lmhb oyf
Nitro Member
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2006
- Messages
- 497
- Age
- 58
- Location
- Home of the U.S. Nationals
NOTE: This is a subscription based article so a link wouldn't have allowed for others to read it so Mods, feel free to delete if necessary.
Edited From the Indiana Business Journal:
A meeting between high-level National Hot Rod Association executives—including NHRA President Tom Compton—and Gov. Mitch Daniels and members of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. has fueled speculation that the drag racing group might be looking to significantly expand its presence here.
Officials with the Governor’s Office and IEDC confirmed the meeting. IEDC officials wouldn’t divulge what was discussed. A representative for Daniels said the governor met with NHRA officials just before the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in early September because he “wanted to express his appreciation to the organization for its many years in Indiana.”
More than 25 NHRA teams have their headquarters in Brownsburg, and John Force, a team owner who operates a 160,000-square-foot shop and retail outlet just west of Indianapolis, said NHRA officials should consider moving their headquarters here from Glendora, Calif., near where the sport was born in the early 1960s.
NHRA, which has more than 200 employees—most of them in Glendora, near Los Angeles—already has an office at O’Reilly Raceway Park due to Indianapolis’ central location and proximity to race-related businesses.
NHRA officials were tight-lipped about their meeting with the governor and denied there is a move to bring the headquarters here anytime soon.
“Business-wise, bringing the NHRA headquarters to central Indiana makes all the sense in the world,” Force said. “I, personally, think it’s time to take a serious look at it.”
Jerry Archambeault, NHRA vice president of communications, said he isn’t aware of any ongoing talks to bring the drag series’ headquarters to central Indiana, but he agreed the proposition has some merit.
“It would be tough to relocate to that marketplace from here, but having said that, [Indianapolis has] one of the most active and historic NHRA tracks in the nation, they have a gorgeous airport that more than meets our needs, a central geographical location and an ample motorsports talent pool,” said Archambeault, who grew up in northwestern Indiana before moving to California as a teen-ager.
If NHRA officials chose to move the headquarters here, they’d have plenty of potential locations to select from. The drag series already owns O’Reilly Raceway Park and could expand its recently updated office there. They could also look at Brownsburg’s Nitro Alley, a business strip named by the many NHRA inhabitants on the northwest side of the city. NHRA officials could also look for a site closer to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Speedway town officials are planning to create a massive motorsports-centric development called Speed Zone.
Force began expanding in Brownsburg five years ago and now has 55 of his 75 employees working there. His expansion plans include a larger retail presence, including a Mac Tools outlet, an expansion of the drag-racing museum he operates, a restaurant, and possibly a TV studio and hotel.
The cost of living and doing business is much cheaper in central Indiana than in California, said Force, adding that his team saves hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by being here.
On top of the city’s proximity to drag racing tracks and its ample supply of motorsports workers and parts makers, Force said tax breaks and other incentives offered by local authorities is helping grow the NHRA base here.
“With the tax breaks and expenses and materials being lower in Indiana, we built our building 40 percent cheaper than we could have in California,” Force said.
Edited From the Indiana Business Journal:
A meeting between high-level National Hot Rod Association executives—including NHRA President Tom Compton—and Gov. Mitch Daniels and members of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. has fueled speculation that the drag racing group might be looking to significantly expand its presence here.
Officials with the Governor’s Office and IEDC confirmed the meeting. IEDC officials wouldn’t divulge what was discussed. A representative for Daniels said the governor met with NHRA officials just before the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in early September because he “wanted to express his appreciation to the organization for its many years in Indiana.”
More than 25 NHRA teams have their headquarters in Brownsburg, and John Force, a team owner who operates a 160,000-square-foot shop and retail outlet just west of Indianapolis, said NHRA officials should consider moving their headquarters here from Glendora, Calif., near where the sport was born in the early 1960s.
NHRA, which has more than 200 employees—most of them in Glendora, near Los Angeles—already has an office at O’Reilly Raceway Park due to Indianapolis’ central location and proximity to race-related businesses.
NHRA officials were tight-lipped about their meeting with the governor and denied there is a move to bring the headquarters here anytime soon.
“Business-wise, bringing the NHRA headquarters to central Indiana makes all the sense in the world,” Force said. “I, personally, think it’s time to take a serious look at it.”
Jerry Archambeault, NHRA vice president of communications, said he isn’t aware of any ongoing talks to bring the drag series’ headquarters to central Indiana, but he agreed the proposition has some merit.
“It would be tough to relocate to that marketplace from here, but having said that, [Indianapolis has] one of the most active and historic NHRA tracks in the nation, they have a gorgeous airport that more than meets our needs, a central geographical location and an ample motorsports talent pool,” said Archambeault, who grew up in northwestern Indiana before moving to California as a teen-ager.
If NHRA officials chose to move the headquarters here, they’d have plenty of potential locations to select from. The drag series already owns O’Reilly Raceway Park and could expand its recently updated office there. They could also look at Brownsburg’s Nitro Alley, a business strip named by the many NHRA inhabitants on the northwest side of the city. NHRA officials could also look for a site closer to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Speedway town officials are planning to create a massive motorsports-centric development called Speed Zone.
Force began expanding in Brownsburg five years ago and now has 55 of his 75 employees working there. His expansion plans include a larger retail presence, including a Mac Tools outlet, an expansion of the drag-racing museum he operates, a restaurant, and possibly a TV studio and hotel.
The cost of living and doing business is much cheaper in central Indiana than in California, said Force, adding that his team saves hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by being here.
On top of the city’s proximity to drag racing tracks and its ample supply of motorsports workers and parts makers, Force said tax breaks and other incentives offered by local authorities is helping grow the NHRA base here.
“With the tax breaks and expenses and materials being lower in Indiana, we built our building 40 percent cheaper than we could have in California,” Force said.
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