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$250k + 15 acres = Need plans for bike park

manimal

Ociffer Tackleberry
Feb 27, 2002
7,212
17
Blindly running into cactus
My partner at work is well past his 30 years on the force to retire. He rides w/ me at work and is very fit for a 50-something year old. I usually tell him the weekend stories of where noah and i went to ride or what i want to build and, after telling him how packed skate cary was this weekend he got a glimmer in his eye.

you see, he wants to retire but he has a young wife and newborn to support and the healthcare premium goes from about $250 per month per family to $750 per month per family for retirees (friggin ridiculous)

so he inherited 15 acres right near the entrance to the NC zoo in asheboro and he's been trying to figure out the best way to make money off of it for extra retirement income. today he started drilling me about bike parks and asking me for ideas. he says he has about $250k to invest if needed and was curious about insurance costs and what he would need to make it work.

I suggested the following and i'm looking for more suggestions because, if he goes through w/ this, it could be one heck of a park that's only about 30 minutes from greensboro.

- indoor and outdoor skate/bike ramp area with the possibility of a bowl. indoor section would be made with one of the inexpensive steel framed buildings common in warehouses nowadays (ie: factory skatepark in GA) outdoor area would be more spaced out and geared more toward the bike crowd but the inside would still be bikeable if the outside was shut down due to weather.

- LARGE dirtjump area, i'm talking a few acres worth. he told me that the area is mostly flat with a slight downward slope on the back half. he has access to numerous tractors/diggers. i was thinking he could make several different areas from novice to pro lines and, given there will be no lack of dirt, everything would be made as a table so as not to intimidate those trying to learn.

- freeride skills area. the lack of elevation change would limit this section but a network of skinnies, teeters and small drops a la Rays MTB Park would be sufficient for some skill building and could still be rideable if the dj's are too wet.

- concession/pro shop, about the size of the one at skate cary but perhaps with a limited kitchen (pizza,hot dogs...microwave stuff) pro shop would carry limited stock to keep the overhead low but would have the necessities (skate parts, tubes, stems, cranks...)

- nature trail: for the parents of the groms, a groomed trail that meanders throughout the park where they could jog/walk/watch if they chose to stay at the park. perhaps make this feature free for spectators/fitness minded locals.

- now, i don't know how to go about this part but what better way to promote your park than by having either a NBL or ABA bmx track there as well. with 15 acres available there will be plenty of room for a tanglewood sized track in addition to the skate/dj/freeride areas. this is the area i need you local SE monkies to help me out with. i'm a NBL member but i don't have many contacts in that area but i know some of you folks have been in the bmx scene for a long time and know how it works. also, given the uh...confederate-ish location, i'm sure there are plenty of redneck kids just dying to have a bmx track closer to them ;)

so..to bring this back to reality, i don't know how serious he was about all of this but he is definitely considering it very deeply. he's run a business before and likes the idea of the low overhead involved with this type of venture, especially considering his only real operating expense would be the insurance...since he owns the land and all. the dirt jump area would cost about nothing as i'm sure we could round up a bunch of diggers/shapers to come help out in exchange for some free sessions and he has all of the heavy equipment to do it right.

so what i'm asking now is:

1. if all of this came to fruition, how many of you would be willing to drive to asheboro to ride something like this and how often would you make the trip(use the nc zoo address for mapquest/distance queries 4401 Zoo Pkwy, Asheboro, NC 27205) *about 30-45 minutes for triad riders and 1:45 for raleigh area folks*

2. are there any suggestions that would make something like this better or more appealing. my goal is to help him design something that will appeal to more people more of the time than a basic skatepark and possibly open up another bmx track.

thanks for the ideas in advance.
 

OffCamber

Monkey
May 27, 2005
405
6
Loxahatchee, Fl
I would contact TeamPain.com for the park. I believe they are out of Orlando but build some killer stuff. Look into community grants or funds. The Tony Hawk foundation might be able to help you there. Also, check with both NBL and ABA to see which one would provide the best help (funds). There a lot of info around the net, it just takes some time. Lee from Leelikesbikes.com might have some answers also. Hope this provides a start.
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
Best place to start is to contact the local IMBA representative and to contact McKay Insurance for a quote.

Also, speaking with the owner/operators of Woodward facilities would give tremendous insight as they are the Whistler of the US.
 

bent^biker

Turbo Monkey
Feb 22, 2006
1,958
0
pdx
look at LeToy state park in CO (on leelikebikes.com) for ideas on dj's and pump track. Also you might shoot lee an e-mail. you could also ask zach dank on here for dj ideas as he is pretty much the god of all diggers. esher shore in the uk has some pretty sweet ladder stuff http://www.eshershore.com/ . Eren on here lives right by it so he can probably give you the low down there. otherwise you might talk to ray at Ray's in cleveland, he pretty much has the pimp set up for indoor stuff.
 

Eren

Turbo Monkey
Mar 18, 2006
2,874
0
mill creek, WA (now in Surrey UK)
look at LeToy state park in CO (on leelikebikes.com) for ideas on dj's and pump track. Also you might shoot lee an e-mail. you could also ask zach dank on here for dj ideas as he is pretty much the god of all diggers. esher shore in the uk has some pretty sweet ladder stuff http://www.eshershore.com/ . Eren on here lives right by it so he can probably give you the low down there. otherwise you might talk to ray at Ray's in cleveland, he pretty much has the pimp set up for indoor stuff.
well, when its all thats around and 2 miles away so you can ride to it. yea that makes it fun. i wouldnt drive more than 30min to it thoughas its aimed at novice riders. but still fun!
 

PCC

Chimp
Dec 4, 2003
29
0
Ga, the flat part
I can get you a price on a metal building package alone and or the metal building erected (someone else would have to be the GC). Just tell me what size L x W, how high you want the interior clear to be, if you want columns or clear span inside (columns are generally cheaper) and whether you want walls and insulation.

If you need a full service GC I would suggest Samet in greensboro, if you just want a metal building contractor Myrick in biscoe would be who I'd call. Just call one of them and tell them what your plans are and they'll run some budget numbers for you.

FYI, In general steel is more expensive than wood right now.

pm me I don't check this site often

Patrick
 

manimal

Ociffer Tackleberry
Feb 27, 2002
7,212
17
Blindly running into cactus
I can't seem to find it now, but I know that I read that one of IMBA's newer short term goals was helping support MTB "destination" development.

Reach out to IMBA, plus look at some of this info:

http://www.imba.com/resources/organizing/index.html#tourism
yeah...i remember now, i think it was in the december issue of MBA where they did a 2 page spread Q&A w/ IMBA on their new program focus. I'll definitely get in touch with them.
 

DORO

Monkey
Jun 15, 2006
131
0
Highland Mountian Bike Park in New Hampshire is new to the scene over the last 2 years. I would ping them for additional insight as that place is top knotch. Have a pro builder/rider on the team is a big help.
 
Nov 10, 2003
33
0
asheville
I know this is blatant self promotion, but what you are talking about is what I have started a company doing.

I worked for IMBA for a while and continue to be used by them as a sub-contractor on more "technical" jobs. There is enough of this work popping up in the country that I decided to run solo on it. Please get in touch with me. Go to my blog and check out some of my recent work in Asheville. As far as credentials, I organized two years of the Asheville Street Ride contest, was a part of Swannanoa when it started blowing up, and worked on a little place in Florida called Santos. I have a lot of photos and contacts you could talk to, but would be willing to at least brainstorm with you for free over email or the phone about your options. This is something the area needs in a BIG way. Ryan Taylor keeps moving forward out here with Wolf and it just makes sense the triangle would have something like this too.

Sorry for the long post, I just got stoked. Please get in touch email me. or check out my blog.
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
I know this is blatant self promotion, but what you are talking about is what I have started a company doing.

I worked for IMBA for a while and continue to be used by them as a sub-contractor on more "technical" jobs. There is enough of this work popping up in the country that I decided to run solo on it. Please get in touch with me. Go to my blog and check out some of my recent work in Asheville. As far as credentials, I organized two years of the Asheville Street Ride contest, was a part of Swannanoa when it started blowing up, and worked on a little place in Florida called Santos. I have a lot of photos and contacts you could talk to, but would be willing to at least brainstorm with you for free over email or the phone about your options. This is something the area needs in a BIG way. Ryan Taylor keeps moving forward out here with Wolf and it just makes sense the triangle would have something like this too.

Sorry for the long post, I just got stoked. Please get in touch email me. or check out my blog.
Don't be so humble. You left out the gem of Greenville...Paris Mtn. I haven't gotten to ride it but you seem to be getting good reviews.

Butch
 

session34

Chimp
Aug 19, 2006
38
0
That would be amazing to have something like that in NC. I live in Charlotte and know plenty of riders that would hit that up on a weekly or more basis. Something for non-riding parents would be very benefical to have return customers, especially for those travelling a fair distance to the area. A slopestyle area would be excellent. All you need is dirt , wood, and ideas for a fun little park. Anyway, I hope everything gets worked out cause it sounds like a great spot.
 

Big J

Monkey
Jul 18, 2005
421
0
Chicago
You may want inquiry if there are advantages to structuring the organization as a Not for Profit to protect yourselves and the business. I know some BMX track owners have turned Not for Profit to remain open under growing liability costs.

J