Dover removes 37% of its seats so NASCAR doesn’t look like a loser

Empty seats at Dover. At least NASCAR is smart enough not to continue to race in front of 3/4 empty grandstands to avoid looking like a complete loser. IndyCar races on NASCAR ovals with the grandstands 7/8th empty and has 'loser' written all over their series because of it.

Dover International Speedway will have a cozier feel when the Monster Mile hosts the first of its 2017 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events June 2-4 as "right-sizing" continued at the historic raceway.

Construction crews have been working all week to remove seating in the top grandstand, but raceway officials say the work being seen by anyone driving by the track is merely the conclusion of the seat removal process that was started a couple of years ago.

"This is a decision we made 2-3 years ago to downsize our facility," said Dover International Speedway President Michael Tatoian.

"Our capacity will remain at 85,000. This is the right size for our current attendance." Capacity at Dover has dwindled since 2009, when the seating capacity was 135,000. That year, a seat-widening project decreased capacity to 113,000 and the numbers have continued to drop since.

[Dover International Speedway President Michael] Tatoian said that talks were ongoing to revamp the area of the grandstand that is being taken down, but in the end, there was no good way to repurpose the area of the raceway.

But going forward, he said the seating removal creates a better atmosphere for the fans and leaves open the possibility to create another unique space. Delaware News Journal