Timeline: The rocky road of the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway renovation proposal

Bristol Motor Speedway has had its sights set on a potential Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway renovation over the course of two prior mayoral administrations.

After Bristol requested Metro Council consideration of a proposal be deferred until local elections conclude and a new mayor and council take office, it now appears discussions will continue under yet another era of Nashville leadership.

Here is the history of the proposed Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway renovation deal under outgoing Nashville Mayor John Cooper's tenure.

More on the deal: Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway deal on 'pause' until next mayor, council take office

2020

• Jan. 31: Nashville Soccer Club owner John Ingram wrote in a letter to Nashville Mayor John Cooper, "You have indicated that expanding the race track is important to the Administration. Even though there is no deal in place to expand the track, the Team told you that we would be willing to modify its boundaries for the 10-acre site to accommodate future racing expansion possibilities."

• December: Cooper's administration begins publicly working toward a Fairgrounds Speedway revitalization agreement with Bristol Motor Speedway.

2021

• March: Cooper signs a letter of intent.

• Nov. 8: Speedway Motorsports, Bristol's parent company, acquires the Nashville Superspeedway in Gladeville.

• Nov. 30: Cooper enters an agreement in principle to Bristol Motor Speedway's proposal to overhaul Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and bring NASCAR Cup Series racing back to the 117-year-old track.

• Dec. 15: Bristol announces its intent to partner with six Nashville organizations to provide community benefits as part of the proposal.

2022

• March 8: Metro Fair Board member Jason Bergeron, a vocal critic of the deal, resigns due to "professional obligations." He later specified that he stepped down to avoid a potential conflict with GEODIS, his employer, which secured the naming rights to Nashville SC's stadium.

• March 29: Gov. Bill Lee asks state lawmakers to set aside a $17 million grant for renovations to the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, and $500 million in bonds for a new, enclosed Tennessee Titans stadium.

• May 25: Sports finance consulting firm Conventions, Sports & Leisure International (CSL) issues a review of the initial proposal for the deal's financial structure, finding its revenue projections to be too rosy.

• Sept. 13: The Metro Nashville Fair Board votes unanimously to formally request Cooper's administration provide an updated speedway condition report and a legal review of Metro's speedway obligations under the Metro Charter.

• Nov. 8: Lease and development agreements, amended to include a $17 million contribution from the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. in light of the CSL report findings, are presented to the Metro Nashville Fair Board for consideration.

2023

• Jan. 31: Cooper announces he will not seek a second mayoral term.

• March 14: The Metro Nashville Fair Board narrowly approves the deal in a 3-2 vote after a lengthy public hearing and discussion.

• May 5: Gov. Bill Lee signs a law lowering the approval threshold needed to renovate the Nashville Fairgrounds from a 27-vote Metro Council supermajority to 21 votes.

• May 24: Nashville files a lawsuit seeking to strike down the new law, arguing it overrides Metro's charter and violates the Home Rule Amendment of the Tennessee Constitution.

• May 30: Legislation for the deal is filed with Metro Council.

• May 31: John Ingram opposes the current proposal for speedway renovations in a letter sent to Metro Council members.

• June 2: Council members Colby Sledge, Bob Mendes and Sandra Sepulveda file a lawsuit against the new state law echoing the arguments made by Metro's similar lawsuit.

• June 6: The legislation for the bill is introduced to Metro Council and deferred by rule until the end of the Metro budget season.

• June 8: A Hart Research Associates poll of 624 Nashville residents commissioned by Bristol indicates most Nashvillians aren't familiar with the proposed deal. Without further information, support for the deal outstripped opposition among those surveyed and increased after pollsters provided a scripted explanation of the proposal. The poll included a 122-person sample of voters in communities surrounding the fairgrounds, of which 46% indicated support for the proposal and 26% indicated opposition, with a 9% margin of error.

• June 13: Goodlettsville Council member Zach Young, a vocal supporter of the deal, files "backup" legislation for the deal with Bristol, hedging against the possibility that the original legislation, sponsored by District 17 Council member Colby Sledge, could be withdrawn. Young also files a bill that would change a public meeting requirement for leasing certain Metro-owned properties to allow the speedway deal a greater chance at reaching a final vote this term. Sledge set the community meeting for July 25, leaving two meetings to consider the proposal, which needs three meetings to pass.

• June 13: Metro Council narrowly rejects a measure that would have made a budgetary change to one of the deal's primary funding sources: Metro-backed revenue bonds. A third of the governing body supported the measure, which would have sent the proposal back to the drawing board.

• June 23: Metro Council sends a list of questions to Ingram regarding his concerns with the proposal and whether Ingram or any entity related to him has funded efforts opposing the deal.

• June 26: A group of residents living near the racetrack file a lawsuit against the new state law similar to those filed by Metro and the group of Council members, seeking an injunction of the law that lowers the vote threshold needed to pass the deal.

• June 29: Professional driver Howard Tucker files a lawsuit against Metro, arguing Metro Council does not need a supermajority vote to approve the speedway deal.

• July 5: A Metro Council committee defers a bill proposed by Young to alter the public meeting requirements for Metro-leased land, which would have increased the deal's chances of reaching a final vote this term. This leaves few avenues for the deal to reach a final vote before the end of the current council term, unless the mayor, vice mayor or council call a special meeting.

• July 18: Bristol announces a legally binding benefits agreement with the Urban League of Middle Tennessee in support of the deal.

• July 19: Nashville SC Executive Vice President and CFO Mary Cavarra sends a letter in response to the Council's questions reiterating the sentiments of Ingram's initial letter to the council. It does not specifically address each question posed by the council, and does not address whether Ingram-related entities have funded deal opposition efforts.

• July 24: A poll conducted by Washington D.C.-based GBAO for Tennessee Laborers' PAC included a question regarding support for the proposed speedway deal and saw opposition from 61% of the survey's 500 participants.

• July 25: Sledge, Caldwell and Nashville Fairgrounds Director Laura Womack hold a community meeting about the deal, a key step before the deal can begin to be considered by Metro Council.

• Aug. 1: Bristol Motor Speedway requests a pause in consideration of the proposal until the next mayor and council take office, noting they anticipate moving forward with the deal under the new administration.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Timeline of Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway's renovation proposal