City to hand HOF another welfare check

The Charlotte City Council is poised to approve a $32 million addition to the NASCAR Hall of Fame budget tonight. But council members still want to know whether there will be more increases to the project's price. The latest increase would bring the hall's cost to $195 million, up from about $160 million two years ago. The city is paying for most of the project with a hotel room tax that cannot be spent on anything else. The income from that tax has been better than expected, officials say. The city is also contributing money from land sales along I-277. Officials emphasize that no property taxes will go toward the hall. The city would fund the budget increase mainly by restructuring loans and delaying royalty payments to NASCAR. — Charlotte Observer