CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte announced Tuesday it's reopening its doors to the public at reduced capacity starting Sept. 16. The museum and interactive entertainment venue for NASCAR history closed in March at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
The state governor's office announced last week that North Carolina would move into a "Safer at Home Phase 2.5" reopening through Oct. 2, in which museums and aquariums are able to host visitors at half capacity and the indoor mass gathering limit increased to 25 people indoors (per room).
In line with national, state and local public health orders and recommendations, the NASCAR Hall of Fame will reopen with additional safety measures in place, including a rigorous sanitizing procedure at the venue, providing guests with a stylus to accommodate no-touch interactions and increasing the number of hand sanitizer dispensers around the museum. All guests and employees are required to wear face masks on-site.
"We're thrilled and ready to welcome back guests to the NASCAR Hall of Fame," NASCAR Hall of Fame director Winston Kelley said in a statement. "The health and safety of our visitors and staff is our highest priority, and based on months of hard work from our teammates at the Hall and Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, we are confident we are prepared to safely reopen."
The museum will re-open for existing members Sept. 12 and Sept. 13 prior to reopening for the public. The NASCAR Hall of Fame announced during its closure that memberships would be extended and that Racing Insiders Tours would be rescheduled, while general admissions tickets would also be honored when the site reopened.
The site will return to its operational hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday, with Tuesdays reserved for private groups and special events (Hot Pass Tuesdays).
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is encouraging guests to purchase tickets prior to visiting on its website and use the print-at-home or mobile ticketing option. The box office will be open for in-person assistance, but groups are asked to send one member of the party through the line and observe social distancing.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is owned by the city, licensed by NASCAR and operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the latter of which also operates the Bojangles Coliseum, the Spectrum Center and the Charlotte Convention Center.
The Convention Center is located directly next to the Hall of Fame and hosted the Republican National Convention last month. In late August, the NASCAR Hall of Fame and nearby buildings were vandalized with graffiti reading "ALM" and "All Life Matters."
