I posted this on the "Will onroad return to the north" thread but I thought it would be good to post here as well. I got into on-road last year and absolutely love it but I can see how people would be less interested than off-road especially at a club with "serious" racing.
On-Road is having a resurgence in Ontario, Canada which is fantastic. I am starting a new on-road club that will open in May so I've been focusing on a few key areas to make the club a success and revive the RC scene in my area.
*Having a forum that promotes discussion within the local RC community and that will be UPDATED with race results, club information, general RC chat, pictures, videos etc.
*Actively helping people make informed choices on RC products and suggest ways to save $$$. Developing a good relationship with your LHS so they can help their customers make good choices if they plan on racing at the club. No good having your LHS stock only basher nitro vehicles when you have an indoor carpet on-road club down the street.
*BUDGET Classes. A few guys that will be racing at my club have the Traxxas VXL Rally and I have been promoting this car for the MINI class. The price is fantastic. For those with a bigger budget, World GT & Stock 1/12. Having Short Course with mandatory foams will bring in a bunch of off-roaders. The interest in SC fantastic for my club, I think it's going to be a great class. I am also looking into having some drifting as it's very popular with the parking lot bashers around my area. I also plan on having lots of practice days. A few newbs have already expressed concern that they don't have good enough driving skills to race so the first 4 club meets will be for practice, no racing. And after that maybe every fourth meet have a practice only.
*ADVERTISING. Ads in the local paper, Kijiji, multiple RC forums, & FLYERS everywhere you can think of. I am trying to get some coverage by the local TV station to get us on the news. I don't think clubs utilize the advertising resources available to them enough. Relying on people to find the club themselves is going to seriously limit the amount of new people coming to races and getting involved in RC cars in general. I can think of a few clubs that have websites that haven't been updated in 3+ years and forums that not even the organizers attempt to keep active.
*Year-Round Racing. To keep RC racing thriving in the northern part of North America, there needs to be year-round racing available. Motor City Raceway opened up an indoor carpet off-road and an indoor carpet on-road club this winter and entries were over 60 people within a month!! My club will have two race nights a month, year round, indoors & on carpet. This should allow for the 1/12 & World GT classes to become very popular and keep people interested in the hobby for much longer without costing them thousands of dollars.