read the article in RC Car Action (Dec issue), -it is enlightening.
So if the key is to build an awesome track which I agree it is how does one build an awesome track that is cost effective.
-per the article, you can't cut corners. You've got to invest money in a well designed and built track that is well maintained. Your focus should be the track and the RC hobbyists that come to use the track.
The reason the other tracks failed was because the birthday parties ruined the track experience, thus the true RC hobbyists left. So now you have a crappy track that caters to kids who jsut want to literally bash cars and destroy things.
You'll have to set this up in a place that has a population that will bring business in.
In our area we have 1 club that represents a location of about 350k people. This is before you reach any of the other clubs in the next set of towns and cities. Out of that 350k population our club which runs at parking lots gets about 40-50 racers 1x a month, they generate about $1500 in income from that 1 event, plus another $1k in membership dues per year. I have a difficult time believing that a dedicated track will bring in enough to support a business in my area based on this. Those same racers are going to visit the track, what 1x a week at most? where will all other other racers come from? I suppose others will get involved because a track is around, yet it's a tough call.
Personally i'd love to set a track up, but the location price would have to be dirt cheap for me to give it a go. Like $1500 per month ...yet all the warehouse space in my area is closer to $5k per month. I'd have to sign a 6 month lease at minimum, which means I could be out 30K not to mention other expenses such as tables, track, etc.. You'll need some money to do this right, and not sure it will be easy to convince investors of an RC track.