Hope for racing in calgary.

[racerjim]

i heard this on the radio this morning, i hope he is able to pull through and make something permanent for the city to have a good racing facility.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alber.../16849896.html

[joseph]

Hope its not all lipservice. A properly done track would be real nice

[Zewind]

Ive sent in a request to attend this - I will put an update here and on my website.

[Zero102]

Interested parties are asked to contact Jason Letourneau at 403-...

Not by chance related to the Philippe Letourneau from Canada's Worst Driver, is he?

[Tomaz]

The alderman is inviting designated representatives from various groups in the city to contact his office for a meeting on Jan. 27.

Interested parties are asked to contact Jason Letourneau at 403-268-2478, or by email at [email protected]

So, who is our Beyond Rep?

[Modelexis]

I would love to have a racetrack, but I don't think I'm entitled to one by law.

The people that don't want to pay for a racetrack shouldn't be forced to pay for a racetrack.

Not a popular opinion but someone has to lead by example...

I would be willing to pay into a monthly race track dues fund for a racetrack. I have this opinion about everything in society, but it should be left to those in favor of a racetrack to find a way to fund a racetrack.

What better way to find out if Calgarians want a racetrack or not than to accept donations, and if the donations are weak we get a weak racetrack, and if the donations are great then we get a great racetrack, and if there are no donations, then we know that Calgarians don't want a racetrack.

Why everyone chooses to rally the state for a chance to hold the gun I can understand from a simply effective position, but not a moral one.

If the christians and muslims and mormons can fork over 15% of their earnings to circle jerk on sundays, we can sure as hell fork over the same amount for a cause we are passionate about. Until the racing community gets enough people as passionate about racing as the religious goof balls are about superstition, we will never have a nice track.

[J-hop]

great post modelexis. This is something I always mention to people, ya know its great to have the support of the motorsport community, but the community is so small in calgary compared with our population that it really doesn't mean anything in the end, and realistically we have to accept the fact that no matter how bad we want the track to stay if they public doesn't want it then logically it can't stay...

but as you mention if a compromise can be struck then that would be awesome.

[rage2]

There are investors in place, nobody is looking for a handout. The problem is land, with a long term lease. Nobody is going to throw $20m at a facilities when the land's only good for 2 years.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by rage2
There are investors in place, nobody is looking for a handout. The problem is land, with a long term lease. Nobody is going to throw $20m at a facilities when the land's only good for 2 years.

the racing community has more than enough money to throw at a track... but whenever someone tries to build one they are faced with the "i would love one, but not in my backyard" mentality. until the city can dedicate land to this it will never happen

[Zewind]

LAND is a huge issue. I am hoping the city will sell some land in the industrial area to support the track.


Going outside the city has been a pain from what ive heard, Drag strip noise being the largestest issue.

[ercchry]

it would be nice if someone could get a "go-kart" track built haha

[Sugarphreak]

...

[ghostS10RT]

Originally posted by rage2
There are investors in place, nobody is looking for a handout. The problem is land, with a long term lease. Nobody is going to throw $20m at a facilities when the land's only good for 2 years.

This is very true!
We have quotes to repave the track (1/4 mile). It's between $40 000 to $80 000 depending on how deep we go.
It's a tough bill for only 2 years...

We would like to upgrade the timing system and displays
We would like to upgrade the PA system
We would like to fix the bleachers.

Again, nobody wants to invest a cent in the track for such a short lease.

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by Modelexis
Uninformed bullshit

Congratulations on having no idea what you are talking about. Race City does not cost taxpayers any money. Period. So, thank you for perpetuating one of the big reasons people trumpet Race City is bad.

[CUG]

Originally posted by HiTempguy1


Congratulations on having no idea what you are talking about. Race City does not cost taxpayers any money. Period. So, thank you for perpetuating one of the big reasons people trumpet Race City is bad.

You have to admit, he's well spoken. I don't like him really at all, but there is a point in there.

My position is that we wouldn't be without a track if we were left to fund it ourselves, provided the city let us buy land for it. They're trying to avoid future annexing by being in control of whatever industrial land there is. It's weak as shit.

I also feel that Art McKenzie is only in this to pull whatever dying bubbles of cash profit he can take out of the track. He's spent NOTHING on it, yet continued to pull in money over the last years, leaving users to fund repairs. I highly doubt Art McKenzie has even a remote interest in the track staying open, aside from his $3000 secret street nights.

First and foremost: bounce McKenzie out of the picture entirely.

[Darell_n]

Originally posted by CUG

I also feel that Art McKenzie is only in this to pull whatever dying bubbles of cash profit he can take out of the track. He's spent NOTHING on it, yet continued to pull in money over the last years, leaving users to fund repairs. I highly doubt Art McKenzie has even a remote interest in the track staying open, aside from his $3000 secret street nights.

First and foremost: bounce McKenzie out of the picture entirely.

x2

[DonJuan]

Allowing the motorsports community to fund their own track is a great idea. Thats what race city is/was. It was privately owned and recieved no tax money. Art didnt put money in it either.

I would think with all the shops and clubs around the city that would benefit from motorsports here and a small but passionate racing community there would be more than enough funds to build a decent renue to satisfy all types of racing.

But step one would be getting the city to allocate some land nearby with some longer term lease for a 10-20M investment to be feasable.

Edit: Looks like this is exactly what others have already said... This is what I get for reading the thread and forgetting to hit reply till the following day.

[J-hop]

well you bring up an interesting point, people have said that potential sponsors won't put money into the track due to the fact race city might not be here in a couple years and it would be a waste of money....

but I started going to the track almost 10 years ago and it badly needed an overhaul then, so where were all the sponsors and millions of "racing community" money back then?

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by J-hop

but I started going to the track almost 10 years ago and it badly needed an overhaul then, so where were all the sponsors and millions of "racing community" money back then?

I don't believe Art has owned it that long, and again, this has to be a long term plan (basically, the track can exist as long as it is funded/paid for). 10 years ain't much in business terms, it can take 5 years for a new business to start producing cash. To invest a couple million (or 10) into something that will disappear in under 10 years is not good business, and any potential investors were smart in their decision apparently because the track looks like it will be closed in 1 more year.

Also, (I don't know if this is true) but I've been racing cars since I was 16 (now 22). In 6 years motorsports (especially the amateur kind) has IMO exploded in Alberta.

[J-hop]

no I completely agree with that (about the 10 years not being a good long term invest), but I think it would have warranted a repave of even a small section, (if there are these "millions" of racing community dollars floating around as some in here claim). It wasn't until the track got almost dangerous that they repaved a small section (think it was just up to the 60' at first?) for the secret street drags which should have been done years prior.

Was it city owned before art?

edit: I also knew some builders that were trying to get sponsorship for a permanent track in Langdon (this was about 3 years ago now) but they couldn't drum up support from the motorsport community at all (or from enough sponsors) so the project was thrown out.

I just think some people are looking at the perfect world case where everyone wants to contribute, when the reality is the racing community in calgary and area has no money they want to invest in the future of their sport....