Timeline for reimbursement provides major sticking point

Maybe the fight isn’t totally over.

Lowe’s Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith accused Concord, N.C., and Cabarrus County officials early this week of not dealing in good faith by alleging that someone is trying to negate his $80 million incentives deal that inspired him to remain in his current locations.

Smith claims the money is owed within two to three years. The county contends 40-years provides more realistic terms.

As a result, Smith’s lawyers are exploring the reportedly reality of fraud charges.

Timeline for reimbursement provides major sticking point

Maybe the fight isn’t totally over.

Lowe’s Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith accused Concord, N.C., and Cabarrus County officials early this week of not dealing in good faith by alleging that someone is trying to negate his $80 million incentives deal that inspired him to remain in his current locations.

Smith claims the money is owed within two to three years. The county contends 40-years provides more realistic terms.

As a result, Smith’s lawyers are exploring the reportedly reality of fraud charges.

Smith fronted the costs for the major road upgrades around the Concord strip and believes his company must be compensated.

The billionaire told the Charlotte Observer that such a lengthy timetable had not been discussed and that anyone who says otherwise is a “is a liar and a cheat.”

Smith related the bottom line is someone in Concord is trying to undo what they agreed to. He’s not considering anything other than two to three years as a reasonable time period to collect on the incentives which convinced him to leave Lowe's Motor Speedway exactly where it is right now.

He won’t move the track now, but added he’s got other options and he’s not discussing those.

"To expect the city and county to (reimburse) that amount of money in a two- to three-year period is unheard of," county commissioners Chairman Jay White said. "I certainly didn't obligate the county for that amount for that period of time."

This latest skirmish between Smith, Cabarrus County and Concord, leaves Smith feeling no longer bound to invest $20 million in upgrades at the speedway. City and county leaders reportedly expected Smith to invest that amount as part of the deal brokered last November.

This fight originally started last fall when Concord voted down Smith’s plans to build the $60 million drag strip on speedway property. He threatened to move but relented when officials presented an acceptable proposal.

The speedway is a large money maker within the county generating $169 million in tourism spending in Cabarrus County in 2006. This weekend’s event is expected to generate an estimated $10 million for the local economy.

A memo issued in November, proclaimed the city and county agreed to secure $80 million in incentives, mainly for road improvements. Smith in turn would keep his speedway complex in Concord, as well as build the drag strip and commit $200 million in speedway upgrades.

The only time reference in the memo mentioned the city and county taking up to three years to secure $20 million of the money from the state or raise the money themselves.

Both governments delivered the formal incentives package to Smith in August. The package included $60 million in incentives to be reimbursed to Speedway Motorsports, through incentive grants equaling 85 percent of the annual local taxes generated through the new projects.