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Start your engines, sanctioned motorsports may be coming to Fellsmere
By Laurel Pfahler (Contact)
Friday, July 31, 2009
FELLSMERE — A new motorsports park could be coming to Fellsmere.
Plans are in the works for a mud-bog, ATV and tractor-pulling track at the old Mesa Park outdoor concert and motorsports facility.
It’s the first step to a potential three-track Treasure Coast Motorsports Park and custom home development.
Treasure Coast Motorsports Park managing partner Ike Heckler has been working with Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker on the project and will make a presentation to the City Council at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The goal is to have an Oct. 10 grand opening for the “Mud Bog Mania” series.
“It definitely has some potential,” Nunemaker said of the project. “... We’ll seek council’s thoughts and, if they agree, give (Heckler) a trial period to see how it works. Then once we see how that goes, we may work with him to see if we could entertain a much more involved motorsports park.”
He said the possibility it will bring some activity to Mesa Park and clean the area up is exciting.
“The idea of the bigger motorsports park seems like a great economic development opportunity,” Nunemaker said.
The concept for the Treasure Coast Motorsports Park includes the Mud Bog Mania track, the Sebastian Dragway and Fellsmere Speedway, as well as exclusive Winner’s Circle custom homes to be sold to professional race teams and fans, according to an e-mail from Heckler and the park’s Web site. Heckler did not return phone messages seeking comment.
The Mud Bog Mania track would be a four-lane, mud-bog/ATV track with a tractor-pull lane, featuring 36 yearly events.
Plans for the Sebastian Dragway include an all-concrete, NHRA-certified quarter-mile dragstrip that will run 139 yearly events, and the Fellsmere Speedway would be a NASCAR-certified -mile asphalt oval track that would feature 108 yearly events.
Nunemaker said the concern is how the community will respond to the noise a motorsports park — or even just the one Mud Bog Mania series — could create. That’s one reason the current focus is to start with the one track.
Once city officials see how well the series is received, decisions on the park will be made.
Nunemaker said he thinks the council will be “cautiously optimistic” about the original concept.
“There is a desire to get Mesa Park pulled back together to generate some activity in the community, but at the same time, there were issues in the past regarding noise and things like that, so we have to make sure we employ the proper litigation strategies,” Nunemaker said.
Nunemaker has been talking with Heckler for the past couple of weeks, after plans to have the park in Palm Bay stalled because of location issues.
Mesa Park offered an ideal location, Nunemaker said, because the infrastructure already is in place and the facility is not far off I-95, accessible from County Road 512 in Sebastian and Babcock Street in Palm Bay.
“In this economy there is so little going on, you don’t see opportunities come around like this all the time,” Nunemaker said. “We do have a young population, and we do have interest in motorsports. A lot of people have to go out of the area for this type of entertainment and, from what I understand, this will be affordable entertainment.”
PROPOSED TREASURE COAST MOTORSPORTS PARK
A three-track motorsports park is in the works, but plans initially call to start with a mud-bog track and build from there. Here are some of the details:
Mud-Bog Mania: A four-lane mud-bog/ATV track with a tractor-pull lane that will run approximately 24 yearly mud-bog events and 12 tractor-pull events.
Sebastian Dragway: An NHRA-certified all concrete quarter-mile dragstrip that will run approximately 139 yearly events.
Fellsmere Speedway: A NASCAR-certified 5/8-mile asphalt oval track that will run approximately 108 yearly events.
Winner’s Circle Club: Exclusive custom homes with RV garages to be sold to professional race teams and fans.
Notable: The topic will be discussed at the Fellsmere City Council 7 p.m. Thursday. The grand opening, if the project is approved, is being planned for Oct. 10. The goal is to make this the first renewable energies motorsports park in the country, as planners are exploring the use and
By Laurel Pfahler (Contact)
Friday, July 31, 2009
FELLSMERE — A new motorsports park could be coming to Fellsmere.
Plans are in the works for a mud-bog, ATV and tractor-pulling track at the old Mesa Park outdoor concert and motorsports facility.
It’s the first step to a potential three-track Treasure Coast Motorsports Park and custom home development.
Treasure Coast Motorsports Park managing partner Ike Heckler has been working with Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker on the project and will make a presentation to the City Council at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The goal is to have an Oct. 10 grand opening for the “Mud Bog Mania” series.
“It definitely has some potential,” Nunemaker said of the project. “... We’ll seek council’s thoughts and, if they agree, give (Heckler) a trial period to see how it works. Then once we see how that goes, we may work with him to see if we could entertain a much more involved motorsports park.”
He said the possibility it will bring some activity to Mesa Park and clean the area up is exciting.
“The idea of the bigger motorsports park seems like a great economic development opportunity,” Nunemaker said.
The concept for the Treasure Coast Motorsports Park includes the Mud Bog Mania track, the Sebastian Dragway and Fellsmere Speedway, as well as exclusive Winner’s Circle custom homes to be sold to professional race teams and fans, according to an e-mail from Heckler and the park’s Web site. Heckler did not return phone messages seeking comment.
The Mud Bog Mania track would be a four-lane, mud-bog/ATV track with a tractor-pull lane, featuring 36 yearly events.
Plans for the Sebastian Dragway include an all-concrete, NHRA-certified quarter-mile dragstrip that will run 139 yearly events, and the Fellsmere Speedway would be a NASCAR-certified -mile asphalt oval track that would feature 108 yearly events.
Nunemaker said the concern is how the community will respond to the noise a motorsports park — or even just the one Mud Bog Mania series — could create. That’s one reason the current focus is to start with the one track.
Once city officials see how well the series is received, decisions on the park will be made.
Nunemaker said he thinks the council will be “cautiously optimistic” about the original concept.
“There is a desire to get Mesa Park pulled back together to generate some activity in the community, but at the same time, there were issues in the past regarding noise and things like that, so we have to make sure we employ the proper litigation strategies,” Nunemaker said.
Nunemaker has been talking with Heckler for the past couple of weeks, after plans to have the park in Palm Bay stalled because of location issues.
Mesa Park offered an ideal location, Nunemaker said, because the infrastructure already is in place and the facility is not far off I-95, accessible from County Road 512 in Sebastian and Babcock Street in Palm Bay.
“In this economy there is so little going on, you don’t see opportunities come around like this all the time,” Nunemaker said. “We do have a young population, and we do have interest in motorsports. A lot of people have to go out of the area for this type of entertainment and, from what I understand, this will be affordable entertainment.”
PROPOSED TREASURE COAST MOTORSPORTS PARK
A three-track motorsports park is in the works, but plans initially call to start with a mud-bog track and build from there. Here are some of the details:
Mud-Bog Mania: A four-lane mud-bog/ATV track with a tractor-pull lane that will run approximately 24 yearly mud-bog events and 12 tractor-pull events.
Sebastian Dragway: An NHRA-certified all concrete quarter-mile dragstrip that will run approximately 139 yearly events.
Fellsmere Speedway: A NASCAR-certified 5/8-mile asphalt oval track that will run approximately 108 yearly events.
Winner’s Circle Club: Exclusive custom homes with RV garages to be sold to professional race teams and fans.
Notable: The topic will be discussed at the Fellsmere City Council 7 p.m. Thursday. The grand opening, if the project is approved, is being planned for Oct. 10. The goal is to make this the first renewable energies motorsports park in the country, as planners are exploring the use and