Last year, NASCAR developers were looking at land in Staten Island to build a racetrack and Newsday reports that they have since bought the land and they have renderings! International Speedway Corporation bought a 450 acre former oil tank farm for $100 million and wants to build a racetrack with a retail center.
Don't start buying those colorful sponsor laden jackets just yet though, the plan still has many obstacles. The 3/4 mile, 82,500 person track would be built near wetlands and could result in traffic from race attendees. Newsday gives us plenty of information on the plan:
- Ferries would transport fans to other parts of the area
- 240 acres of wetlands would be restored, including trails for walking
- 620,000 sq ft. of retail space would be built in addition to the track
- Sound walls would be built, reducing noise to 67 decibels for the nearest neighborhood (the subway is 92 decibels)
Promoters for the planned track say that 60% of the fans would come from the New York area, which is NASCAR's 4th largest market. Build or not, NASCAR already has a track in Brooklyn. Brooklyn, Michigan. And why build an oval for New York when we have so many roads! How about throwing in some right turns?
Image by Yoswein New York
