NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville’s highly contested Fairground Speedway was back in the courtroom Monday, as attorneys argued whether the latest petition to replace racing would confuse potential voters.
Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal heard arguments from both sides, including attorney Seth Cline, who represents Neil Chaffin.
The former driver filed a lawsuit in Chancery Court challenging the petition spearheaded by Mike Kopp and the racetrack opposition group, Fairgrounds Preservation Partners. As well as former Nashville law director Saul Solomon.
The lawsuit asks Moskal to vacate the petition’s certification by Nashville’s Charter Revision Commission because the petition's language does not accurately describe what it seeks to accomplish.
Cline said the petition title alone, “Updating the Functions and Duties of the Metropolitan Board of Fair Commissioners,” says nothing about their intended goal of ending racing at the fairgrounds.
“The title said everything, but what it was really trying to do…It could have said banning racing at the fairgrounds. That would have been very clear,” Cline said.
The petition later says they would replace language in the city’s charter with the following:
“Continue activities, other than auto racing, on the premises of the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, including but not limited to, the Tennessee State Fair, Expo Center Events, Flea Markets, and Affordable and/or Workforce Housing.”
Cline zeroed in on the term “Tennessee State Fair,” saying the petition is inaccurate since the state fair has been held in Wilson County since 2020.
Cline said the respondents had time to make an amendment to the petition but chose to leave language that refers to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds.
“They could have simply said this is about whether to ban racing at the fairgrounds…That simple change in language and there wouldn’t be an argument over uncertainty,” Cline said.
Attorney Will Helou represented the respondents and told the court that the language appears in the existing charter, that both sides agree may have outdated information regarding the State Fair.
“Any reasonable Davidson County voter would understand that we’re talking about a local fairground and not some fairground outside the county,” Helou said.
Moskal interjected that she thought Nashville Fair or Nashville Fairgrounds would have been clearer, but later asked Cline who he felt bears the burden of making sure the charter language is accurate.
Cline said he felt it is the responsibility of the Charter Revision Commission to accept petitions that are accurate and use the most up-to-date language possible, before they are approved.
“You’re saying it’s the charter commission that needs to be proactive to say the petitioner needs to make sure their petition reflects that there’s outdated language in the charter? But that’s not one of their jobs,” Moskal said.
The hearing ended with Moskal saying she will take all the arguments under advisement very briefly. Attorneys were not given a date for when to expect an order, but they anticipate a decision by later this week.
Moskal said she understood the urgency behind a decision, since every day that passes is another day the respondents could have been gathering the necessary signatures to put the fate of racing at the fairgrounds on a November ballot.
If Moskal allows the petition to continue, respondents will have until July 5 to gather roughly 50,000 signatures, so they can be verified in time by the election commission.
The respondents' latest motion addressed the timeline.
“That is a significant undertaking even with the full 90-day period the Charter allows, and each additional day of delay makes that undertaking more difficult,” the motion said.
Nashville passed a referendum in 2011 with more than 70 percent of voters agreeing to preserve all uses of the fairground including racing. Any new changes to the charter require either 27 Metro Council members to agree or 50,000 signatures to put the issue to a countywide vote.
The debate over what to do with the racetrack has spanned five mayors, but former Mayor John Cooper appeared the closest with a deal in 2021 where Speedway Motorsports would invest in helping renovate the racetrack. This included doubling the number of seats to match the incoming Geodis Park soccer stadium next door.
The deal ultimately stalled by the time Cooper left office as mayor, but he says Nashville SC owner John Ingram knew all along that the intention was for the grandstands to one day have the same number of seats as the stadium.
Years after Ingram pledged to be a good partner to racing, he now aligns himself with neighborhood groups that want to replace racing with affordable housing.
Ingram declined an interview but said through a spokesperson that his vision for the fairgrounds aligns more with what these neighborhood groups have proposed.
“We are aligned with their vision of what the Fairgrounds could be and will support their efforts to ask voters to weigh in on the future there,” Ingram said.
Speedway Motorsports has shown interest in reviving NASCAR’s history in Nashville and bringing racing back to one of the country’s oldest tracks. A deal that Cooper says could preserve not just Nashville’s commitment to the past, but define how we keep these commitments in the future.
A sold-out crowd at the Tootsie’s Music City Showdown featuring the CARS Tour renewed some of that new hope that NASCAR could one day return to the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
If you have any questions or comments about the racetrack debate, you can email me at Levi.Ismail@newschannel5.com.
