Historic Daytona International Speedway undergoing $400 million facelift

The Daytona International Speedway is zooming ahead on the largest renovation in the Florida venue’s 54-year history. Gleeds is serving as cost manager for the $400 million effort, dubbed “Daytona Rising,” on behalf of the International Speedway Corp.

Architect Rossetti will lead the improvements, which include five redesigned guest entrances, an extended grandstand with 101,000 new seats, and more than 60 new trackside suites for corporate entertaining. Eleven “neighborhood” areas spread over three levels of the communal concourse will provide open sightlines and dozens of video screens, allowing visitors to socialize without missing the action on the track. Barton Malow Company is the design-builder.

The vision for the redevelopment of the Daytona International Speedway front stretch places emphasis on the complete fan experience, beginning with five expanded and redesigned fan entrances, or injectors.
• Each injector would lead to a series of escalators and elevators that would transport fans to any of three different concourse levels.
• Each level would feature spacious and strategically-placed social areas, or “neighborhoods,” along the nearly mile-long front stretch.
• A total of 11 neighborhoods, each measuring the size of a football field, would enable fans to meet and socialize during events without ever missing any on-track action, thanks to open-sightline designs throughout the concourse and dozens of added video screens in every neighborhood.
• The central neighborhood, dubbed the “World Center of Racing,” would celebrate the history of Daytona International Speedway and its many unforgettable moments throughout more than 50 years of racing.
• Every seat in the Speedway front stretch will be replaced with wider and more comfortable seating, with more restrooms and concession stands throughout the facility.

The project broke ground in July 2013 and is targeted for completion in January 2016, in time for the 58th Daytona 500.

Before you get your shorts in a knot, I have nothing against science, technology, engineering, or even mathematics; to the contrary, I love all four “STEM” disciplines (I’m lying about the math). But I question whether we need to be building K-12 schools that overly emphasize or are totally devoted to STEM.

| Mar 3, 2014

Negotiate your way to success

There are few business skills as important as negotiation. Many successful businesspeople pride themselves on their ability to turn a deal in their favor. Here are a few key negotiation principles to ensure you’re generally getting a good deal.

| Mar 3, 2014

5 ways to gain clients you actually like

Gaining more clients is one thing. Gaining more clients that you actually like is something else entirely. Here are some tips to perfect the art of attracting and retaining clients that you enjoy working with.

| Mar 3, 2014

Engineering and construction CEOs are cautiously optimistic about the global economy, says PwC

Firm leaders remain leery about the availability of skilled workers, the state of government debt and deficits, and rising material prices, according to PwC’s 2014 Global CEO Survey.