Speedway mogul sues over incentives

Thursday, Sep. 17, 2009

Lowe's Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith sued the city of Concord and Cabarrus County on Thursday, demanding that they move more quickly toward paying him for up to $4 million of road work he's performed around his Concord track and drag strip.

The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Cabarrus County Superior Court, says that city and county officials have attempted to delay reimbursing him for that work, which was part of an $80 million package they agreed upon in 2007.

The two sides initially agreed in November 2007 to a deal that called for Smith to build a $60 million drag strip and make $200 million in speedway upgrades in exchange for road and other improvements around the track estimated at about $80 million.

That agreement came after Smith threatened to move the speedway in response to a Concord City Council vote to block the drag strip's construction because of noise and traffic issues.

The lawsuit claims, however, that in August 2008, city and county officials submitted a formal agreement that contained terms not agreed upon in 2007. Those new terms said that Smith's company, Speedway Motorsports Inc., would spend tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements within three years, but would not be fully reimbursed for up to 40 years.

Smith rejected that deal, the lawsuit says, and a formal agreement has not been reached. The lawsuit asks that the city and county "take all necessary action" to formalize the deal.

Since the initial agreement, Speedway Motorsports has made road improvements around Lowe's Motor Speedway and worked on sound mitigation at Smith's nearby drag strip, zMax Dragway, which opened in 2008. In a letter to Concord and Cabarrus officials in September 2008, Speedway Motorsports said it spent $2.8 million at the drag strip and around the speedway.

Thursday's lawsuit put the total figure at about $4 million. Smith has said reimbursement for that work is due within three to five years.

Last October, Concord City Manager Brian Hiatt and County Manager John Day told the Observer that their governments had not paid the bills because no formal incentive deal was in place. Hiatt did not respond to an email message left Thursday on his Blackberry. Day was unavailable for comment.

Concord Mayor Scott Padgett did not return messages. Speedway spokesman Scott Cooper directed questions to Charlotte attorney Bill Diehl, who filed the lawsuit. Diehl did not return messages left by the Observer. Staff writers Meghan Cooke and Ames Alexander contributed.

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