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 PAGE 2NASCAR Silicon Motor SpeedwayTM Races to Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center The highly anticipated Entertainment and Retail Center at Peabody Place in downtown Memphis just keeps getting better and better. NASCAR Silicon Motor SpeedwayTM is the latest to join the likes of such high profile tenants as Jillian’s and Muvico. California-based Silicon Entertainment, Inc. announced it will open a 6,000-square-foot interactive racing center and retail store in the Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center.
Officially licensed by NASCAR, NASCAR Silicon Motor SpeedwayTM couples the thrill of stock car racing, the fastest growing sport in the country, with state-of-the-art computer technology to bring their customers the adventure of interactive race car driving. NASCAR Silicon Motor SpeedwayTM will feature 12, two-passenger interactive simulators, each mounted on a sophisticated motion platform and outfitted with functional steering wheels, gauges, gas, clutch and brake pedals. Each racecar provides the driver and passenger a 140-degree view of the racing action around them via five high-definition wrap-around video screens and 3-D audio system. To achieve real-life racing conditions, Silicon Entertainment received design support from NASCAR Winston Cup drivers who also are stockholders in the project. Three-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, 1989 champion Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Michael Waltrip, Kenny Irwin and Jeremy Mayfield all provided turn-by-turn analysis of the simulators during the design phase. Drivers at NASCAR Silicon Motor SpeedwayTM will be able to choose from three track options: Lowe’s (Charlotte) Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway or Atlanta Motor Speedway – all precisely replicated from the banking of the turns and the “speed” of the track to the aesthetics of the grandstands and track environment.
Other tenants in the 300,000-square-foot facility include Jillian’s, a multi-dimensional food and entertainment retailer. The 55,000-square-foot facility will feature a sports video café, seven bars, 12 billiard tables, private party rooms, a bowling alley, a dance club, banquet facilities, and more than 200 electronic simulation games. The center’s largest entertainment venue, Muvico, will occupy 90,000 square feet. The facility will feature 21 movie theatres and a 3-D IMAX® with IMAX® Personal Sound Environment. When completed, the entire Peabody Place development will contain approximately two million square feet of space, which includes 762 hotel rooms, 201 apartments, 565,000 square feet of office space, 420,000 square feet of retail space, and 3,600 parking spaces. The development is the largest mixed-use urban development currently under way in the United States. Photos (from top to bottom):
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“Silicon Entertainment’s NASCAR Silicon Motor SpeedwayTM retail concept is a natural fit within the world-class entertainment and retail destination we are creating in downtown Memphis,” said Andrew J. Groveman, senior vice president of Belz Enterprises. “Their decision to operate at Peabody Place marks yet another milestone in what is already promising to be one of our most successful ventures.”
Unlike other entertainment centers, NASCAR Silicon Motor SpeedwayTM offers a driver’s friends and family a role in the racing action. They can drive in the race against each other; they can serve as a driver’s in-car racing spotter to monitor speed, lap times, status of track accidents and race standings; or spectators may take track-side seats in an actual racing grandstand. The view from the grandstand encourages bantering among friends and family who can cheer for their drivers.