Kansas City looks to NASCAR’s future

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Other cities might have more stock car racing history, bigger international profiles, brighter star power.

But backers of a bid to win the NASCAR Hall of Fame for Kansas City, Kan., where the relatively new Kansas Speedway is entering its fifth season of operation, said Wednesday they represent the sport’s future and NASCAR’s best chance to reach beyond its traditional fan base in the southeastern United States.

“We are the future, and we believe we can extend the brand,” said Jeff Boerger, president of Kansas Speedway. “It’s now becoming an international sport, and what better location than having it in the center of the United States?”

Other sites NASCAR has asked to submit proposals by May 31 are Atlanta; the state of Michigan; Richmond, Va.; Daytona Beach, Fla.; and Charlotte, N.C.

NASCAR could make its final decision by the end of the year.

Charlotte, where many Nextel Cup teams are based, has enlisted team owner Rick Hendrick to lead its effort. Richmond, where stock car races were running two years before NASCAR’s founding in 1948, has touted its deep roots. And Daytona Beach, where NASCAR has its headquarters, also boasts the circuit’s most famous race in the Daytona 500.

“There’s a great sense of history in those cities, a great sense of the past and of what NASCAR is all about,” said Bob Marcusse, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas City Area Development Council.

“We certainly honor that and appreciate all that has been,” he said. “But we also understand that there’s a future for this sport, and we look forward to being the community that best positions NASCAR for its future.”

Other sports have gone with history, though, when selecting sites for their halls: the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The Kansas City area is not revealing much about its bid for the hall, which would be located just east of Kansas Speedway in the booming Village West tourism and retail district.

Kansas City’s bid also includes the Kansas City, Mo., architectural firm HOK SportsVenueEvent and the New York-based exhibit designers DMCD, Inc.

Those companies’ presentations will remain secret until they are delivered to NASCAR officials, Marcusse said.

Marcusse estimated the project would cost $100 million and cover about 100,000 square feet.