It could be months before New Hampshire Motor Speedway has the chance to get its proposal for a three-day country music festival approved.
But that’s not a concern to the race track’s General Manager David McGrath, who said the recent decision by both of Loudon’s land use boards to deem the festival of regional impact was expected, and is part of the process of diversifying their business.
“Nothing that is occurring is unusual,” McGrath said. “We know the process and are fans of getting the regional impact study done. …We’ll never say it’s a setback.”
The Loudon Zoning Board of Adjustment voted unanimously to deem the proposal to have regional impact and tabled all discussion until the abutting towns were notified Thursday night, a week after the town’s planning board came to the same conclusion.
The speedway was originally hoping to hold the concert series in late July or early August. However, it was clear the proposal would have to wait at least a year after questions were raised about a 1989 settlement against NHMS and the town of Loudon, where the agreement specifically banned concerts not associated with a race. The race track has argued the parking lot where the concert would be held is outside the agreement, as the land was purchased after the settlement was made.
McGrath said he wasn’t worried that the decision would hamper their ability to hire talent for the festival. “We’ve got plenty of runway on that,” he said.
He also said he welcomed the input of other towns on the subject, saying the track is invested in being a good neighbor. He also said the festival’s projected number of guests – 60,000 over the three days – is a “fraction” of the 100,000 the track can hold, and would not have the same impact as a NASCAR race.
But the festival is not meant to replace the September Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which will move to Las Vagas next year, leaving the Loudon race track with one NASCAR race, McGrath said.
“At this point, our job at the Speedway is to be evaluating new things to bring to the property,” he said. “We need people to start thinking about us as an entertainment complex that also has NASCAR races.”
Officials in Pittsfield and Canterbury agreed they would be interested in taking advantage of their abutter status to weigh in on the proposal, which if approved would take place during next summer.
Pittsfield Town Administrator Cara Marston said the race track benefits the Pittsfield community economically – youth baseball teams and nonprofits do clean-up work at track events as fundraisers, and restaurants see more customers than usual. The town’s police department is hired by Loudon to help with traffic control during the big NASCAR events.
(The races) “are definitely not a burden to the town,” Marston said. “If something doesn’t replace the September race, there could be ramifications to consider.”
Arthur Hudson, Canterbury selectman, said although the select board has not formally talked about the impact the festival could have on the town, residents have raised concerns about the potential for excess noise and traffic.
“People in Canterbury would like it to be a bedroom community,” he said. “They want it to be easygoing without a bunch of noise.”
Hudson lives about a mile from the track, and he said the facility is busy year-round with local clubs, driving lessons and smaller race series, which he can hear from his home. The noise during the day personally doesn’t bother him, he said.
A music festival, however, would have a different impact, he said. “I personally would not like to hear the loud music at night,” he said.