DAYTONA BEACH — When International Speedway Corp. in 2013 announced plans to give Daytona International Speedway a $400 million makeover, the company said the improvements would pump millions into the local economy, create thousands of jobs and allow the fabled "World Center of Racing" to host a wider range of events.
Two years after the project's completion, officials are still waiting to see those [...]
DAYTONA BEACH — When International Speedway Corp. in 2013 announced plans to give Daytona International Speedway a $400 million makeover, the company said the improvements would pump millions into the local economy, create thousands of jobs and allow the fabled "World Center of Racing" to host a wider range of events.
Two years after the project's completion, officials are still waiting to see those promises fully realized, hoping a synergy with the new shops and restaurants at One Daytona across the street will provide an extra boost.
While the Speedway has hosted some new events, including the Country 500 music festival that will be held for the third time Memorial Day Weekend and the Ferrari World Finals event that it hosted in December 2016, it has yet to produce a significant bump in major events.
That said, the annual number of events has increased to approximately 300, according to Speedway President Chip Wile. That number includes smaller-scale events, such as proms, wedding receptions and private group meetings. Speedway officials in past years estimated the yearly number of events at around 250.
And while the increase in events has resulted in a greater need for seasonal workers, the number of year-round employees at the Speedway remains the same as before the improvements at roughly 150.
The Daytona Rising project did result in boosting annual revenues for ISC by $20 million in 2016, an increase that was also matched last year, according to Jaime Katz, an equity analyst with Morningstar Inc. in Chicago.
As for whether Daytona Rising was worth the investment, "It's still to be determined," Katz said.
The full effects of the improvements likely won't be known until ISC completes the $107 million first phase of its One Daytona project, which is adding restaurants, stores, entertainment venues and hotels, she said.
ISC has stated that its goal is for One Daytona to combine with the renovated Speedway to create a year-round destination for entertainment, shopping and dining, as well as hotel accommodations, for visitors and locals alike.
"I think adding One Daytona to our family puts a bow on the (Daytona Rising) project," said Wile, who took over as Speedway president three months after Daytona Rising's completion. "It gives our fans more options ... and for locals it's a great attraction. There's an energy about it."
While ISC does not disclose attendance figures for its races, the company in its latest earnings report said that it sold out the 101,500-seat grandstands at the Speedway for last year's Daytona 500 for the second year in a row, a figure that does not include the number of fans who watched the race from the infield area or the Speedway's 60 suites.
"We're trending towards a third consecutive sellout" for this year's Daytona 500, said Greg Motto, ISC's chief financial officer.
Football at the Speedway?
Prior to Daytona Rising, the Speedway hosted a number of events each year in addition to motorsports races, such as the annual Turkey Run classic car show on Thanksgiving Weekend.
In addition to the Country 500 music festival and the Ferrari competition, which was a one-time occurrence, events new to the Speedway since the completion of Daytona Rising included the taping of NBC's "American Ninja Warrior" competition last April, a mixed martial arts competition held by the new Professional Fighters League last June, and the introduction last year of the Magic of Lights, an annual holiday lights show.
What the public may not see, Wile said, is the number of smaller-scale events the Speedway hosts throughout the year.
Case in point: When the Speedway hosted the American Ninja Warrior event, which was filmed in front of the stadium, it was simultaneously hosting other events, including a prom in the Daytona 500 Club and a wedding rehearsal dinner in the Rolex Lounge.
Other events coming to the Speedway this year include a "Jeep Beach" rally April 24-29, a vintage sportscar racing event Nov. 7-11, and a "Challenge Daytona" international triathlon Dec. 8.
"People are seeing it's a multi-use facility," Wile said.
When the Daytona Rising project was underway, ISC officials suggested that the motorsports stadium would be able to host a wider range of events, including college football games, a possibility that then-Speedway President Joie Chitwood III suggested in a January 2014 interview with Sports Illustrated.
"We have the property where fans can camp inside and roll out to the game," Chitwood told SI.com in the interview. "It could be the largest tailgate inside one stadium."
The Speedway's grass infield between pit road and the start line was actually called the "football field" by DIS staff, said Speedway spokesman Andrew Booth.
The Speedway hosted at least four college football games in the 1970s, including a Florida Classic that saw Bethune-Cookman defeat rival Florida A&M.
Chitwood, who oversaw the Daytona Rising project, now serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer at ISC. While attending a Jacksonville Jaguars spring practice in June 2014, he suggested to the media that the Speedway would be an ideal location to host an NFL preseason game. He added that college football, UFC fights, soccer matches and music festivals were also on the radar, according to an Associated Press report.
"With the investment we're making, we can really compete for those kind of sporting events where really we didn't have the chance before," he said. "The property's just too good not to use for multiple events, whether it's the camping, the parking, just the stadium effect. ... We can do this. That ball field, which is what we call it, it really fits and makes sense."
There are no plans at this time for football games to be held at the Speedway, but the stadium did host a kicking clinic featuring NFL players last July.
'A true destination'
In terms of job creation, Wile said the Speedway will have approximately 5,000 seasonal workers and volunteers, the latter who raise funds to benefit local nonprofits, on hand for the Feb. 18 Daytona 500.
And that's not counting the jobs that have been created indirectly at nearby restaurants and stores along West International Speedway Boulevard since the completion of Daytona Rising.
An ISC-commissioned economic impact study conducted by Washington Economics Group in 2013 predicted that Daytona Rising would create 6,300 jobs during its construction, and after its completion, 18,000 direct and indirect jobs. It also estimated that the Speedway would generate approximately $1.6 billion a year to the local economy.
Tim Curtis, co-owner of the Houligan's Family Spirited Sports at 1725 W. International Speedway Blvd., just east of the Speedway, said the eatery, which opened in May 2016, employs 125-150 workers depending on the time of year.
He credits the Speedway with being a significant generator of customer traffic, not just for the restaurant he and partner L. Gale Lemerand own, but also other restaurants and retail stores along International Speedway Boulevard,
"Daytona Rising has made (the ISB corridor) a true destination," Curtis said.
And it's not just the races that draw customers to the area, he said. When the Speedway held its Magic of Lights event this past November and December, "We had so many families coming in before and after," Curtis said.
The improvements to the Speedway are helping the local economy in other ways as well.
"Daytona Rising is a huge positive for us," said Keith Norden, president and CEO of Team Volusia Economic Development Corp., a partnership of local business leaders, the county and cities that works to recruit companies to the county.
Norden, whose office in the International Motorsports Center looks out at the gleaming Speedway across the street, said it's an impressive sight to show representatives of companies considering relocating or expanding here.
"It's a huge quality of life factor. It's a jewel for Volusia County and the state, a world-class facility," Norden said, adding, "The Speedway has really put us on the map."
The Daytona Rising makeover has resulted in the Speedway's winning of several awards including being named Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal's "Facility of the Year" in 2016.
Wile said the Speedway is not done making improvements.
The Speedway paved six acres in its infield area last year to "enhance the experience" for fans, and also made some improvements to the interior of the Daytona 500 Club in December.
What many may not know is that the Speedway also has the most banquet and meeting space of any venue in the Volusia-Flagler area: a total of 294,190 square feet, including banquet-style seating for up to 995 people at a time, theater-style capacity for 1,370 people, and eight meeting rooms.
ISC is now in the process of replicating the improvements it made with its Daytona Rising project at another one of its motorsports tracks: a $178 million makeover of its Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.
"(Daytona Rising) is now the new benchmark" for ISC's motorsports facilities, Wile said.
Katz, the equity analyst with Morningstar, said ISC's makeover of Daytona International Speedway and its plan to renovate Phoenix International Raceway are "projects of necessity to keep the (NASCAR) brand intact and to keep consumers engaged in the sport. Nobody likes to go to a stadium that's run-down with nothing to do (except watch the race)."
She added that the decision to enhance the experience for race fans by installing wider, more comfortable seats also significantly reduced the total number of available seats which means "you have to get people spending money in different ways."
That's where the addition of the new One Daytona, which includes the Cobb Daytona Luxury Theatres, Bass Pro Shops, and other shops and eateries, comes in.
"I think One Daytona is great because it keeps people visiting the property and builds brand awareness," Katz said. "The good news is that we're finally going to see these initiatives start to pay off."