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New York, New York Halls of fame are small businesses, generally tucked away in out-of-the-way spots like Cooperstown, New York or Canton, Ohio, homes to baseball's and football's historical showcases, respectively. So for Charlotte, North Carolina, to cough up $154 million for the right to build NASCAR's Hall of Fame in the city's expanding downtown justifiably has the business buzzing. Could it possibly be worth it, and will the famously loyal fans of auto racing show in the eye-popping numbers predicted? "The Hall of Fame is good for Charlotte in terms of getting it generally excited," said Max Muhleman, a long time sports marketing consultant based in the city. "And it was very good for NASCAR, in that it pulled off what was one of the best league-organized promotions of our time. The deal they cut was so beneficial to NASCAR, my hat is off to them, but it will remain to be seen how the city does on it."  Dale Jarrett is a lock for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Charlotte, which held off four other cities, notably Atlanta, in winning the hall, in some ways can't lose. It chose the decidedly uncourageous approach of funding the bulk of its rich bid through a hotel and motel tax increase. Many municipalities have funded stadiums this way to allow the local population to enjoy their sports without quite having to pay for it. The have-your-cake and eat-it-too approach: get your stadium but let out of town visitors pay for it. So Charlotte agreed to hike its hotel tax from six percent to eight percent, covering about two-thirds of the bid cost. The remainder comes from other local sources like sponsorships, state land sales and the visitors' bureau. And the museum shares licensing and ticket income with NASCAR. Tim Newman, chief executive of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA), the agency that organized the hall bid, predicts when the building opens in 2009, it will be profitable right away. Newman expects attendance of 800,000 in year one, and leveling down to 400,000 in year 10. Even after a decade, that gate would make it the top attended sports hall of fame, besting baseball's around 300,000 average. "The most comparable is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which did 1.1 million in year one and 480,000 in its 10th year," Newman said. NASCAR is also mulling building a 300,000 square-foot hotel next to the museum, a move that would pump additional money back into the city. A decision is expected shortly. For Charlotte, the hall is much more significant, however, than just a dollars and cents equation. Long the south's number two city behind Atlanta, Charlotte saw obtaining America's number one spectator sport's hall as a must-have. "It's going to be a terrific tourism stimulant and overall branding of the region," said Jim Nash, a Bank of America executive and CRVA board of director.
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