Grand Junction SX.......wth???

[bnd]

I knew about this build last year & actually drove by the site over the winter to a relatives place the next town over. I recently saw some vid of the track they built, beautiful, nice, ect. All for the USABMX round of SX coming in the next few weeks.

Iv'e go tto say, who the hell decided on putting this track there? Did the locals build & pay for it? If the sanction paid for it, do they know the local scene sucks worse than Tooeles, no offense. I think the thought process was "If we build it, they will come" but that has proven to never work in towns that struggle in keeping a local bmx scene. It looks like it cost alot of money and its a shame that after the circus leaves town nobody is going to be able to enjoy it other than the few dozen locals that race.

I can't believe this wasn't built in SLC.

b.

[joeynsophia]

I don't know all the details but I believe it was part of a VERY large project to improve the facility overall. It includes investment in the arena, horse programs and convention facilities. That being said there is also a push to make the area a destination location for cycling of all disciplines. (Fruita has some great MTB trails) I do not know what partnership they have but I hear Mesa State university has and is trying to build their college programs for cycling. I know Colin Hudson and a few others are going there on scholarship.

I agree it may be a long shot, but maybe with all the efforts surrounding the area they can make this work. I know if they open the SX hill, we will have Sophia down there using it as a supplement to the training center in Chula. (Its only 4 hours away)

[bnd]

That whole areas BMX program is what it is though. Last Thanksgiving we went down to Montrose, a town about 30 minutes past GJ. They had a super sweet BMX track, I was blown away that it was shut down as the T.O. stepped down & nobody stepped in to take it over. The town/land owner plowed it a month later.

I've known this area since the late 90's, raced locals down there & I just don't "get" that they built that SX down there. SLC would of been my pick & I'm not just being a homer either. We have one of the best scenes in the Country.........

b.

[JAlvey]

BMX has moved to a different level Bruce. It's not about the scene, it's about the $$$. The track was built there because GJ, Mesa County, and some big sponsors came up with $4 Million to build the facility. Since they built the facility, they got a SX series race and a National. At last count, there are 13 facilities over $3M that have opened over the past few years, with 7-8 more of them under development. There are even a few that aren't public and just private training sites. Tulsa will outdo them all with a $27 Million dollar facility proposed to the city that will move USABMX from Chandler/Gilbert, the HOF from Chula Vista, and will include an indoor SX training facility. The crazy thing is that if you look at the financial impact of a National or World Cup event, these facilities are actually money well spent for these communities.

[bnd]

I guess I get that the local economy gets a huge shot in the arm when an event comes to town. I've seen some numbers in the 10s of millions when the Tour Of Utah comes in. But wouldn't the area want to grow their ridership to keep the money flow rolling in?

Hopefully GJ and the surrounding areas embrace this track and ridership blows up but man, I just don't see it. I can see something BMX related in SLC. The velodrome in Draper is halfway there and in Utah Co there it seems like every town is voting for some sort of mt bike park.
FYI, there is a bike shop in GJ, Bike something or other, anyways the owner is an old school racer and was the dude sponsored by Gold Line, remember the ABA product line race wear and stuff you would see in the paper? Early - mid 80s. Brad....something. Sleater would remember him, anyways that was him.

b.

[JAlvey]

The facility is incredible and a great addition to Grand Junction. Some good ideas that we could add to our tracks (bleacher shades, covered staging, grass seating in front of the bleachers, etc.

The Chamber of Commerce estimated that the event brought about $500,000 per day x 3-4 days in economic impact. In other words, this "expensive" facility will pay for itself in year 2. As a businessman, I can tell you that you don't find that often. I hope our local government officials can see this.

In terms of the local support, Bruce, it looks like things are changing. Grand Valley is a "top ten" track in the Central Region and has been averaging 125 riders/ 30 motos similar to Rad Canyon. Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction has added BMX as a funded sport with 8 full scholarships/year. A number of up and coming pros have moved there to train. The old adage of "build it and they will come" seems to apply here.

[bnd]

I tuned in Saturday & a little on Sunday, what I saw was pretty awesome. It looked great on the PC. The telecast was really nice.
Man, shades on the bleachers out at RC, shade period would be killer.
I'm happy for that area of Colorado and their program. It's been up and down over the past 20 years. I'll have to bring the bikes next time we head down that way.

b.