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Tennessee Downs unveiled with soft opening

By ZOË HAGGARD - zhaggard@t-g.com
Posted 4/19/22

A soft opening/informational session was held Friday afternoon at the future Tennessee Downs site on Highway 231 North.  

The exotic car club track, estimated to cost between $30 and $40 …

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Tennessee Downs unveiled with soft opening

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A soft opening/informational session was held Friday afternoon at the future Tennessee Downs site on Highway 231 North.  

The exotic car club track, estimated to cost between $30 and $40 million, is coming to Shelbyville. The track is owned by Jeremy Carpenter, the founder and manager of GC Performance Classics in Nashville.  

Living in Murfreesboro, Carpenter said he saw the property after coming down to Bedford County. Carpenter is set to close on the 185-acre property at the end of the month.  

“We’re going to keep some of it in the greenbelt,” Carpenter told the T-G. “There’s a lot of reasons why it’s called Tennessee Downs. It really fits the terrain and we’re going to try to keep the aesthetics of the area.”  

The trees will be saved to help mitigate any sound. Carpenter emphasized that the complex will be a club track with an atmosphere more like a golf course than a racetrack.  

“This vision has evolved out of the desire and need for an automobile country club in Nashville,” Carpenter said, who has many clients and college friends involved in the exotic car industry.  

The garages and complex will be able to hold around 500 cars. Ground-breaking is planned for late summer.  

Development for the complex will be in phases over the next 5 years. The official opening will be planned for the end of 2023.  

“Tennessee Downs will be special because of where it’s at,” said Carpenter. “It’s beautiful out here.”  

Economic development 

“We are pleased to see business and commercial investor interest in Shelbyville and Bedford County,” said Shelbyville-Bedford Partnership CEO Shane Hooper.  

“The phased-in plans for the Tennessee Downs project include more than 100 jobs across the campus, $30 million in capital investment, and thousands of annual visitors.”  

He added, “Good paying jobs, taxable capital investments, and visitors with expendable income represent vital components for shared economic prosperity. Visionary and futuristic projects like Tennessee Downs increase educational and job opportunities for the citizens of Shelbyville and Bedford.”