Kansas Speedway lands a second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event
Kansas Speedway has gotten NASCAR’s approval to host a second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend, starting in 2011.
The Kansas City, Kan., speedway and its parent, International Speedway Corp. (Nasdaq: ISCA), said Tuesday that the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event would be June 4-5; the second will be the fourth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which will be Oct. 8-9.
Requesting another Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway was one of the sweeteners that casino developer Kansas Entertainment LLC offered when pitching its proposal to local and state officials. The first phase of the Hollywood Casino project, which broke ground in April, is expected to cost $386 million and open during the first quarter of 2012. It will overlook the second turn of the speedway track.
“Our fan support for the past 10 years has been tremendous and as a result of that support and the new Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, we are fortunate enough to gain an additional NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race starting in 2011,” Kansas Speedway President Pat Warren said in a release.
Tickets for the 2011 races will go on sale after the speedway’s 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event in October. The full 2011 Sprint Cup Series schedule will be released later this year.
ISC CEO Lesa France Kennedy said the casino project “will make Kansas Speedway two of the most anticipated stops on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule Payday advance.”
The casino, planned to be a $700 million project when all phases are complete, is being developed by a joint venture of ISC and Penn National Gaming Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN). The first phase is to include a 100,000-square-foot casino floor with enough room for 2,300 slot machines and 86 table games, a lounge and several dining and entertainment concepts.
Later phases are planned to include a hotel, more gambling space, a spa, a convention center and an entertainment retail district. International Speedway also has committed to building a road course at Kansas Speedway and using two free track-side billboards to promote Kansas tourism.
Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway is expected to bring more than 1,700 construction jobs, more than 1,000 full-time jobs and other economic benefits for the Kansas City region.
In 2007, Kansas approved a law that allowed four destination casinos in specific areas of the state, including one in Wyandotte County. Developers competed to be chosen to build and manage the project.