The city of Charlotte is considering a package of arts proposals totalling over $150 million, which backers say would revitalize the city’s cultural scene. But as with any expensive project involving taxpayer funding, there is controversy brewing. “At a recent City Council meeting, member Nancy Carter contrasted the council’s hesitation on the arts plan with its ‘stampede’ to promise money to a NASCAR Hall of Fame — if NASCAR lets it go up here… The proposed Hall of Fame would cost $137.5 million — not far from the price of the five arts projects combined. The city voted unanimously to give the hall nearly $104 million.”