Cabarrus County’s tourism industry – at full throttle during major race events at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May and October – continues to pick up speed between the races. Between the races, fans come here to get up close and personal with restrictor plates, watch the pit crews train and hear the engines roar in their home garages. They hope to catch their favorite driver or crew chief for an autograph and handshake.
Recent polls show that 40 percent of NASCAR’s 75 million fans are women, and their numbers are growing. This trend helps fuel Cabarrus County’s appeal as a racing destination, because the woman of the house tends to plan family vacations. If she and her family are race fans, she will be drawn to Cabarrus County race shops, motorsports museums, driving and riding experiences and behind-the-scenes tours of the superspeedway most NASCAR drivers call home.
Motorsports are indeed a magnet for visitor activity in Cabarrus County. They channel visitors not only to our celebrated racing attractions, but also to world class shopping at Concord Mills and The Village in Kannapolis, to historic sites like Reed Gold Mine and Historic Downtown Concord and to our area’s cultural and recreational amenities. This visitor activity, however, is only the beginning of the story. Motorsports also provide an energized backdrop that is attracting an impressive list of future tourism development to Cabarrus County.
The Embassy Suites Golf Resort Hotel & Spa and Concord Convention Center, new in January 2007, is already expanding from 308 to 433 two-room suites and from 42,000 to 62,000 square feet of event space. Opening in mid-2009, Great Wolf Lodge is currently building an indoor full-service family resort offering a comprehensive package of family entertainment and lodging amenities including 402 all-suite guest rooms, 98,000 square-foot indoor entertainment area featuring one of the world’s largest indoor water parks, 20,000 square feet of meeting space, multiple food outlets, spas for adults and kids, children’s craft room, 100-game arcade, 18-hole outdoor miniature golf course, tech center, fitness center, gift emporium and movie and musical entertainment.
The entire region celebrated when Bruton Smith announced he would build a first-class, $60 million drag strip at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, attracting top-tier events and expanding Cabarrus County’s appeal as a visitor destination. The zMax Dragway @ Concord is currently under construction and in September 2008 will host its inaugural event, the National Hot Rod Association Carolinas Nationals. Beginning in 2009, the Dragway will host two major events and a host of other events annually.
