INDUSTRY: Dover Motorsports agrees to sell Nashville Superspeedway

Dover Motorsports, Inc., whose subsidiaries own and operate Nashville Superspeedway, has announced it has "entered into a definitive agreement" to sell the Nashville facility to Panattoni Development Company, an international commercial real estate development company that specializes in industrial, office and build-to-suit projects.

Under the terms of the agreement, Dover Motorsports and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nashville Speedway U.S.A., Inc., will sell the speedway facility, related equipment and assets for $27.5 million in cash and the assumption of obligations of Dover Motorsports under bonds issued in 1999 to build infrastructure improvements benefiting the speedway. The bonds have a balance of $17.2 million.

The sale could close in the first quarter of 2017, subject to closing conditions and zoning approvals.

This is not the first time a buyer has been lined up for the track. In May 2014, Dover Motorsports announced a deal to sell to global technology company NeXovation for $46 million. But at least seven deadlines failed to be met for finalizing the sale.

The unique 1.3-mile oval, which opened in 2001, was conceived as a compromise design that would accommodate both stock cars and open-wheelers and hosted both IndyCar and second-tier NASCAR events. Despite early success (ABOVE: the start of the 2008 IndyCar event, LAT photo), attendance proved disappointing and Dover Motorsports ended racing operations at the facility in 2011.