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September 12, 2006
GULF COAST ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR
ALABAMA MOTORSPORTS PARK
Complex Bears Name of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Mobile, Ala. – Gulf Coast Entertainment, L.L.C. today announced
plans to construct a major motorsports and entertainment park in
southern Alabama. The investor group has narrowed its site choices
to a location in Mobile County in the area across from the University
of Mobile and two potential sites in adjacent Baldwin County – one
on the Foley Beach Express and the other in central Baldwin County.
The project – which is to include an asphalt speedway, a
road course, a drag strip and a dirt track – will be named “Alabama
Motorsports Park, A Dale Earnhardt Jr. Speedway.” Joining
the motorsports star and a diverse group of investors from various
southern states in participation in the project are Kelley Earnhardt
Elledge and Kerry Earnhardt, marking the siblings’ first
professional collaboration.
"
Our family business is racing and it's been our business
for three
generations," said Dale Earnhardt Jr. "Kelley, Kerry
and I want to continue the family business with hopes that the
next generation of Earnhardts will want to be
involved in the sport. This new venture with the Alabama Motorsports
Park
provides yet another avenue in which the Earnhardt family can participate.
“ Growing up, the race track was our playground on the weekends,” continued
Earnhardt Jr., “so all of us look forward to being involved on the ground
level of this project and being a part of the design team.”
The site plan developed by HOK Sport of Kansas City includes parking, a significant
RV resort, multiple music theaters and an arena and reserves land for commercial,
residential and light industrial activities.
In addition to HOK Sport, one of the nation’s top designers of sports facilities,
Gulf Coast Entertainment has worked with Turner Construction’s sports division
to plan and price the development. All three of the sites being considered are
in excess of 2,300 acres.
The schedule calls for the project to be completed in the fall of 2009.
The investor group was formed by Alabama business and political leaders, who
then attracted out-of-state investors and expertise and named former four-term
Mobile mayor Mike Dow its president. Out-of-state investors include members of
the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, team owners
in two national motorsports series, and a sports and entertainment marketing
firm.
“We’re creating a fun, family-friendly environment which will be
used for
years to come by gulf coast residents and visitors,” said Dow. “We
benefit from terrific interstate access, the beaches and casinos create a huge
tourist base, and our research shows an underserved motorsports market that stretches
from New Orleans to Panama City. Additionally, the economic impact study developed
by Dr. Semoon Chang indicates significant benefits for Baldwin and Mobile counties
and the entire state.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has provided input on the lighted, 75,000-seat, 7/10-mile
oval. Features will include pedestrian/vehicle tunnels and banking and multiple
grooves to promote close racing with extensive passing opportunities. Kerry Earnhardt
has provided input on both the track and on a freshwater lake that investors
believe will attract national fishing events.
The 3.5-mile road course will feature two distinct but connected segments to
enhance testing on the track. The 1/4-mile drag strip and 3/8-mile dirt track
will be designed to attract national events.
Gulf Coast Entertainment representatives have met with a number of national motorsports
sanctioning bodies to inform them of the group’s intentions. No discussions
about specific racing events were held, because sanctioning bodies typically
do not conduct such conversations until a track is substantially under construction.
The park’s website, www.alabamamotorsportspark.com, will provide future
project and construction updates.
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