New track in the OC?
 

I’m close to pulling the trigger on a lease for a building in the city of Orange (near Ultimate hobbies) and intend to fill it with dirt:-)

O/C r/c Raceway!

Its a big gamble due to the amount of the lease payment, I would like to get some feedback on electric off road guys as to what they think b4 i make my final decision

Thanks
R. Black

Does Ultimate have a track? If not they should get in on this with you (unless you intend to open a store too). They could pick up some (half?) of the lease cost in exchange for all the buisness your track will send to them and you could commit to running the racing/building. If you think about it, that would be almost a no brainer for them.

Marketing
 

I have many ideas re: marketing and Ultimate (being 1 mile away) will be part of that plan...

Oh nice that would be excellant idea for an off road track. I would be there every week.:nod::nod:

You would have a big crowd if u can manage to get in some advertising to so time.:):)

Interest?
 

Im trying to see how much interest there would be, So Cal kinda screwed most local electric guys who have gone nitro (like me) thanks for the support!!

DUH
 

I WILL BE THERE!

That's a no brainer too.
Build it and they will come.
So many So Cal orphans out there need a new INDOOR home!
With this rain I'm freakin out. Can't race even if I make the drive.
That sux on ice!
I'd do it. Need to pick the right days to run too.
Send out a poll to see what is prefered.
So, when can I show up and race? I would lend a hand in the set up if you wanted some help. Still gotta be the right days also.
DO IT.
Friday nite is always good.
Saturday. Day or nite? Have to find the majority vote there.
Sunday daytime would also be a winner.
Hype it up, give us something to look forward to.:nod:

i would bring a big crowd up ther i think you should DO It!!!!!!!!!:sweat:

Some thoughts since you asked, I reference back to two of the best tracks here in recent SoCal memory, ....

Taking care of the customers and keeping them coming back. I remember back in the day at MnM we would have tons of regulars, but in addition to that we had out of towners and newbies just show up because they heard how cool the place was, the track was maintained and how the staff took care of them. I remember Joe Stanovich (the owner) being behind the counter and I bought like 100$ worth of parts and tires and he comped my next two practices. Thinking back on it, it wasn't just being nice. It ensured I would come back to spend more money and hopefully tell my friends. Get new people involved. I always thought it would be a good idea to give business cards to the local motorcycle shops and tell them everytime they sold a bike to give out a card that offered 10-15% off any kit sold at the track. I would extend that the the auto techs in the nearby auto malls. Gearheads and tinkers love this hobby so going out and recruiting them is what is needed.

As for the track itself, SoCal's dirt was pretty good all things considered, so something similar to that won't be bad. If you want to check out some really nice high bite dirt, check out Intermountain raceway in Utah, that stuff is amazing. Mainly its about low dust, and some kind of clay that goes easy on tires. Part of what made SoCal or MnM (or any other high bite track) nice is that it was not that hard on tires. Pegasus is currently killing those of us that have to buy tires. I think just as the layout has to be managable to the newbies, it should also be easy on the stuff that wears out the fastest on them (namely tires and motors). Also yet again, give the racers something to want to come back to. At MnM we had a summer supercross series that ended like a motorcross season with points being added up and awards given out.

Having a good parts stock is most likely going to be important, I think part of the reason so many of us SoCal'ers were frustrated is parts availabliity at SoCal was marginal for well over the last year there. Parts were also full pop which made stocking up at Ultimate or LosiPartsHouse more advisable. If you don't want the hassle of distributorship or even say running a successful hobby store in building maybe consider seeing if one of the major hobby stores would sell thier parts through your storefront.

Sorry this went on long, its just that a buddy of mine and I had this conversation like a week ago or so about how to do a track right and we agreed that these were some ways to build a new customer base, keep them, and to grow with the times. I really believe that a new indoor track can be successful in SoCal its just going to take a creative staff to bring in new faces, keep the old ones coming back and come up with great layouts that constantly change and offer new challenges. If you go for it, was an every week, like clockwork guy with my girlfriend and other 2 buddies every Monday at SoCal so we would be happy to be there every Monday at your place as well!!

You may consider leasing out the hobby shop like Dana at Revelation. That way you can focus on running the track not hassel with the part ordering and stuff.

You can also sell banner ads for $$ from the local RC makers like AE and Kyosho ... These guys should help out a local track where their drivers can come and practice and test new products.

I hope you can get the dirt from socal. That will help out a lot.

i would show up to race at your track.

It would be great to have another place to race....:cool: "Back in the day" we could race 3 or 4 times a week at 3 or 4 different tracks. It would be great to see those days back again. It would take working with other tracks schedules which is easy to do with some communication........

Note to all racers: Never take for granted the things we have (tracks). We all witnessed the SoCal closing and we all miss it especially with the weather lately. Support all your tracks when you can and they will be there for you.......:nod:

Good luck to you with this new venture..........:)

If you build it, they will come......an indoor track is definately what is needed. Working with other tracks on scheduling is a great idea as well, like Keith pointed out. Staying open late on practice nights is also a good idea. During the week, open at 1 or 2pm and stay open until 9pm soo people can get some practice in. Have racing on Friday nights and Sundays (I think start earlier than 1pm though). Close on Mondays soo you get a break. Strongbad had some good ideas to generate some interest. I think going to elementary schools and high schools (especially the auto shop class) w/flyers is a good idea to generate new comers.

Good luck!! Hope we can get a new indoor facility up and running soon.

Pull the plan through and I'll be there.