Volume 3, No. 16. August 22,2003
New Arrivals
It’s
a kart park!
Burroughs & Chapin Co. announces the arrival of NASCAR SpeedPark at Concord
Mills in Concord, North Carolina, August 6, 2003. Measurements: 7 acres (3 hectares),
six go-kart tracks, a bumper boat pond, laser tag arena, 18-hole miniature golf
course, climbing wall, grill, arcade with 50 games, retail shop and three party
rooms. Delivered by Formula K.
For
its third NASCAR SpeedPark, Burroughs & Chapin went right to the heart of
NASCAR country, a half mile from the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was a gamble
in more ways than one.
The
first two SpeedParks, in Burroughs & Chapin’s home town of Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina, and in Sieverville, Tennessee, near Pigeon Forge, relied on
those markets’ healthy tourism draws. Concord, North Carolina, except during
Race Week, is not known as a tourism destination. The first two SpeedParks were
stand-alone mini-theme parks. The new venture is part of a shopping center,
Concord Mills. The first two SpeedParks, while located south of the Mason-Dixon
line, are not sitting in racin’ hotbeds. Concord sits near the Pettys'
and Earnhardts' hometowns.
The
gamble, though, seems to be paying off.
Concord
may not be a tourism hotbed, but Concord Mills draws some 14 million shoppers
a year, and NASCAR SpeedPark is capitalizing on the nearby Charlotte population
center. “The excitement there is incredible,” said Nicole Aiello,
hospitality and tourism public relations coordinator for Burroughs & Chapin.
“Season pass sales are doing very well, and birthdays are sold out for
three or four months.”
Not
only did the shopping center location provide great synergy for attracting people
to the SpeedPark, the location allowed Burroughs & Chapin to fine-tune its
SpeedPark design. The first two stand-alone sites were more spread out. “We
found that people like to have them closed in so they can see the different
tracks,” Aiello said. “We worked out the kinks and bugs in the other
two, and this new one is going to be the prototype going forward.” The
company, in fact, is going forward with its fourth NASCAR SpeedPark at the St.
Louis Mills in St. Louis, Missouri, opening in November alongside an ESPN X-Games
Skatepark.
As
for hunkering down in the middle of stock car territory, several NASCAR representatives
attended the August 6 opening of the Concord Mills park. “It was hilarious,”
Aiello said. “They come in wearing nice dress slacks and button downs and
get in those cars and race the heck out of each other.” They had to contend
with a real Winston Cup driver, Elliot Sadler, driver of the Number 38 M&M
Ford on NASCAR’s top circuit, and driver of the Number 38 M&M Formula
K on the SpeedPark’s Mini Motor Speedway.
One of NASCAR SpeedPark’s spokesdrivers, Sadler, currently 18th on the Winston Cup Series points list, was on hand to inaugurate the park and visit with fans. The opening day celebration also included prizes, face-painting and balloon animals, a live band and appearances by NASCAR SpeedPark mascot Sparkie the Sparkplug.
THE LOOP is written and produced by Eric Minton, Minton Enterprises, LLC. To see more examples of Eric Minton's work and Minton Enterprises services, visit www.ericminton.com.
©2003, Minton Enterprises
LLC
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