deputy City Manager Ron Kimble wouldnt talk about the proposed amendment or the negotiations, saying council members needed to be updated first on the so-called sponsorship loan and another agreement concerning NASCAR royalties.
But an agenda item that Kimble wrote for Mondays meeting suggests that some agreement has been reached, with council members hearing the proposed changes. They wont take action until their Jan. 12 meeting.
In November, the Observer reported that the city and the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which manages the racing museum, had begun negotiations with Wells Fargo and Bank of America to forgive the loan. Growing to $21 million with interest, it was supposed to be repaid from the sale of sponsorships and commemorative bricks. Yet money from those two sources hasnt come close to paying off the loan.
When the hall opened in 2010, NASCAR was supposed to get royalties on such items as tickets, T-shirts, and food and drinks but only if the museum was making money.
The facility has lost money, according to the CRVA. It lost $1.4 million for the fiscal year that ended in June, and $1.6 million the previous fiscal year. But CRVA leaders are hopeful that the halls finances are stabilizing with attendance essentially leveling off.
Still, no royalties to NASCAR have been paid.
Kimble wrote as background in his agenda that the city, CRVA, NASCAR and the two banks have discussed strategies by which the financial performance of the Hall of Fame could be enhanced through mutual participation of all parties.
He declined to elaborate Friday.
But Wells Fargo spokeswoman Elise Wilkinson said the bank is working closely with the city to reach a solution with regards to the sponsorship loan. She said the bank continues to support the hall.
Bank of America spokeswoman Nicole Nastacie said the bank doesnt typically comment on client relationships.
There is precedent to such loan restructuring. Four years ago, the U.S. National Whitewater Center persuaded banks to forgive much of its $38 million in construction debt.
Most of the $200 million hall is being paid for by a special 2 percent hotel/motel occupancy tax. However, the city and CRVA got the sponsorship loan and a second $20 million construction loan that is backed by the revenue from expected sales of city-owned land near the hall. Sale of that land near Interstate 277 stalled during the recession, but the city has started selling some parcels, including a 3.6-acre parcel across from the hall.
The discussions with the two banks about forgiving the sponsorship loan began last April, when Kimble emailed a now-retired Wells Fargo executive Carlos Evans to ask if the bank would consider the request. Kimble wrote that he hoped they could agree on extinguishment of the sponsorship loan before the executive retired.
A week later, Evans wrote a reply that he and others had discussed options for resolving the debt.
We realize the hall is a problem, Evans wrote. We are willing to do our appropriate share in helping put the hall on an even financial footing as we realize the hall benefits this community on many different levels.
He said none of the banks proposals involved a full forgiveness of debt. ... That would tilt the scales too far with the banks doing way more than others in a situation where we all need to be sharing the pain .
Staff Writers Steve Harrison, Eric Frazier and Rick Rothacker contributed.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/01/02/5421267/council-to-hear-proposed-changes.html#storylink=cpy
--
"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/04/20 11:23:24AM
