Motorsports park would be like 'candy store' for car lovers

Despite what you might envision, the proposed Oak Ridge Motorsports Park would be a far cry from Bristol Motor Speedway.

Founding partner Rusty Bittle and his high-profile investors envision it as an entertainment complex for car enthusiasts — a park-like setting to take one's Porsche or Bugatti and drive it really, really fast.

The $50 million project, still in its infancy, would utilize long-empty industrial land in Oak Ridge's West End.

It could generate about $93 million in revenue in five years, according to a study financed by the project's consulting firm.

The project faces neighbor opposition, rezoning hurdles and pending Department of Energy approval before work could begin.

"This will be a huge regional destination," Bittle told Knox News. "I think people will come literally from all over the United States ... just to experience a track. I think the city of Oak Ridge will become synonymous with motorsports."

A place to play with 'toys'

Bittle has contracted motorsports park specialists Tilke Engineers & Architects to design and construct the track in a natural setting, modeled after courses like Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

Club members and the public can drive everything from a Mercedes to an antique race car on the 4.5-mile loop, potentially reaching speeds of up to 160 miles per hour, though speeds have not been finalized, Bittle said.

The park plan also includes a kart racing track, garages, off-roading, driver training, conference spaces, walking trails, a hotel, a restaurant and other amenities.

Bittle wants to establish a research and development lab on the property for testing autonomous vehicles and other technology. Oak Ridge National Laboratory operates a Vehicle Systems Integration Laboratory that develops and tests transportation technology and has "expressed interest" in the project, Bittle said.

If the motorsports park clears its hurdles, Bittle estimated the track could be completed within 18 months.

Teddy Phillips, CEO of heavy civil construction contractor Phillips & Jordan, and Kevin Clayton, CEO of Clayton Homes, will invest in the project, which is not seeking public funding or tax abatements.

Phillips' family owned Smoky Mountain Raceway in the 1970s, and he remembers going to the race track every Saturday night. A motorsports park would bring that same experience to people who have a passion for cars and driving, not just professional racers.

"They’re social clubs," Phillips said. "It’s a place where people can go and spend their time and play with their toys."

Unused industrial land would require rezoning

The park would take up about 320 unused acres at Horizon Center Industrial Park, an industrial park off Highway 95 in Roane County and near Oak Ridge's proposed private airport, providing access for wealthy car enthusiasts.  

The Department of Energy established the 1,000-acre Horizon Center in 1996 for the city of Oak Ridge. DOE still owns about 468 of those acres, which are designated as natural areas. The rest of the property is zoned for industrial use and owned by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.

The IDB would sell lots 5, 6 and 7 to Bittle for $4.8 million under two conditions. The DOE must approve the use and sale of 58 acres of protected land, and Oak Ridge City Council must approve a new zoning ordinance that would allow for the park.

Though Bittle's proposal does not fit the industrial purpose of Horizon Center land, it will create jobs and increase revenue for the city of Oak Ridge, said IDB chairman David Wilson, which is the IDB's primary task.

"When someone brings you something that’s outside the box ... do you just ignore it or do you try to change the box for the betterment of all the people of Oak Ridge, Anderson County, Roane County?" Wilson said.

Neighbors question noise levels, property values

The proposed use is ruffling feathers with nearby residents accustomed to the area's natural (and quiet) surroundings.

Don Barkman lives on West View Lane in the West Woods subdivision, a neighborhood with about 195 homes.

Barkman's house is separated from the proposed track by one mile of wooded conservation land known as the Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement (BORCE), a 3,000-acre reserve that features biking and walking trails.

Barkman leads "Scrap the Track," a group on Facebook that opposes the track for the  potential noise levels, which it argues could lower property values of surrounding homes.

Several organizations oppose the project, including Oak Ridgers for Responsible Development and Oak Ridge's Environmental Quality Advisory Board.

"What we're for is protecting the quality of life of the people that live out in the vicinity of the track," Barkman told Knox News. "We would be adversely affected if it's too noisy."

According to a preliminary noise mitigation study provided by Bittle, a Porsche GT would generate 103 decibels at the track. One mile away on Whippoorwill Drive, that number is 28.5 decibels, the study indicated. Oak Ridgers for Responsible Development has questioned the validity of the study.

Bittle said the track would adhere to Oak Ridge noise ordinances and committed to additional independent testing if the city approves the park.

"If we meet that noise ordinance at our property lines, most people aren't going to hear any more than what they hear with cars going down the street," Bittle said.

Sports cars running day-to-day on the track must have mufflers, Bittle said, and would not be as loud as NASCAR or Formula 1 vehicles. But it's possible the track could host louder sanctioned races once or twice a year.

"The developer is going to risk his money to develop the track, but if the track runs, noisy or otherwise, he's going to get a reward with the business and the profit that's going to drop to his bottom line," Barkman said, questioning why home owners should risk their property values.

Barkman said his group is gathering information on the impact motorsports parks have had in other communities and sharing that with city representatives and citizens. Neighbors filed noise lawsuits against the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky and the Lime Rock Park in Connecticut.

"He's got what is a very appealing idea, it's like a candy store for car enthusiasts, but he just wants to put it in the wrong spot," Barkman said.

But the property at Horizon Center has been marketed by various organizations over the last few decades and has remained mostly empty.

Waiting for council, DOE approval

The motorsports park must clear several hurdles to move forward. City Council will review and discuss the proposed recreation district in a work session March 16.

If the proposal moves past the work session, council must, over two readings, approve the new zoning ordinance, which would allow for a motorsports park and other experiences.

Next, Bittle must apply to rezone the land he wants to purchase, subject to council approval. Then Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission must approve a site development plan.

The project also requires DOE approval, as Bittle would need to build his track over two pieces of land owned by the DOE, about 58 acres.

It is also evaluating the environmental impact of a motorsports park, a DOE spokesperson said.

"The Industrial Development Board of Oak Ridge (IDB) has submitted a letter to DOE requesting transfer of the DOE-owned land," according to a statement from the Department of Energy. "DOE is evaluating that request and any potential transaction would be with that organization."

Between the state's auto manufacturing industry, ORNL's vehicle research and car enthusiasts who travel each year to drive U.S. 129, known as "The Tail of the Dragon," Bittle and other supporters say there is a demand for a motorsports park that's accessible for hobbyists.

Bittle estimates there are "hundreds" of people in East Tennessee who travel to track days each weekend at motorsports parks across the country. The closest track is Atlanta Motorsports Park.

The Tilke economic impact study estimated 40,000 visitors would utilize the motorsports park in the first year.

If the deal falls through, Wilson, chairman of the IDB, said Oak Ridge will have lost, "a new identity, they will have lost an enormous amount of money, and they would have lost a great deal of PR.”

The Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham generated about $122 million in state and local tax revenues from 2003-2012, according to the Greater Birmingham Visitors and Convention Bureau.

"Every event I go to is sold out," Bittle said. "I've got a lot of friends that have tried to rent tracks for the weekends to do some events like this, there are none available. I think what we've seen, the demand has always been high for track events, but I think, as you know, COVID kind of changed everybody's mindset. Everybody wants to be on the lake, everybody wants to camp, people want to be outside."

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, by Brenna McDermott

The East Tennessee Economic Development Agency markets and recruits business for the 15 counties in the greater Knoxville-Oak Ridge region of East Tennessee. Visit www.eteda.org

Published March 17, 2021