Dover Motorsports, Inc. reported the NASCAR weekend in Nashville was a big success.
The company held a NASCAR triple-header weekend at Dover International Speedway in May and a NASCAR triple-header weekend, which included the return of NASCAR Cup Series racing at Nashville Superspeedway June.
Dover Motorsports was able to move one of its two NASCAR weekends to its Nashville track, which has been quiet in recent years.
The second quarter will account for most of the revenue for the company since it holds only two NASCAR weekends a year. However, it does receive some revenue from the Firefly Music Festival, which is slated for this fall in Dover.
No events were held during the second quarter of 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic led to the postponement of the company’s scheduled May NASCAR weekend and the cancelation of the Firefly Festival.
The NASCAR weekend, originally scheduled to be held in May 2020 were held without fans in combination with the August 2020 NASCAR weekend events.
The second quarter was highlighted by the reopening of Nashville Superspeedway with a Father’s Day sellout crowd, which required temporary grandstands. With portable seating, the track can handle 38,000 fans, with room for additional bleachers.
It was the first full grandstand sellout for NASCAR this year. Broadcast ratings for the ALLY 400 were 22% higher for NBCSN’s telecast than the previous year’s same date event, and it was the second-highest-rated sports event on cable that week behind the NBA playoffs.
Denis McGlynn, CEO, stated: “There was an overwhelmingly positive response to the Nashville events from fans, race teams, sponsors, and media representatives, and we are looking forward to hosting another NASCAR weekend in Nashville next year.”
While the Nashville track is not one of NASCAR’s super-tracks (Bristol, Texas, Charlotte) that can hold more than 150,000 fans, the city offers more sponsorship opportunities and access to the fast-growing area’s massive entertainment-music industry.
Dover Motorsports downsized its Delaware track grandstands from the days when attendance was north of 100,000.
Dover International Speedway’s admissions and revenues were impacted by state-mandated restrictions that limited attendance to 20,000 patrons. The Delaware event was an operational success and had strong corporate sponsorship, and contracted increases in broadcast revenue, the company reported.
On May 26, Dover Motorsports closed on the sale of approximately 350 acres of property near Nashville Superspeedway and posted an $8.5 million gain.
On June 30, the company had no outstanding indebtedness and approximately $18.6 million in available cash.
Dover Motorsports’ stock price on Friday was trading at $2.33 a share.
Shares of the company have risen only 9.3% over the past five years, a reflection of the struggles of NASCAR, which has seen falling attendance and until recently lower TV ratings. Reasons range from the retirements of popular drivers to business decisions by the France family, which owns NASCAR and also bought the biggest operator of NASCAR tracks.
For further information, log on to dovermotorsports.com.
(See earnings summary below)
DOVER MOTORSPORTS, INC. |
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS |
||||||||||||||||
In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts |
||||||||||||||||
(Unaudited) |
||||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended |
|
Six Months Ended |
||||||||||||||
June 30, |
|
June 30, |
||||||||||||||
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
||||||||||
Revenues: |
||||||||||||||||
Admissions |
$ |
5,786 |
|
$ |
– |
|
$ |
5,786 |
|
$ |
– |
|
||||
Event-related |
|
7,040 |
|
|
110 |
|
|
7,197 |
|
|
314 |
|
||||
Broadcasting |
|
37,039 |
|
|
– |
|
|
37,039 |
|
|
– |
|
||||
Other |
|
31 |
|
|
– |
|
|
31 |
|
|
– |
|
||||
Total |
|
49,896 |
|
|
110 |
|
|
50,053 |
|
|
314 |
|
||||
Expenses: |
||||||||||||||||
Operating and marketing |
|
29,405 |
|
|
812 |
|
|
31,001 |
|
|
1,800 |
|
||||
General and administrative |
|
2,203 |
|
|
1,877 |
|
|
4,458 |
|
|
3,864 |
|
||||
Depreciation |
|
809 |
|
|
765 |
|
|
1,572 |
|
|
1,533 |
|
||||
Cost to remove long-lived assets |
|
– |
|
|
– |
|
|
– |
|
|
341 |
|
||||
|
32,417 |
|
|
3,454 |
|
|
37,031 |
|
|
7,538 |
|
|||||
Gain on sale of land |
|
8,510 |
|
|
– |
|
|
8,510 |
|
|
– |
|
||||
Operating earnings (loss) |
|
25,989 |
|
|
(3,344) |
|
|
21,532 |
|
|
(7,224) |
|
||||
Interest expense, net |
|
(17) |
|
|
(16 |
) |
|
(32) |
|
|
(13) |
|
||||
Benefit (provision) for contingent obligation |
|
500 |
|
|
353 |
|
|
534 |
|
|
(16) |
|
||||
Other income, net |
|
155 |
|
|
163 |
|
|
280 |
|
|
25 |
|
||||
Earnings (loss) before income taxes |
|
26,627 |
|
|
(2,844) |
|
|
22,314 |
|
|
(7,228) |
|
||||
Income tax (expense) benefit |
|
(6,882) |
|
|
2,155 |
|
|
(5,771) |
|
|
3,399 |
|
||||
Net earnings (loss) |
$ |
19,745 |
|
$ |
(689) |
|
$ |
16,543 |
|
$ |
(3,829) |
|
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