april_2018

188 189 THE ISM RACEWAY the Phoenix International Raceway. “In the late ‘90s, we built a new grandstand; in the early 2000s, we built a tunnel and some other facility improvements, which were significant,” recounts ISM Raceway President, Bryan R. Sperber. “That said, the work that was required for this partic- ular venue was still substantial –we had fallen behind the times in terms of what that venue needed to be able to host events and to meet the needs of the media, sponsors, and, most impor- tantly, the needs of our fans. So, we started study- ing what would be the best way to address those shortcomings. And that put us on a path to take a step back and, basically, rebuild the entire facility, which is what we’ve embarked on, today.” The rebuilding of the Phoenix Raceway is a $178 million renovation project that began in February 2017, and is slated for completion this coming fall. “We’re really touching everything in the venue, except the race surface, itself, which we repaved about 11 years ago,” Sperber reports. “Everything else at the venue is either being taken down to the studs and being completely rebuilt, or it’s being bulldozed and replaced with new structures. For example, the grandstands that AT A GLANCE THE ISM RACEWAY WHAT: A motorsport track WHERE: Avondale, Arizona WEBSITE: www.ismraceway.com exist on the front stretch will come down and be replaced with a real leading-edge grandstand structure with individual seats, cup holders, vertical transportation–elevators, escalators–shade, and great food and beverage. It’s a dramatic upgrade.” “Our infield is being bulldozed and a brand new garage area and media center, medical center, offices, are all being installed to go along with an interactive infield experience for our fans,” Sperber continues.“We put in a new pedestrian tunnel that will connect the new grandstand to this infield structure, so guests will have an opportunity to go into the NASCAR garage, into Victory Lane, and be part of the pre-race drivers’meeting,which is usually off limits.And, very conveniently, they’ll be able to exit the garage and infield area through this pedestrian tunnel and arrive right back at their seats on the outside of the racetrack. So, everything is interconnected with a mind toward upgrading the experience for fans, for the industry, for our sponsors, and for our corporate partners. Right now, we’ve got a few of the assets, online - we have a brand new club, called Curve, and some of the new suites are active and they received rave reviews from the fans. That gave us confidence that we were definitely on the right track.”