The Racing Community Shows Support for Bradenton Motorsports Park and the Freedom Factory Tracks Against Proposed Land Change
Bradenton Motorsports Park and the Freedom Factory race tracks continue to face an uncertain fate, as today’s public hearing by the Manatee County Commissioner Meeting ended with a 5-to-2 vote to approve and send the re-zoning to the state level.
This gives a green light to re-zone a massive 2,307 acres, zoned for agricultural use, and converts it for residential use for a proposed 4500-home community. At the state level, they will approve or deny the proposed 3 homes per acre on the land surrounding both tracks, then the chance for final approval will return to the local level for passing or denying.
Despite the vote result, the show of support for the track was overwhelming, with over 15,000 people watching on the live stream at points during the day, thousands of e-mails to each commissioner, and hundreds of people showing up at the Manatee County Administrative Center to voice their opposition.
Even the commissioners showed support for the track, including Commissioner Jason Bearden stating, “I’d like us to look into some extra protection measures for the track, maybe even labeling it a historic site.”
Written by Derek Putnam