NASCAR Hall of Fame headed to Charlotte
March 1, 2006



CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Atlanta and Daytona Beach still feel good about their chances to land NASCAR's Hall of Fame, even though a report from Charlotte says that city has locked up a deal to build the shrine to stock car racing.


``We've heard rumors in the past. Almost three weeks ago we got calls from all over that Atlanta was getting the nod and that proved to be not true. Two weeks later we're hearing Charlotte got the nod. Maybe two weeks from now the rumor will be Daytona,'' said George Mirabal, the local official in Daytona Beach working to bring the hall of fame to NASCAR's birthplace.

The Charlotte Observer, citing three anonymous sources, reported Wednesday that Charlotte had won the race for the stock car racing museum and an official announcement was expected Monday.

Two people in NASCAR who are close to the negotiations told The Associated Press later Wednesday that although Charlotte is the leading candidate, the deal isn't complete and talks were ongoing. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because no deal is done.

One person said NASCAR Chairman Brian France spent Tuesday in Charlotte meeting with city leaders but left without a deal.

In Atlanta, civic leaders refused to concede to Charlotte and said NASCAR officials were still negotiating with them Wednesday over their financial proposal.

At NASCAR's request, Atlanta officials said they increased the city's planned investment in the project from $5 million to $77 million. The state of Georgia had already pledged $25 million.

``Georgia's exceptional financial commitment coupled with our ability to immediately attract tourists from across the globe give us what I believe to be the winning bid for the NASCAR Hall of Fame,'' Gov. Sonny Perdue said in a statement Wednesday. ``The state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta stand poised and ready to welcome NASCAR as the newest member of our family.''

Charlotte has been viewed as the favorite to land the hall for some time. It is home to most of the teams and drivers who compete in the NASCAR series and France recently purchased a home in the city. NASCAR's research and development center is in suburban Charlotte, and three Nextel Cup races are held at nearby Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Charlotte has proposed building a $137.5 million Hall of Fame on city-owned land near its convention center. The bid includes private funds and money from a 2 percentage point hike in the hotel tax rate, which lawmakers have already approved. Charlotte also has a catchy slogan: ``Racing was built here. Racing belongs here.''

Atlanta's bid includes corporate backing from many of NASCAR's top sponsors, while Daytona Beach is where NASCAR is headquartered and is home of the series' biggest race of the year. In January, NASCAR eliminated Richmond, Va., and Kansas City, Kan., from contention.

Associated Press reporter Daniel Yee contributed to this report from Atlanta.

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