CUP: HoF Makes Gains With Boost In October Attendance

Sprint Cup

CUP: HoF Makes Gains With Boost In October Attendance

The NASCAR Hall of Fame attracted 27,555 visitors in October — 10,110 more than in September....

Bob Pockrass | http://www.scenedaily.com | Posted December 09, 2010 Charlotte, NC

The NASCAR Hall of Fame opened in May 2010. (Photo: Getty Images)

The NASCAR Hall of Fame had an increase in attendance and made money for the month of October.

The news was a welcome change for facility executives, who have struggled to meet attendance and financial projections since the hall’s opening in May.

With the help of a race weekend in Charlotte, the hall of fame attracted 27,555 visitors in October — 10,110 more than in September. Attendance for the month of November, estimated at 20,455, was lower than October but better than September.

The estimated total for the first six-plus months since it opened May 10 is 184,971, which would calculate into a projected 334,000 attendance for the first year of operation.

Officials had originally hoped for as many as 800,000 attendees in the first year, budgeted its operations for 600,000, and are now reworking the budget.

The hall of fame’s fiscal year runs from is July-June, and its $39,933 profit in October reduced its deficit to $408,903.

Royalties due to NASCAR total $285,775. However, officials with the sanctioning body recently said that NASCAR would allow the hall of fame to defer all royalty payments until the hall starts running an annual profit.

The hall of fame is owned and operated by the City of Charlotte through a license from NASCAR. The most recent budget figures were delivered to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority Board of Directors at its monthly meeting Wednesday. The board is expected to consider a revised budget for the hall of fame at its Jan. 12 meeting. Any deficit would be covered by the visitors authority’s reserves.

The visitors authority has a NASCAR Hall of Fame advisory board, which will meet Friday in Charlotte. At that meeting, it will finalize a report in response to concerns expressed by members of the Charlotte City Council at its meeting last month.

Tim Newman, who runs the visitors authority, said that bookings for conventions that can be attributed to the hall of fame and the main ballroom built adjacent to it show $225 million in direct spending in the Charlotte area from last May through 2014. The hall of fame was built at a cost of $195 million with the help of a 2 percent hotel tax.

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