Who would want a local indoor go-kart track?

[Precision]

A friend of mine is looking into building an indoor kart track similar to but not identical to Fast times. I'm trying to help him gauge interest in the local area.

Would you buy a membership?
Would you enroll in a Fall/Winter/Spring League?
What attributes would you look for in this kind of business?

Let me know what you think and I'll pass it along.

Thanks!

[digitalseance]

Would you buy a membership? No
Would you enroll in a Fall/Winter/Spring League? No/Maybe
What attributes would you look for in this kind of business? I'd like to see decent prices. I'm unfamiliar with fast times but went to CIR. CIR was waaaay too expensive for what I got out of it. The printouts were neat and all but beyond what I would want out of a go-kart track. I'd like to see something like $30 gets you 10-15 minutes of track time on a 7-10hp kart. Otherwise, it's a better deal to go autocrossing IMO. I'd also like to see an 1/8 mi length track or longer, non slick surface like porous (sp?) concrete.

My $.02 - I'm a car guy, not a kart guy :D

[marty]

Would you buy a membership?

yes

Would you enroll in a Fall/Winter/Spring League?

yes

What attributes would you look for in this kind of business?

cheap entry fees, fast karts

[Precision]

He was looking at $20 for ten minuets
And 13 HP ungoverned Honda motors.

I was just telling him that a slick floor is sometimes nice, but some like a grippy track. My solution was VHT.

[BWG]

Would you buy a membership?

Yes

Would you enroll in a Fall/Winter/Spring League?

Yes

What attributes would you look for in this kind of business?

fast carts, good track and a fair price.

Since when is autox at $30 for 5 minutes cheaper lol + you spend 6 - 8 hours out there and don't get to smash into anyone else :D

[Midship_Express]

I'd look into a league just for the hell of it. Sounds fun. What would be the perks of a membership?

[jstbrd]

Would you buy a membership?
Maybe, depends on benefits and costs

Would you enroll in a Fall/Winter/Spring League?
Most likely

What attributes would you look for in this kind of business?
fast carts, good track, good location, and a fair price.

[StealsSouls]

not enough people to support the costs in central il

[RacerX11]

I was just telling him that a slick floor is sometimes nice, but some like a grippy track. My solution was VHT.
The faster the karts, the more expensive the insurance will be. The grippier the floor/tires, the faster they will wear out, increasing operating costs. It is all a trade-off of customer fun versus profitability.

As much as I would love to see this happen somewhere in Central Illinois, I just don't see there being enough people willing to pay the price it would require to make it profitable.

[Hornswoggler]

I would be all over it.

Have your buddy visit Chicago Indoor Racing if he ever gets a chance, I would do something like that more often if it were closer (and cheaper). The competitive aspect (race format, heats/qualfiers, timesheets, etc) keeps my interest... leaning more towards karting as opposed to amusement go-karts.

[kaptain]

I'll stick to racing at my grandma's track and the one off of the interstate.

Dirt is fine and the engines run around 10-13 hp or more.

[dnace]

I'll stick to racing at my grandma's track and the one off of the interstate.

Dirt is fine and the engines run around 10-13 hp or more.

I was trying to figure out how you relate to that person. Sumwon has a go-kart buggy we want to run :)


I would not get a membership, would consider league, would look for decent price.

An electric kart in san diego had a lunch special for $20 you got like 15min and lunch and drink it was great. Could do it on a work lunch break too.

[Hinshaw]

Membership? Possibly

League? Depends on how good the track is, karts are, etc etc

Looking for in a business? Cheap prices, good track layout, proper track maintenance.

[HBNR86]

I think this would be really cool and would be willing to pay a decent price for it. However I agree with whoever the other person was that said central Illinois is not a big enough market to support something like this and be profitable. If he doesnt mind opening it up and maybe just breaking even then go for it.

[Precision]

One thing that you are not remebering is that a large amount of buissness comes from leagues. There is a large amount of people that would enrole in leagues. People that race all summer long, and people on those pit crews would be the target audiance. Weather it be dirt oval, auto X, Drag racing, or road racing. His plan is make as much of an authentic racing experiance as possible to keep the intrest of the target audiance. "It's not going to be like, lets go to Grady's and ride the go karts" he said.

If people around here and in Chicago feel that they are paying too much and getting too little why would they not drive a little ways for a days worth of karting. Hell we do it two to three times a year. If the facility were closer i would think that the people in the area would go karting more offen and in turn bring more people with them.

He is going to be walking around the pits and grand stands of a few differnt tracks in the up comming weeks to guage potential interest. So we'll see what the "weekend warrior" says.

Thanks for the input guys, keep it comming.

[Larz]

I'd do it once a month. I'd buy a membership if it was cost effective and I got good seat time for my money. 15 minutes of racing for two hours of driving there would not work. I'd rather pay a $500 membership and race for over an hour once a month or something similar.

[EvoIX_MR2006]

I'd give it a try. I'm all about things being close.

[NewScooby]

Would you buy a membership?
In Bloomington/Normal Yes, in Peoria No.
Would you enroll in a Fall/Winter/Spring League?
yes
What attributes would you look for in this kind of business?
- Not a slick track
- good discount for frequent users

[Dan]

Yes, yes.

There is a pretty good market for this as far as I can tell. It would easily be the closest one to Bloomington, Peoria, Sprinfield and C-U. In fact - on that basis, BN would be the best place for it.

[dnace]

Yes, yes.

There is a pretty good market for this as far as I can tell. It would easily be the closest one to Bloomington, Peoria, Sprinfield and C-U. In fact - on that basis, BN would be the best place for it.

agreed

[wrigmiata]

Would you buy a membership? YES
Would you enroll in a Fall/Winter/Spring League? YES
What attributes would you look for in this kind of business

I would want seats big enough for my fat ass. I would like kids with experience in kart racing to be able to race with the parents. I would like to see a ten times better arcade than what we have in this area. (It wouldn't take very much) Make money on the people watching and hanging out. I would like to see karts fast enough to be fun. There is nothing in the Champaign/Urbana area for high school on up kids to do but get in trouble. I would like to see a fee at the door to keep out the problem people. I would like to see off duty Police in side and out on the weekend nights to keep it friendly. Most city's will let Police officers moon light with there car and uniform. I have been thinking about getting a indoor/outdoor karting for a while as well.

[Mad Max]

I'd give it whirl and pass judgement after.

[gary p]

Would you buy a membership? MAYBE


Would you enroll in a Fall/Winter/Spring League? PROBABLY


What attributes would you look for in this kind of business? Track layout/surface matter alot. A sticky track with good flow and more than one overtaking zone would keep my interest longer than a slickish track with too many slow S's that look cool on paper but are choppy to drive and essentially no-pass zones.

[rob10s2]

Would you buy a membership? possibly


Would you enroll in a Fall/Winter/Spring League? most likely


What attributes would you look for in this kind of business? fast karts, fee at the door, good arcade, sticky track, printouts, lots of people to come.


by the way, k's merchandise is for sale and conveniently where the BN people meet thursdays hint hint