In what is expected to be a profitable and highly visible move for the company, The Cordish Co. has inked a deal with NASCAR to develop and operate a new line of NASCAR-brand restaurant and entertainment venues across the country.
Under the deal, Cordish has secured the exclusive rights for using the NASCAR name for restaurant and entertainment concepts. Called NASCAR Sports Grille, the first location is slated to open in Orlando, Fla., in February 2007 and will cost more than $6 million to launch. Another location will open at about the same time in Myrtle Beach, S.C., followed by others throughout the country. The Orlando restaurant is projected to generate gross sales of $12 million annually.
“There is no question in our minds that this can be one of the biggest brands in the country in the restaurant and entertainment sector,” said Reed Cordish, vice president of the Baltimore-based development firm.
Cordish called the deal one of the most significant moves for the company?s little-known but sizable operations division, which owns and operates restaurants, bars, hotels and casinos around the country. As part of the NASCAR partnership, the company will create an entirely new division that will consist of what Reed Cordish said could eventually be thousands of employees dedicated specifically to NASCAR projects.
A headquarters for the new division has yet to be selected.
The impetus for the NASCAR deal, Cordish said, was a growing trend in the restaurant and entertainment industry in which professional sports teams are creating entertainment districts surrounding their stadiums and branded with the team name. Cordish is creating entertainment districts for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Reed Cordish added that the company?s development arm could also benefit from the NASCAR deal, as the restaurants could become anchors in the complexes.
“When you?re talking about the appeal of arguably the most popular sport in America, you?re talking about unlimited potential if it?s done right,” Cordish said.
Scott Warfield, a NASCAR spokesman, called the deal a win-win for both players.
“The Cordish Company is one of the leading real estate development companies in the United States,” Warfield said. “This is really a story of two very successful family companies coming together.”
