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Friday, 28 May, 2010 2:57 PM

MIS reveals new $17 million media center and pit road suites

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Michigan International Speedway (MIS) officials showed off their new 66,000-square-foot media center and pit road suites on Tuesday in Brooklyn, Mich. The new facility includes 11,783-square-feet of stone, 40.32 miles of copper and fiber cable, 30.3 miles of CAT 6 data cable and 3.78 miles of conduit. It features 136 flat-screen TVs, 179 speakers and 600 data outlets.

The state-of-the-art building features an owner-driver meeting room with 175 seats, a deadline press room with 122 workstations, a team public relations room with 85 workstations and 75 workstations in the photographer room.

"This is phase one of completely redoing the whole infield," said MIS President Roger Curtis. "We're very excited. I'm sure we're going to find a few kinks here and there, but we're going to work it out. Overall, it's an absolutely beautiful building. Our guests and our media and our corporate partners have never left, but their needs have changed. We actually leaped forward a few years. I would put this building up against any sports stadium facility in the United States with the amenities and technology."

In addition, there are five dedicated conference rooms named after the Great Lakes, two single interview rooms, four radio rooms and a media lounge. The building uses 8,000 square feet of solar panels to lower electrical costs.

"The brand, the NASCAR in a national park, you've got the stone and the earth tones, everything that we're going to do moving forward is going to have that feel," the MIS president said. "I'm very proud of what we've done with that. Everything's customizable. We've got a lot of movable walls, where 15-person suites can become 30's, 30's can become 60. Same with all of the furniture in there. Other than the wet bar, everything can move. A customer can come in and set it up however they want to."

There are 30 pit road suites including 10 15-person suites, 15 30-person suites and five 60-person suites. All suites come with a fireplaces, running water, wet bar, flat-screen TV, closet, tables, chairs and cabinets.

Curtis said ticket sales are strong for the June races after prices were lowered for this year. There are only two pit suites still available for the June races.

"I'm really happy with ticket sales," he added. "Just like last year, our fans prove to be very loyal, dedicated and passionate. I think us lowering the prices and adding the amenities we've added and enhancing the experience is certainly helping. I appreciate them rewarding us with confidence to buy some tickets this year."

The new building used 20,113-square-feet of glass, 3.31 miles of Coax video cable, 5.71 miles of audio cable and 9.46 miles of THHN copper.

"I'm currently driving for Brad Keselowski, i'm running super late models here in the Detroit midwest area," said Andrew Hagen, an Australian race car driver looking to break into the NASCAR series. "I was down here last year, my first time at Michigan Speedway. To come back and see how quickly the transition to this new building is amazing in itself. The building is perfect for media. It's very open and fan friendly, I think."

This June, MIS will host the Racing for Wildlife 200 ARCA race, VFW 200 NASCAR Truck Series race and the Heluva Good 400 NASCAR Spring Cup Series race.

For more information on Michigan International Speedway, visit www.mispeedway.com.