It looks like the nation's most popular sporting even may come to New York City. NASCAR is in negotiations to develop an industrial park on Staten Island into a raceway. NASCAR is an increasingly popular sport that is always looking to expand beyond its roots in the South and New York is certainly a place to do so. In recent years, NASCAR has expanded to include races in Southern California.
Of course, there is opposition to the proposed racetrack already. The proposed site for the track is a former oil tank farm with wetlands nearby. With a clean-up needed and possible challenges from environmental groups, any plan there would surely be a minor headache. Neighborhood groups may also oppose the plan because of any potential traffic on race days, which can draw over 100,000 people and their cars.
Gothamist secretly hopes that NASCAR does come to Staten Island because we're been itching to attend a race for ages. Then, our practical and environmentally thoughtful side kicks in and thinks, "do we really want some gas guzzling stockcars zooming around an oval?" We'll see how it turns out, but with some of the reaction on the Olympics and on the Jets Stadium, we won't keep our fingers crossed.
