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Dale now needs to bring his checkbook to metro Atlanta IMO.
Dale Junior backs track
Details of planned complex will be announced at Mobile Convention Center today, as NASCAR star Earnhardt gives his support to the project
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor
It was fitting that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the man of the hour at a gathering of Alabama Motorsports Park investors -- most wealthy and celebrities in their own right -- on Monday night at Ruth's Chris Steak House in midtown Mobile. Lending his high-profile name to the planned race track project can only boost the attraction's credibility in the racing world, and in south Alabama.
Details of the multimillion-dollar motorsports park will be announced today at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center, according to Tonia Jackson of PSE-3, Partners In Sports and Entertainment, a marketing firm based in Raleigh, N.C.
Earnhardt Jr., son of the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr., will field questions from the media, along with his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, and his brother, Kerry Earnhardt. Earnhardt Jr. is the driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup. Kerry competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Earnhardt Jr. flew to Mobile in his private jet and arrived at the dinner party about 30 minutes after the guests arrived. Low-key, in a striped dress shirt and slacks, he stayed on the edge of the dining room, talking quietly to friends and posing for a few photos with newly met fans.
The media interviews with Earnhardt will be held today, according to Bill Futterer, owner of PSE-3, a motorsports marketing firm representing the Alabama Motorsports Park. His firm also works as a consultant for Earnhardt and his company, Junior Motorsports.
Investors in Gulf Coast Entertainment plan to build a race park that will include an oval speedway, a road course, a dirt track and a drag strip, along with an RV park, restaurants and other entertainment venues, according to Jackson.
The investors have three possible sites for the race park in Mobile and Baldwin counties, and expect to narrow that down in the next couple of months, according to former Mayor Mike Dow and some of the investors. Dow is helping launch and promote the motorsports park.
Warmly greeted
The group has talked to several sanctioning bodies about the race park, according to Futterer. "We've been received with enthusiasm," he said. "We have not talked about any specific races with any sanctioning body."
Race schedules are set three to four months in advance of a year, so the race calendars for 2007 are coming out now, according to Futterer.
"We have not talked to NASCAR because we respect their policy about not talking about races until the track is substantially under construction," Futterer said.
The Dom Perignon flowed freely Monday night, where the party organizers had ordered cases of the elite beverage, usually selling for almost $200 a bottle. Many of the restaurant chefs were on standby, waiting to cook dinner -- from lobster, steak or fresh seafood -- for the 50 or so guests. Restaurant owner David Cooper Sr. was also one of the guests.
Investors on hand
The list of investors will be released today, and many of those were enjoying the party, including former Congressman Sonny Callahan; Armando and Mimi Fitz, who own four NASCAR Busch Series teams and two teams in Mexico; Bob Shallow, owner of REMAX Paradise in Orange Beach; Rick Edwards, a land developer of Point Clear; Richard Schwartz, a restaurant owner and developer in Gulf Shores; and Rick Skelton, who owns the Hyper-Sport team that competes in the Grand American Road Racing Association; and local attorneys Braxton Counts and Daniel Cushing. Skelton is also one of the developers of Bon Secour Village, a mixed-use community under construction on the Intracoastal Waterway in Gulf Shores.
Professional football players and Hall of Famers Willie Lanier and John Stallworth are also investors but could not attend the dinner.
"Our investment group are well-heeled, well-financed, well-connected individuals, and that's our strength," Skelton said. "I think this has a great likelihood of coming together and being the country's largest racing and entertainment complex. This is big."
Skelton plans to move his Hyper-Sport race team here. "Hopefully, that will be a catalyst for other teams to move down here," he said.
An economic impact study done by Semoon Chang at the University of South Alabama will be released today, according to Dow. "We have gone over it and we are trying to be very conservative and realistic about this," Dow said. "The impact is huge."
Other studies were done by national firms, as well, according to Futterer. "We relied on Dr. Chang for the economic aspect," he said.
"If you look at who the original investors are, they want this to be a destination," Dow said. "They are trying to build up the tourism pool."
"The concept is going to be a great boost to tourism throughout south Alabama, whether it's in Baldwin or Mobile county," said Herb Malone, president of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau in Gulf Shores. "We will all benefit."
Dale Earnhardt is to racing what Tiger Woods is to golf, Futterer said. "He was a natural to be involved in this. We're thrilled he shared the interest to be involved."
Investor Shallow admitted he does not follow racing like his stepfather, a die-hard racing fan. Shallow invited his mother and stepdad, Bruce Everett Grover of northern New Hampshire, to Mobile to meet his idol on Monday. Grover managed to get photographed with his favorite driver, No. 8.
Grover is a big fan, and even his address reflects it: He lives on Dale Earnhardt Drive.
Dale Junior backs track
Details of planned complex will be announced at Mobile Convention Center today, as NASCAR star Earnhardt gives his support to the project
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor
It was fitting that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the man of the hour at a gathering of Alabama Motorsports Park investors -- most wealthy and celebrities in their own right -- on Monday night at Ruth's Chris Steak House in midtown Mobile. Lending his high-profile name to the planned race track project can only boost the attraction's credibility in the racing world, and in south Alabama.
Details of the multimillion-dollar motorsports park will be announced today at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center, according to Tonia Jackson of PSE-3, Partners In Sports and Entertainment, a marketing firm based in Raleigh, N.C.
Earnhardt Jr., son of the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr., will field questions from the media, along with his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, and his brother, Kerry Earnhardt. Earnhardt Jr. is the driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup. Kerry competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Earnhardt Jr. flew to Mobile in his private jet and arrived at the dinner party about 30 minutes after the guests arrived. Low-key, in a striped dress shirt and slacks, he stayed on the edge of the dining room, talking quietly to friends and posing for a few photos with newly met fans.
The media interviews with Earnhardt will be held today, according to Bill Futterer, owner of PSE-3, a motorsports marketing firm representing the Alabama Motorsports Park. His firm also works as a consultant for Earnhardt and his company, Junior Motorsports.
Investors in Gulf Coast Entertainment plan to build a race park that will include an oval speedway, a road course, a dirt track and a drag strip, along with an RV park, restaurants and other entertainment venues, according to Jackson.
The investors have three possible sites for the race park in Mobile and Baldwin counties, and expect to narrow that down in the next couple of months, according to former Mayor Mike Dow and some of the investors. Dow is helping launch and promote the motorsports park.
Warmly greeted
The group has talked to several sanctioning bodies about the race park, according to Futterer. "We've been received with enthusiasm," he said. "We have not talked about any specific races with any sanctioning body."
Race schedules are set three to four months in advance of a year, so the race calendars for 2007 are coming out now, according to Futterer.
"We have not talked to NASCAR because we respect their policy about not talking about races until the track is substantially under construction," Futterer said.
The Dom Perignon flowed freely Monday night, where the party organizers had ordered cases of the elite beverage, usually selling for almost $200 a bottle. Many of the restaurant chefs were on standby, waiting to cook dinner -- from lobster, steak or fresh seafood -- for the 50 or so guests. Restaurant owner David Cooper Sr. was also one of the guests.
Investors on hand
The list of investors will be released today, and many of those were enjoying the party, including former Congressman Sonny Callahan; Armando and Mimi Fitz, who own four NASCAR Busch Series teams and two teams in Mexico; Bob Shallow, owner of REMAX Paradise in Orange Beach; Rick Edwards, a land developer of Point Clear; Richard Schwartz, a restaurant owner and developer in Gulf Shores; and Rick Skelton, who owns the Hyper-Sport team that competes in the Grand American Road Racing Association; and local attorneys Braxton Counts and Daniel Cushing. Skelton is also one of the developers of Bon Secour Village, a mixed-use community under construction on the Intracoastal Waterway in Gulf Shores.
Professional football players and Hall of Famers Willie Lanier and John Stallworth are also investors but could not attend the dinner.
"Our investment group are well-heeled, well-financed, well-connected individuals, and that's our strength," Skelton said. "I think this has a great likelihood of coming together and being the country's largest racing and entertainment complex. This is big."
Skelton plans to move his Hyper-Sport race team here. "Hopefully, that will be a catalyst for other teams to move down here," he said.
An economic impact study done by Semoon Chang at the University of South Alabama will be released today, according to Dow. "We have gone over it and we are trying to be very conservative and realistic about this," Dow said. "The impact is huge."
Other studies were done by national firms, as well, according to Futterer. "We relied on Dr. Chang for the economic aspect," he said.
"If you look at who the original investors are, they want this to be a destination," Dow said. "They are trying to build up the tourism pool."
"The concept is going to be a great boost to tourism throughout south Alabama, whether it's in Baldwin or Mobile county," said Herb Malone, president of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau in Gulf Shores. "We will all benefit."
Dale Earnhardt is to racing what Tiger Woods is to golf, Futterer said. "He was a natural to be involved in this. We're thrilled he shared the interest to be involved."
Investor Shallow admitted he does not follow racing like his stepfather, a die-hard racing fan. Shallow invited his mother and stepdad, Bruce Everett Grover of northern New Hampshire, to Mobile to meet his idol on Monday. Grover managed to get photographed with his favorite driver, No. 8.
Grover is a big fan, and even his address reflects it: He lives on Dale Earnhardt Drive.
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