One day, the rebuilt and improved Daytona International Speedway may be the world center of more than just racing. Lesa France Kennedy, chief executive officer of Daytonas parent company International Speedway Corp., said NASCARs most famous race track could host other events such as international soccer and college football games once the Daytona Rising project is completed in 2016. ‘NASCAR is always going to be our primary revenue driver, but were going to look at some other things’ Kennedy said Tuesday at the NASCAR Motorsports Marketing Forum, which kicked off Champions Week. ‘International soccer friendlies, for instance. Might want to host some of those, or concerts. Its going to be more flexible than the current speedway that we have, and its going to offer a lot more options. We are also in discussions with several universities about NCAA football. That might be kind of exciting.” ‘Todays fans also want the latest in technology, and Daytona is no different’ she said. ‘In addition to the WiFi we will have in each neighborhood, were also going to be installing additional infrastructure to support 4G services. How often do you go to a sporting event or an event of another type, and youre not connected to the outside world? Its just not a great experience. People dont like that. I dont like that, I know that much, and were going to change that.” Kennedy said the rebuilt Daytona, which will be completed in time for Speedweeks in 2016, will ‘redefine motorsports entertainment in North America.” The project, five years in the planning, is also slightly ahead of schedule.( NASCAR.com )(12-4-2013) News from December 3, 2013
