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rvavt t1_iwbo7nj wrote

Reply to comment by hi_revver in Surf’s up for Chesterfield’s The Lake - Virginia Business by Charlesinrichmond

I don’t understand how anyone can view Southside Speedway as if it was a public amenity. It was a private business with a VERY small economic impact which closed and sold. It would be the same as if the Wal-Mart down the street closed and sold the property to the county. Would anyone be fighting the county to re-open a discount superstore?

The county is interested in the best use for the land for ALL county taxpayers, and I can’t see how that could or should be a speedway. And I’m sure the vast majority of the neighbors would agree.

Fortunately, the county decided to hire a consultant (who specializes in assessing properties for motorsports development) to prepare a report of the options for that property. I think that’s a reasonable approach, using economic projections to make a reasonable fiscal decision but I’m sure it won’t make the hundreds of former SSS patrons happy.

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Rain-Gold t1_iwe1omi wrote

When did you move to the area?

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rvavt t1_iwegx4q wrote

Eh, it was ‘round ought one or two. My thoughts are fadin’, so I can’t be too sure.

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hi_revver t1_iwbpyiv wrote

Yeah, I get your point. The comparison is a little off though because there's tons of Walmarts but very few racetracks left nowadays. Everything that has been proposed for that spot (mixed use, more soccer fields, etc) are already over-saturated in the area anyway. How is that best for the taxpayer? Also, in the grand scheme of that area, the racetrack is a very small footprint and not a huge loss acreage-wise. Neighbors directly next door are a junkyard so they don't care about noise. Why not keep a little bit of history and bring back some races? I always had fun going as a kid and looked forward to bringing my kids.

I too am glad they hired a consultant to get more info on feasibility. Hopefully they will decide that it's worth reopening and not just plow it over for more faceless development.

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Rain-Gold t1_iwe23jd wrote

Not sure why you were downvoted. You’re absolutely right. It’s way better and doesn’t compare at all to a Walmart that is a chain store and there’s multiple ones in the area. I’m assuming the other person is newer to the area. SSS was a really cool spot. It was really really cool in the 90s. Tons of good memories. Don’t have many great Walmart memories.

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hi_revver t1_iwefwuq wrote

Like I said, I understand the sentiment. I guess a more apt comparison would be if there was a private sports team there (soccer/football/rugby/whatever) that folded and sold to the county. I'm not saying the county has an obligation to continue what a private business built, but, the fact is, SSS was holding regular races right up to covid and the family took that as an opportunity to move on. Fine. The other fact is that the people and racers that utilized the speedway are still around and would still race and spend money there. There is literally nothing else like it anywhere else in the area. Admittedly, I think it's a little bit of a pipe dream that it will survive just because of the way the area is going, but I'm still gonna make my voice heard when I can on it.

I would just hate for SSS to get leveled for something we don't need without giving it a fair shake first. Seems to me it would be a pretty cheap investment on the scale of Chesterfield to give it a shot and see if it works. Take some of the money that would have been spent on something new and work on getting traffic to flow in the area.

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Rain-Gold t1_iwehgpt wrote

If they spent some money to fix it up and getting it looking nicer again, get a decent food/drink bar, and just a tiny bit of advertising, SSS would take off again and be packed. Everything is right there, just needs a little TLC.

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rvavt t1_iwei0pm wrote

Ok, I do have to mention now that the conversation is continuing that there are neighborhoods right across the street from the raceway. The sound is still pretty loud more than mile away, so I can only imagine what it’s like a couple hundred yards away.

If the county could make 50% of the money on a track as a different use could, I’d say “git ‘ER done!!!” I’d be willing to wager a significant sum that there are several uses which will produce FAR more revenue and will not negatively impact adjacent homes. Speaking of which, the county will be subject to many lawsuits from those homeowners if they think of reopening it as a raceway. Something about the right to quiet enjoyment (a foundational property right) and the raceway no longer being grandfathered as a permitted use comes to mind.

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hi_revver t1_iwej5wh wrote

You need to look at your map again. Across the street is a sports field, the dump, and a bunch of industrial stuff. There's already loud concerts right up the road.. what's the difference?

What are these uses you propose that will make FAR more money? Last I checked all that was proposed was more of the same stuff that the county is losing money on (sports fields and the like).

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rvavt t1_iwel7cv wrote

No I don’t. I’ve BEEN to that neighborhood during a race. It’s loud. And there are homes less than 1500’feet away. You need to check your maps.

Edit: To add, it’s not the actual profit on the business that matters, it’s the additional tax revenue. Sports tourism is incredibly valuable because non residents spend money and pay taxes when they come to the events. Think of numbers of visitors, numbers of hotel rooms, numbers of meals. A small speedway with one event per week attracting a couple hundred local residents generates fractions of the tax dollars that a destination sports complex with supporting hotels and restaurants would.

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hi_revver t1_iwenov2 wrote

So which street are you referring to?

I know there are houses in the area, just not "across the street". They hear the concerts too. Should we get rid of everything that makes noise? 60 years every Friday night there was a race there and somehow people survived.

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rvavt t1_iwg76xy wrote

Ridge Road.

The speedway existed well before those homes were built (late 80’s), so those owners had no case against the speedway. However, now that it’s closed I’m sure a case could be made that reopening it as a speedway would harm property values which have now appreciated without the issue of being adjacent to an active speedway.

I’m certainly not saying that the county hypothetically should have forced the SSS to close back in 2019, because that would have violated the speedway owners’ property rights. But it’s closed now and has been sold, so there really isn’t a speedway there at all.

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hi_revver t1_iwg8pxi wrote

Your argument still doesn't make sense. You said that if the county could make money off the speedway you'd say "Get 'er done!". We're saying the county could make money off it. Just going off what you said that should trump the issue of noise for those homeowners because it's a better use for the entirety of the county.

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rvavt t1_iwgbg1s wrote

In taxes. Tax revenue is the goal.

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