Lowe's grandstand upgrade planned
A$4 million renovation of the frontstretch grandstand is set to boost facilities at Lowe's Motor Speedway, circuit bosses have revealed.
The project to replace the current concrete and aluminum bleachers with spacious stadium-style seats is among several capital improvement projects planned this year at the North Carolina circuit.
The design and procurement phase of the grandstand renovation is underway and construction will begin following the May 27 Coca-Cola 600. It is scheduled for completion prior to the October 13 Bank of America 500.
This track is constantly evolving and each change is designed to make it more user friendly.
Bruton Smith
"This track is constantly evolving and each change is designed to make it more user friendly for our fans, competitors and employees," said Bruton Smith, founder and chairman of Lowe's Motor Speedway. "Fans are absolutely going to love the changes which will bring these prime viewing areas in line with the other modern grandstands around the speedway."
The $4 million frontstretch grandstand project involves renovating the lower portions of the Ford, General Motors and Chrysler sections, all of which were part of the original grandstand when the track opened in 1960.
Multi-year plan
The renovation is the first phase of a multi-year plan to rebuild the track's frontstretch. This phase includes the construction of a steel and aluminum grandstand which will be placed over the old concrete structure. The new section will include approximately 18,000 stadium-style seats, more walkways, added depth between rows and additional handicap-accessible seating.
Other capital projects underway as Lowe's Motor Speedway prepares for its 48th season of NASCAR racing include the construction of a new infield care center and the addition of a modern office/warehouse. The track's souvenir shop is also being renovated and an expansion of the administrative offices on the seventh floor of Smith Tower is nearing completion. All of these projects are slated to be finished before the track's May events, which start with the May 19 NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge.
Demolition work underway on the old infield care facility.
Picture: Harold Hinson/LMS
The new 3,200-square-foot Carolinas HealthCare Infield Care Center will be located inside Turn 4 and is designed to meet the medical needs of both fans and competitors.
One side of the facility will include five examination areas, work stations for doctors and nurses and waiting areas for team and family members. The other portion of the building includes offices for the track's Emergency Medical Services department along with a secondary treatment area that will be utilized during non-NASCAR events.
A new medical heliport adjacent to the care centre is also part of the plan.
"The old infield care centre was the last remaining structure in the infield that was in place for the first race in 1960," Wheeler said. "It was built inside Turn 4 as a scoring stand and several years later the lower level was enclosed to house the hospital."
New warehousing
In a separate project, a new 40,000-square-foot office/warehouse building is going up behind the Turn 2 Diamond Tower Terrace grandstand.
The building, known as the SMI Warehouse, includes space for Levy Restaurants, SMI Properties and Lowe's Motor Speedway's research and development department, all of which will relocate from a building at the corner of Morehead Road and U.S. Highway 29. The new building will also house the speedway's security operations.
Meanwhile the building at the corner of Morehead Road and U.S. Highway 29, which housed the speedway's administrative offices before they moved to Smith Tower in 1988, is already undergoing demolition. That area will be used to expand the track's hospitality village and will also include space for souvenir sales and corporate displays during major events.
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