You are here

Delaware » Dover » Dover Downs and Dover International Speedway

Dover Downs and Dover International Speedway

-A A +A
1967–1969. 1980s–1990s enlarged, Becker Morgan Group and others. 2000–2002 hotel, Cope Linder Architects, with interiors by Mitchell Associates with Marcia Davis and Associates. U.S. 13 and Leipsic Rd.
  • Dover Downs and Dover International Speedway (Dover International Speedway, Inc., and Getty Images)

The track was originally conceived for harness racing and thoroughbreds, but entrepreneur John W. Rollins (see BR32) got involved during construction, completing the facility and insisting that it be modified to include automobile racing. Richard Petty won the opening race in 1969. By 1982, the track had lost millions of dollars and seemed a hopeless boon-doggle. The explosive growth of NASCAR racing saved the day, however, and Dover Downs underwent sixteen consecutive years of expansion, growing from 22,000 seats in 1985 to 140,000 in 2001, by which time each NASCAR race weekend pumped millions of dollars directly into the Delaware economy, with 92 percent of the fans from out-of-state. An adjacent casino attracts 2.5 million customers annually (three times the population of Delaware!); to serve them, a ten-story hotel was added. Removal of all “architectural barriers to access” and the addition of 300 wheelchair-accessible seats came as a result of a 1990s settlement agreement with the U.S. government, one of the first results of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Writing Credits

Author: 
W. Barksdale Maynard
×

Data

What's Nearby

Mrs. Steele's Broiler House
“Swedish” Log House (Josh's Cabin)
Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village
Delaware State University
North State Street Houses

Citation

W. Barksdale Maynard, "Dover Downs and Dover International Speedway", [Dover, Delaware], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/DE-01-DV1.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Delaware

Buildings of Delaware, W. Barksdale Maynard. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, 247-248.

If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.

SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

,