Bristol Herald Courier from Bristol, Tennessee • 1

plans up for Martin stays on track captures Lr 250 state review Page IB Sullivan landfill fcx Syracuse in NCAA finale Page 1C fess ff rOO Bristol Herald Courier Outside Cooler and rainy with a a chance of thunderstorms today and tonight Page 1 0A Calendar 2D Classified 1E 14E Community 1D 10D Deaths 2A LocalStates 1B 10B Opinion 8A 9A Special Occasions 3D Sports 1C 10C Weather 10A So what if America has more food than other nations it also has more diets Herald CourlerMike Jackson a Raising revenues key to future 1 Jdfc pp' xx'x dngpWy £sh ij! fl hQbKBsk HBIRRMHRWiR KM 11 Stands their steelwork muted by the mist rise above Bristol International Raceway which has seen seating capacity explode over the past few years Above Jeff Byrd president and general manager of BIR gestures as he describes improvement plans for the' race track Herald Courier Bill McKee If we park the cars and increase the revenues then that land growing (car) bumpers on will go back to grazing land again They be making that money be cause the races will be some where else not a threat not meant to be a threat just Jeff Byrd Vice president general manager of BIR By MARK HYLER Bristol Herald Courier A record crowd is expected to fill the grandstands of Bristol International Raceway today for the ood City 500 but that record may not stand for long at least not if the new ad ministration is successful in a bid to make BIR the largest sports complex in the Volunteer State BIR vice president and general man ager Jeff Byrd said he and new owner Bruton Smith hope to eventually esca late seating capacity from its cur rent 81000 to at least equal that of the University of 102000 seat NeylandStadium Byrd said once the Bristol Beltway is completed linking Volunteer Park way directly with Interstate 81 via a limited access four lane BIR could even expand to 120000 seats But there is one hitch Those plans and apparently the viability to maintain its race dates are contingent on Byrd and his staff helping Smith find ways to increase return revenue to Smith and other shareholders of his Speedway Motorsports Inc remain competitive in NASCAR Big plans for BIR hinge on raising revenues and may include expanding beyond racing Winston Cup we have to find ad ditional revenue for the race he said has stated unequivocally that the races are going to be at Bristol as long as the competitive fi beltway is going to be a tremen dous asset but got to have some more parking If we park enough cars to put 100000 people in here then that becomes a big problem Byrd said since Bruton moved in people have gotten pretty proud of this (adjacent) land like Bruton said: know land for grazing cattle go this high in North had some productive meet ings with some (property owners) but these other folks need to realize that if we park the cars and in crease the revenues then that land growing (car) bumpers on every year twice a year will go back to graz ing land again They be making that money because the races will be somewhere else not a threat not meant to be a threat just But Byrd said confident that Smith will be able to iron out a deal to expand the parking at BIR Over the past week Smith has had a 30 member assessment team made up of architects and engineers look ing over the facility to decide exactly what other improvements are needed at the complex going to have to sit down and discuss a lot of things before we make a decision (about what improvements will be made and how Smith said Saturday at BIR got some Please see UTURE Page 10A Improvement pace shifts into overdrive 20000 new Byrd said By MARK HYLER land (Stadium at the Unhersity of fji I Xrr VLAW 1 AO AAA coak Bristol Herald Courier Harmon Simcox who manages Bristol International utility and construction work walks through a new restroom at BIR one of a senes of improvements at the track a Hera'd Counerf MAe Jackson Tennessee) has 102000 seats I'd like to at least get equal with the Vols got 10000 people on our waiting list (for tickets) right With a newlv constructed grand stand where the old scoreboard was between Turns 8 and 4 another 25 I 1 I The rapid pace of expansion at Bristol International Raceway is matched only by the dizzying speeds at which cars round the famed high banked oval and when fans file through the gates of BIR this weekend find another round of improvements to the facility And Jeff Byrd the new vice president and general man ager said the 5000 new grand stand seats a state of the art fiber optics score board in the infield and some 850 new fixtures in four recently constructed restrooms are but a glimpse of what the future may hold for BIR Look for BIR which is ex pected to be renamed Bristol Motor Speedway sometime after ood City 500 to become Ten largest sports complex in the not so distant future talked about adding 15 or rows of seats added to the Bud sec tion in Turn 3 and 360 executive seats on the bank in Turn 1 seating canacity currently comes to 81000 If additional property adjacent to the track can be purchased for more parking the complex could Please see PACE Page 10A Addison to trial Monday Public barred from competency hearing By KATHY STILL Wise County Bureau WISE After closing a competency hearing to the public and hearing evidence presented by the defense and prosecution Saturday Wise County Circuit Court Judge ord Quillen emerged from his chambers and decided that Gregory Scott Addison will stand trial Monday morning for the murder of his wife Quillen granted a motion from defense attorney Anthony Collins to bar the public and press from hearing the evidence presented in second competency hearing Though Quillen gave representa tives of the press an opportunity to object to the closure the judge did not grant a request from the press to be given enough time to get legal representa tion to address the closure issue The judge said the hearing was Gregory ScottAddison is chargedwith murder use ofa firearm in the commission of afelony and stalking He allegedly shot his wife twice with a38 caliber handgun in the street in front of the post office in Norton closed so that any evidence presented in the competency hearing would not be prejudicial to the defendant He also said the competency hearing had nothing to do with the case against Addison Quillen did put the objection to the clo sure on record The judge de fense attorneys Ad dison Wise County Attorney Greg Kallen and Assistant Attorney Zane Scott went into chambers for the hearing After the closed hearing the judge the defendant and the attorneys came back into open court Kallen was smiling as he entered the courtroom and ap proached the mother of victim Janet Joyner Addison He spoke softly to her before taking his seat Addison cast several glances at his late relatives as he approached his seat Quillen then ruled that Addison 35 was competent to stand trial He also decided the trial would begin on Monday at 9 am The judge and the attorneys also took up some other issues Quillen referred to as housekeeping mo tions before adjourning court Addison is charged with murder use of a firearm Please see ADDISON Page 10A Herald Couner'Mike Jackson HrXX xwagi Hflhltl fl a gas An unidentified fueler fills gasoline cans before Busch Grand National race at Bristol International Raceway Additional photos appear on Page 1B long awaited bypass living up to expectations Page lB i I I.