Museums & Attractions
- The Music Plaza, which debuted earlier this year, is Universal Orlando Resort’s new outdoor permanent concert venue, designed in the spirit of Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl. Unique features include a 2,400-square-foot performance stage and a 15,156-square-foot synthetic viewing lawn—the world’s largest installation of synthetic grass in a theme park. The Hollywood graphics on the buildings surrounding the plaza are made of eco-friendly vinyl material and the stage is surrounded by fishtail palm trees—a species of trees that dates back to prehistoric times. The plaza is available for group rental. For more information, call 407.363.8000 or visit www.universalorlando.com.
- The Nascar Hall of Fame announced May 2010 as the official grand opening date for the facility currently under construction in Charlotte, N.C. Charlotte hosted the first-ever NASCAR Strictly Stock race—later named the Grand National and now the Sprint Cup series—60 years ago at Charlotte Speedway, which was located a few miles east of the site of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame will comprise 150,000 square feet, including 40,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 270-seat theater, a Hall of Honor that will house the commemorations of Hall of Fame inductees, numerous interactive entertainment experiences, a themed restaurant, a retail outlet and a modern media center for the industry. The hall, which will be open for use by groups, will feature a reproduction of a Charlotte Speedway track poster from 1924, which illustrates Charlotte’s deep roots in racing, and an original entry blank from the first-ever NASCAR Strictly Stock series event, held June 19, 1949, at Charlotte Speedway. These artifacts will be among the nearly 1,000 that will be on display when the hall opens. For more information, visit www.nascarhall.com.