It’s full speed ahead for New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s plan to hold a country music festival on its property later this year after the state Supreme Court agreed to give them the green light.
“To finally get the court’s ruling that it is going to happen is a big sigh of relief,” said David McGrath, the speedway’s executive vice president and general manager. “This will help drive the state’s economy for years to come.”
Three neighbors had sued the track in 2017 arguing an agreement with the town in 1989 prevented the track’s new owners from holding concerts on the current property. A superior court judge ruled in the racetrack’s favor last year and the neighbors appealed to the state’s highest court.
In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court sided with the Speedway, citing several instances where the 1989 agreement illustrates that it was only expected to apply to the existing property.
“Taken together, these provisions show that the parties to the settlement agreement were focused solely on the specific property owned by (New Hampshire Speedway) in 1989 and crafted the agreement to squarely address the concerns surrounding the planned expansion of the property at that specific point in time,” the justices wrote.
One of the neighbors said he and his neighbors will accept the supreme court’s decision as the final word, even if they don’t agree.
“Obviously we’re disappointed with the decision,” said Jim Snyder, who filed suit with neighbors Arnold Alpert and Judith Elliot. “You win some, you lose some.”
The 1989 settlement limiting concerts at the track was made after Bob Bahre purchased the speedway, formerly Bryar Motorsports Park, with the intention of expanding it into a multipurpose track in 1988. The agreement set regulations on the time racing could occur at the track and stated that the speedway “shall not permit any musical concerts of any type or description to be held on the premises currently known as New Hampshire International Speedway except in conjunction with racing events.”
The speedway successfully argued in Superior Court that the word “currently” in the agreement indicated the document applied only to the racetrack and property at that time and not to the lots on the southern end of the property, acquired by the speedway later in 1995, where the concerts are expected to be held.
“When we entered into this agreement years ago we thought we were negotiating with a business, not a piece of land,” Snyder said. “Sadly now, just by acquiring adjacent land, the track can do anything they can convince the Loudon Planning Board to approve, in spite of what was intended when we settled with the original owners.”
The ruling is welcome news at the racetrack, which lost one of its two premier NASCAR races last year and is looking to attract more visitors to the sprawling Loudon venue.
“For businesses in the capital region and for tourism, I think this is going to be a very big deal for the state for many years to come,” McGrath said.
In partnership with Live Nation, the country music festival will include camping and three days of music. McGrath said the track is expecting to sell about 25,000 tickets and host thousands of campers.
Planning for the event was on hold while the case was pending, and the goal is still to hold the concert in 2019, McGrath said.
As for the specific dates for the event and artists that will be performing, McGrath said music fans must stay tuned.
“Now it’s a matter planning. We’ve got to work with Live Nation on the schedule, contracts, things we have to develop. There’s a lot of behind the scenes work that will go on now. That starts tomorrow, literally.”