DAYTONA BEACH -- The Daytona 500 is just one race. I will say that growing up in DeLand, I was not that interested in the races. I only went to one race and it was not one of the big ones and I had no clue who the drivers were and I still do not know. But I do know how important Daytona International Speedway and the Daytona 500, the Coke Zero 400 and the other races are to the economy of Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Central Florida and Florida as a whole.
The Daytona 500 is just one race. I will say that growing up in DeLand, I was not that interested in the races. I only went to one race and it was not one of the big ones and I had no clue who the drivers were and I still do not know. But I do know how important Daytona International Speedway and the Daytona 500, the Coke Zero 400 and the other races are to the economy of Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Central Florida and Florida as a whole.
Recently Dorothy Hukill presented legislation to give the International Speedway $60 million worth of tax breaks over 30 years, if the parent company, International Speedway Corp., completes a $250 million construction project. Some say it is sports welfare, but if a company is willing to spend that kind of money that would generate more jobs in the area and more revenue for the businesses surrounding it, then what's wrong with that?
Growing up in Volusia, I have seen the impact of the speedway. Think about the dynamics of Daytona Beach if the speedway wasn't here, if there was not a Daytona 500. We would be just another beach town, and I say this living in DeBary.
And even the beach atmosphere has diminished somewhat. The heyday of Spring Break and MTV is more than 20 years from its heyday -- in fact, gone. You can't even drive on that part of the beach any more.
The speedway is one of the first things people see when they get off of 95. It brings several hundred thousand people here and millions of people view the races on television and the internet. Per a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel, over 60 percent of the people that come to the Daytona 500 are from outside the state of Florida. Wiki.answers had 112,500 in attendance in 2012, so that means some 67,500 were people from out of state for this one race.
That does not even take into account those from outside Central Florida who still drive in. All these people who are from out of reasonable driving distant stay in local hotels, eat in local restaurants, shop in local stores. I am not just talking about Daytona Beach, but the surrounding cities as well.
I guess growing up local, you almost become immune to specials events so close to home. I was here during the height of Spring Break yet only ventured into Daytona one year. I knew what times of the year to avoid Daytona because of the races unless you wanted to get stuck in several hours of traffic on I-4 or 17-92.
What I learned of the races was from my time working at the United Way. One of our fundraisers was called "Target Parking." This was a way Target could remain open during the races.
Several weekends a year, what would happen is instead of Target having their employees managing the parking lot, they allowed United Way to use it as a fundraiser. We managed the parking lot and kept a section for customers.
The rest of the parking lot was ours to raise money through parking spaces. We would be out there from around 5 a.m. until midnight. We had to get there so early because people would try to park there in the wee hours of the morning. One time we arrived to see an RV in a reserved spot. We were told it would not start. We said we could call a tow truck for them and amazingly it started a few minutes later and they drove off.
That was also how the the races directly benefited a local charity. But I also learned that the enthusiasm of the race fans cannot be matched. People drove in ready for the races, wearing the insignia of their favorite driver.
We give many other businesses tax incentives. Why not a business that not only creates jobs directly, but also impacts the well-being of other local businesses in a positive manner. I say it is a win-win for all of us.
We give many other businesses tax incentives. Why not a business that not only creates jobs directly, but also impacts the well-being of other local businesses in a positive manner. I say it is a win-win for all of us.