News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Crossville will be the home of a new Motorsports park that will be more than a race track but an entertainment destination.
Flatrock USA leading the project that will be located off exit 338 of I-40. Developer and Founding Partner Rusty Bittle said the concept plans for hotels, restaurants and campgrounds to reach more than Motorsport fans.
“I think one of the things that is always missing at the end of the day is that everybody wants to gather as friends and fellowship, and it’s hard to do that at a lot of tracks,” Bittle said. “When the day is over you pack up, they close the gates and everyone leaves, so I think this gives the opportunity for people to stay on site.”
Bittle said the project is currently in the engineer phase and will have a six mile road track for car and bike racing. Bittle said the goal is to break ground in the fall and have a portion of the track completed in the summer of next year.
“We’re trying to use the existing topography as much as possible and keep a natural setting,” Bittle said. “It’s pretty quick to construct once we get through engineering. We hope to break ground sometime in September or October.”
Bittle said he choose Crossville due to its easy access and central location in the United States. Bittle originally was going to build in Oak Ridge, but the site did not work out.
“I have looked at a lot of land over the 15 years trying to find an ideal location,” Bittle said. “I ended up in Oak Ridge looking at a site there that didn’t work out after 18 months. Ironically, the Plataea Partnership property I had looked at prior to Oak Ridge. That site is ideally located. It is centrally located to the United States. It is less than a days travel to 2/3’s of the US population. It has very easy ingress and egress off the interstate. We feel like it is a premier location.”
Bittle said based on a previous market study, the company anticipates the park to bring some $100 million dollars to the economy over a five year span.
“The Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama, which is nothing but a track and a museum, did over a billion dollars in a 10 year period.,” Bittle said. “Our performance just on the track alone without any of the amenities on a very conservative basis, this was done by an independent study from a company that Tilke the engineering firm that we are working with hired. Those numbers show right at $100 million over a five year period.”
Bittle said a more detailed site plan will be released Wednesday. Bittle said Flatrock USA is excited to be a part of the Cumberland County community.
