Da Groj

Loren wrote:regularly get damaged by hitting things like poles and curbs) dictates that they are not suitable for our events.

I have seen too many skilled drivers nearly total their cars hitting said objects (including drain grates). One of the things I never liked about the Orlando Convention Ctr is the poles and curbs with the faster cars/carts if they get out of the groove. A nationally top competitive driver lost control 2 years ago trying to avoid a final cone and slid into a curb on the outer edge. Fortunately he was able to get it fixed and trade it in before it was paid off. Ouch. He paid for the repair out of pocket.

His take away was: "Next time I'll just hit the cone."

Surprised there hasn't been any other comments bringing this thread back to light given the recent news.

I have a buddy who works for a company called Welfont. They specialize in helping NPO's buy real estate by finding sellers willing to sell to NPO at a significant discount, while providing enough tax write off to net the seller his asking price (or close there to it). At a high level, it makes sense and could be a resource when finding land. Although, I'm not sure the land would cost enough to justify any tax write offs.

Loren- Just an idea, but it seems like insurance might be one of the more costly items for a club. I'm wondering if a dedicated site could be the insurance carrier and be able to get a lower, bulk rate. If so, could the site owner then charge a higher rental fee in lieu of each event having to carry insurance? Not sure how all of that works, but it seems like if that were the case, that might be a small area of additional revenue for the site owner.

All of my ideas might be crap for all I know, but I feel the need to at least let you all decide. I'd hate to have an idea that no one else considers be a reason for a plan like this NOT working.

Oh, rest assured that there are hidden areas of this forum that most people don't know about... Steve and I have been all over this topic in recent months! But, if we post our discussion here, then we spend 10x as much of our time fielding questions from all of the well-meaning folks trying to help.

We are currently in the process of doing a serious "feasibility study" to determine if we CAN build a facility. Initial indications are that we probably can, with enough crowdfunding support, and help from "all the right people". But, until we have CONFIDENTLY answered that question, there is no point in going further. So, that's where we are. We're passing our initial investigation off to people who are professional construction project managers for their input.

FAST is not a non-profit, btw. Never has been. It's a MAJOR hassle to get set up as a non-profit. In the beginning, we just didn't think it was worth the hassle. But, since then, the club has grown a lot, and we put in a LOT of work... and we accept some of the profit. (yeah, we could still take a salary even if it was non-profit) But, we'll look at all of the real estate options when the time comes. We're just not there yet.

Event insurance is handled at the club level. As site owners, we may have our own liability insurance on top of that. But, every autocross club carries insurance and insures their own events. WE don't want to be responsible for somebody else's event. They make mistakes and OUR premiums go up? No thanks.

Figured as much. Just didn't want to have an idea no one has thought of or considered no matter how bad of idea it might be. I'll go back to meaning well with my mouth shut

I didn't think it was a NPO, but saw someone else mention it, so wasn't sure. Would be WAY to much hassle to set up site as NPO and then rent to clubs then. Probably wouldn't be expensive enough to justify and write off anyway. If only we could find a person who owns a paving company and has about 10 acres they want pave and then sell at a loss for a nice write off...

I thought I would just throw this out there. My grandparents (or rather the family trust) have 15+ acres of farmland for sale in Dover (McIntosh Rd & I-4). I am sure the price they are asking is more than most would be willing to invest for this sorta thing, but it is set up rather nicely to turn into a motorsports park (autocross course, dirt track, go-kart track, etc.). Even though it is still fairly rural, there are houses and schools nearby, so I don't know if noise would be an issue. But the site has power, water, sewer (septic tank) already on it. Plus being close to I-4, it is well located.

So you'll know about renting existing race facilities as a group. I priced out a couple for fun events, drag strip, ovals a couple years back. The killer was that they require an on site EMT staff for the whole event on us in addition to the hefty track/staff rental fee. That kills it for a small club. Also some require you eat their food which isn't cheap. Cheese fries ala mode. So the simple answer for drags just show up on a T&T night or weekend special event and get in as many runs as you can for $20. If you have a shitty car you probably can race in amateur nite at the paved circle tracks. Don't plan on driving it home as they don't drive defensively.

I thought I found a cool rural airport recently but none of it was paved.

Alex, PM me the address, I'll look at it. We most likely want 20+ acres, though. Room to grow.

Loren wrote:We most likely want 20+ acres, though. Room to grow.

Go big or go home .

We can always strong arm the neighboring farmers.
Strawberry fields for NEVER!

Get the prophylactic with the reservoir tip.
Or just sign on the dotted line to land the whopper. BOGO now at Burger King. I have coupons. I'm learning still. I know you all will xcross in my driveway when there isn't an alternative.

Gymkhana at Dougopolis!

Loren wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:19 pm Oh, rest assured that there are hidden areas of this forum that most people don't know about... Steve and I have been all over this topic in recent months! But, if we post our discussion here, then we spend 10x as much of our time fielding questions from all of the well-meaning folks trying to help.

I was thinking of looking around for sites we could rent by flying around in google earth. Is it safe to say that i'd be wasting my time searching for new sites myself? I wasn't certain if you normally go through a procedure to find new sites to run at. From looking around Florida it seems to be composed mostly of residential, farm, and untamed wilderness areas. My basic thought process was:

-Locate industrial or remote areas
-Find businesses that have suitable parking lots
-see if business operates on weekends
-???

I imagine you guys already have a spreadsheet of sites that have been considered and ruled out for various reasons. I'm just looking for a way to help FAST keep racing.

Many have googled, over and over. Odds are anything you find has been seen, so don't be surprised if we aren't impressed. But feel free just the same.

On the topic of "how much would you donate to make this happen"... I think it would depend on the probability of it actually happening and whether there was risk of not getting that money back if the project never happened. If it was a well planned deal likely to go through I'd be more inclined to donate more... I think I would feel comfortable somewhere around 500 bucks? Or wait, Can we have donor benefits at different donation levels? How much to get my name on a porta potty?

And I really like the Dover idea since it'd be like 10 minutes from my house.

We're chasing existing sites at present. We haven't forgotten this idea, but it's been a little on the back burner due to the unexpected rapid loss of Brooksville.

When the time comes, we're not going to ask for money without having a solid plan in place. That's about all I can tell you for now.

Whats the lakeland site called/address? Just wanted to google satellite view it.

Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium
https://www.mlb.com/tigers/spring-training/ballpark
Top right column says:

Driving Directions Address:
2301 Lakeland Hills Blvd.
Lakeland, FL 33805

So was the paperwork all signed and 100% good to go for the Lakeland site?

We have a date tentatively scheduled for May 26. You can bet big money that as soon as that date is confirmed, we'll let everyone know ASAP.

We haven't told you that it's confirmed yet... It ain't.

Native wrote:2301 Lakeland Hills Blvd.
Lakeland, FL 33805

or....

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.07251,- ... a=!3m1!1e3