Lincoln planning board votes against proposed 101-acre sports complex
Plans for a 101-acre sports training and event complex in Lincolnton were dealt a setback after the Lincoln County Planning Board voted against the project this week.
A group of businessmen led by former NASCAR team owner Brittan Schnell wants to build the indoor and outdoor complex at the former White House Foods manufacturing site off U.S. 321 North.
Whitehouse Extreme Sports Park would include a school and dormitory, motocross and BMX tracks, and swimming, diving and other indoor sports. It also would include outdoor mountain bike and running/walking trails, recreational vehicle spaces and a hall for special events and meetings.
The Planning Board voted 5-to-2 to recommend that county commissioners reject the plans. The commissioners are scheduled to vote on the project on Jan. 25.
The Planning Board concluded that the project isn’t in the public’s interest because the complex would be in a residential area and too many questions remain about noise.
Schnell expressed disappointment with the vote.
“The Planning Board turned their backs on the businesses of Lincoln County,” Schnell told the Observer Wednesday. “To me, it looks like they listened to two or three neighbors here but did not look at the overall (positive) impact on the community.”
Schnell said the project’s development group still plans to seek the commissioners’ approval, but he declined to discuss changes they might be willing to make to the plans.
Nearby residents oppose the project, saying noise from the tracks would intrude on their neighborhoods.
“We’re gonna hear that consistently ringing in our ears,” Clint Hennessee of the Hickory Grove subdivision told WBTV, the Observer’s media partner.
The site is on Whitehouse Drive, on the west side of Maiden Highway (U.S. 321 Business), north of Horseshoe Lake Road.
Two years ago, Schnell moved his 12-year-old Special Event Linen Co.’s 30,000-square-foot manufacturing operation to the vacant manufacturing complex. The company makes tablecloths and napkins for the hotel-restaurant industry.
In the 1990s, Schnell, 51, of Denver, N.C., owned Schnell Motorsports. The team ran a handful of races in NASCAR’s top division with drivers Dick Trickle, Lake Speed and Phil Parsons.
He told the Observer last year that the complex is ideal for youth sports and education. Son Brantley, 14, is a top national motocross competitor in his age bracket.
Whitehouse Park LLC, the project’s development group, wants to offer classes for 56 students in sixth grade and up using online courses from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., he said.
As far as sports, one of the site’s three main buildings has 40-foot ceilings, which makes it ideal for diving, he said. Diving and Junior Olympic swimming pools are planned.
A warehouse where Gatorade made its drinks can house six basketball courts or nine volleyball courts, he said.
Schnell declined to say how much the project would cost.
He said the site already has an irrigation system, utilities and seven deep-water wells, which helps lower costs. Existing buildings will easily fit planned classrooms and athletic courts, again keeping costs lower, he said.
This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Lincoln planning board votes against proposed 101-acre sports complex."