NASCAR could soon expand its footprint in the South.
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba of Jackson, Miss., revealed during a special session of the Jackson City Council on Wednesday that NASCAR has expressed interest in building a race track in the area, according to the Jackson Free Press.
Lumumba used the session to ask that the city council reauthorize the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau, and double the tourist and convention tax that provides funding for the JCVB. The JCVB’s budget under the current tax rate of 1 percent is $3.5 million.
The council ultimately voted to reauthorize the bureau, but abstained from approving the higher tax rate. Although JCVB president and CEO Wanda Wilson presented a list of ideas for how the organization would utilize the extra funding, the lack of specifics gave council members pause.
“Well, actually, there is no concrete plan right now,” Wilson said.
In addition to the potential for a NASCAR-sanctioned facility, the plan reportedly names public relations and marketing efforts, as well as support for the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History, as projects it would put the additional $3.5 million toward.
