Do they own the property and/or the building? If the answer is yes, that's the secret. The shops and tracks that close don't appear to own the building and/or property.

Hot Rod Hobbies in Santa Clarita has been open for 32+ years and they have 2 tracks, my bet is they have been there that long, because they own the property and building.

I agree that things go in cycles and that RC Racers are fickle, but I think there are a few other reasons why racing is not as popular as it once was. No one wants to work together, no one is willing to leave rules alone/abide by them (this is mainly a problem in spec classes), and no one is willing to agree when it comes to rules track to track, every track seems to have a variation of the rule set, and coming to an agreement on things is rare.

I also agree with you that if RC Racing is going to survive some major changes need to occur and that's not going to happen until people's attitudes change. RC Airfields have stability and many have been in the same spot for decades, because people work together, they follow the rules that have been set, and they volunteer their time to maintain the field and this is a major factor as to why Airfields survive. Another factor in their survival is club dues that in some cases help pay the rent. RC Racers don't want to help set up or tear down, they complain when they have to marshal, some of them expect others to clean up after them, and when it comes to getting a track going they aren't willing to work together and/or want someone else to do the work.

I posted a few links that could really help this hobby out. We all know that tracks are closing because property is expensive, which is why we should start working together to build tracks in our local parks. A lot of you have stated the hobby needs exposure, I don't know about parks in your area, but parks in my area get a lot of use. At this point in time if we want tracks, I think the best trail to follow is the one that skaters blazed to get skateparks built in public parks and they were nice enough to tell us how to get it done, but we have to work together for the greater good. Like I've stated many times, I tried this approach and if people would have been willing to work together I am confident we'd have a track at a park right now.