Yet another NASCAR track forced to remove 60% of its grandstands

Ten years ago, more than 100,000 people could fit around the New Hampshire Magic Mile in Loudon.

Now, the maximum capacity of the racetrack is just over 40,000 people as the track was forced to remove grandstands to avoid embarrassing empty seats like IndyCar has at some oval tracks – makes your series look like a complete loser.

The decline of available seats has given way to a new emphasis on altering and improving the fan experience.

“Just like any pro sport, attendance is down and TV is up, so what we are trying to do is make it when you do come, the experience is three times greater,” said Matt Goslant, vice president of operations and development for the speedway.

Now, every other row in the grandstand has been removed to provide more space. With cup holders and bar tops installed in the stands, fans have more room to watch, eat, drink and enjoy.

A full section of the grandstands, roughly 10,000 seats, was removed to accommodate Rock Point. But for Goslant, the trade off between the number of seats versus quality of the experience was worth it.

As cars speed around Turn 4 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend, fans will be able to stand just a few feet from the Loudon track while drinking a beer and playing lawn games on green turf.

The track’s new bar and viewing area called Rock Point will debut this weekend as NASCAR comes to New Hampshire for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 race.

“It was a toss-up of ‘do you upgrade and spend the money on infrastructure that we already have plenty of,’ ” he said. “Or ‘do we take them down and transform the space into something kind of new and fresh and different.’ ”

“The days of sitting in your seat for three hours are over,” he said. “We want people to get up and view the facility from different vantage points.”