56 replies to this topic

[Cheater]

It was announced at a race this past weekend that Flashbacks Model Raceway in Snellville, GA, is closing just after the end of the year. 
 
Flashbacks, operated by Tina and Larry Black, is one of the longest surviving raceways in the Atlanta area, having opened in their original location in 2000.
 
The premises must be vacated by Jan 15, so the raceway's racing programs will continue through the first weekend in January. Note that with Christmas and New Year's Eve falling on Sundays this year, there will be no racing on those two weekends.
 
This closure is sad and unhappy news for the Atlanta area slot racing community.
 
Edit: I just heard today (12/9/16) from the owner of SpeedZone PTC in Peachtree City, GA, Rich Vant Hof, insisting that the racewway is not closing at the end of the year as was previously stated in this thread. Based on Rich's info, I will be cleaning up this thread to remove any comments referencing my erroneous info and also remove the note about closing that was inserted in the SpeedZone entry in Slotblog's Raceway List.

[Taylor Davis]

Well, that was a slap in the face!

Best wishes to Larry and Tina.

[SlowBeas]

Sorry to hear. I've always wanted to run the Paperclip at Flashbacks.

 

Southern tracks are getting harder and harder to find.

[NSwanberg]

We all know the current business model for slot car racing does not work in this universe.

 

Keep it in the slot while you can.

[MattD]

It's just sad to see such a nice track getting shut down. Maybe the only hope to preserve tracks like this is if an individual has enough money to buy a track and put it in a private building. You would hope that several people could go together and do that, but those partnerships are pretty much doomed to not last long term.

Do you guys think we have reached the point where there are more tracks in storage than open for racing?

[beardogracing]

Follow the European model: form a club.

 

Why, oh, why does it have to be a money-making exercise?

[Eddie Fleming]

Great idea if you can maintain enough members to pay the rent or have a place with no rent.

 

We did that in the '90s but after a while we could not pay the rent.

[MSwiss]

Follow the European model: form a club.

 

Why, oh, why does it have to be a money-making exercise?

 

I originally was going to do that with Chicagoland Raceway.

 

It was quickly apparent that the guys who liked the dues number the months they planned to race every week weren't keen on still paying the dues in the (summer) months when they typically took a break.

[MattD]

Any time you rely on others for money, you also have to respect their input and their wives' input and hope for their long term involvement. Just not easy to keep a big enough group happy and together long term if they each have money in it.

Most clubs end up with several guys having home tracks that they own 100% with very little overhead. Racers come and go, but the tracks can stay viable. A big 1/24 track is hard to fit in your family room or garage!!! Sad.

[Samiam]

I would pay $100/month to join a club with a commercial style track. But with rent and utilities on Long Island we would need at least 20 members.
 
Would love to hear how Zippity's club works. Who owns what? What is the rent? Monthly dues? etc...

[MattD]

$100 a month would be very reasonable. What is reasonable for a lot of us is too high for a many others. It does require a commitment, but how do you enforce it?

[n9949y]

Photos reveal the real curse – huge empty floor space. Why do commercial operators need so many enormous tracks per shop?

[Cheater]

Good point, Todd.

Wonder how the 1/24 commercial raceway industry would have done if the 100' American orange Monarch had been selected as "the" track to have instead of the 155' American blue King?

[n9949y]

Greg,
 
You ask a question few have answered, because most every time a commerical shop opens, its manager/owner puts up the same humongous tracks (most likely obtained from earlier closed shops). Same ol,' same ol.' Would think that from their slavishly following a "business" model that without fail, fails, they would learn.

I mean this sort of operation's been done over and over again – almost 50 years now with pretty much the same results. How does that saying go, "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is..."

[MSwiss]

It depends what you're looking to do.
 
If you want to run on a 55 ft. 4 lane track, once a week, you might as well just put it in your basement and not pay rent. There are a dozen or more people that have done that in the Chicago area, and that's fine.
 
But if you have any interest in holding big events with 40 or more guys, attract casual walk-ins, hold birthday parties with again, up to 40 or 50 people, you need to go with the bigger deal.

[Cheater]

I can already hear the eyeballs rolling before I even type this, but IMO the 1/24 slot car hobby has suffered for probably half a century from a lack of some entity advocating for the activity itself.

The other successful, stable, visible hobbies/leisure-time activities are distinguished from the slowly-disappearing ones by this factor.

[Arne Saknussem]

I can already hear the eyeballs rolling before I even type this, but IMO the 1/24 slot car hobby has suffered for probably half a century from a lack of some entity advocating for the activity itself.

The other successful, stable, visible hobbies/leisure-time activities are distinguished from the slowly-disappearing ones by this factor.

 
No eyeball rolling here, Greg. You're right and there's no likely comeback, IMO. Drone racing ought to be the last nail in the coffin. The space required for that will make a slot track look tiny and will (again, IMO) probably be the death of it when the "fad" poops out.
 
As you know, I owned a raceway. Probably would still be in business but the almost-empty mall I was in shut down and tossed me out (BTW, the developer never did anything and was successfully sued by our county and the property sold at a foreclosure auction   ).  

After looking for a new location (unsuccessfully) and thinking about all the BS required (I'm not a really good people person) I sold all of it off and passed the responsibility to others. I still race when it fits my schedule (which isn't often) but I'm in a club and we go from member's house to member's house monthly. It's good fun. Gonna build a track in my basement and have my friends over for a good time.
 
Cheers!

[Zippity]

I would pay $100/mo. to join a club with a commercial style track. But with rent and utilities on Long Island we would need at least 20 members.
 
Would love to hear how Zippity's club works. Who owns what? What is the rent? Monthly dues? etc...

 
I guess that as a club, we are lucky.
 
Our monthly rental is $551 - including power. Our club room is located on the first floor, up 16 steps at the rear of a commercial building owned by the local city council.
 
Most of our members each pay in advance, the $500 Annual Race Membership (with a key included). A few just opt for the $15 race night fee.
 
The club also receives additional income from hosting National events.
 
Our six-lane flat race track is now some 15 years old and has been twice rebraided.
 
The track was a "freebie" courtesy of the National Museum of New Zealand, "Te Papa." The club had taped and wired a CNC-built race track and manned it for a 22-day "Speed" exhibition during the Easter School Holidays 2001. Once the exhibition was over, we tendered for the track.

[Half Fast]

The nice thing about clubs is that they can be located in "out of the way" places and up or down stairs, since they do not have to attract walk-in customers as do commercial tracks. Saves greatly on rent.
 
Cheers.

[Samiam]

Immigration New Zealand

[Zippity]

The nice thing about clubs is that they can be located in "out of the way" places and up or down stairs, since they do not have to attract walk in customers as do commercial tracks. Saves greatly on rent.

 
Yes, we built a ramp up to the driver's rostrum to cater for one of our out-of-town wheelchair-bound racers.

[MattD]

That's a nice set-up, Ron. You are lucky to have that many like minded people together.

My questions is... with a group that big do you ever have meetings/discussions/disagreements and then a group that threatens to quit? That always seems to happen with most clubs of any kind that may have disagreements.

As to the size of tracks requiring large floor space, that is a factor no doubt since lease/rent is usually based on sq. ft. I also think the whole format is doomed for a longterm future. Commercial raceways will continue to fade away and some day just be counted on two hands.

I think there is a viable way forward, though. Tracks will be smaller and not a priority, but a full service hobby shop or other business that makes their money from retail sales could successfully operate a smaller track. They just can't rely on a slot track for their primary income. There can be track rental income/club member fees and car and part sales, but the slot side will only be a side. This would require a smaller track, maybe only four lanes. It will probably rule out wing cars and other high speed stuff and be more for scale/hardbodies/RTR type cars. There may have to be a schedule for public use, club use or party use, but there would be a track available.

I figure if all commercial stuff was done. I would stick with 1/24 at home; luckily I have a place for a big track. If my group broke up and I had to run smaller 1/32 cars, I could adjust to that. With limits for power and some scratchbuilding ability I could still enjoy the hobby. That wouldn't require as much space. I do like the idea of several guys having home tracks and not running the same track all the time.

[Cheater]

Our monthly rental is $551 - including power. Our club room is located on the first floor, up 16 steps at the rear of a commercial building owned by the local city council.

Zip, I assume your figure is in New Zealand dollars and wanted to point out that, according to today's exchange rate, your NZ$551 is just US$396.72.

Plus, in many non-US countries, local governmental authorities support recreational activities in various ways, something that doesn't happen much or at all in the US.

[Ramcatlarry]

In North America, in particular, the regional 'park districts' DO support recreation activities and birthday partys, BUT motorized sports like U-control  model airplanes, RC electric or Gas boats, cars, or planes or SLOT CARS are generally ignored... and some even support skateboarding with fenced in outdoor areas.
 
The party rates at my local park district are almost double what I charged for a typical slot/pizza party.

[Cheater]

I was about to post that I know of an R/C flying field at the Warner Park near where we lived in Nashville, but stumbled upon THIS surprising requirement. Relevant info from the link:
 
"A permit is required to operate a model aircraft or boat at specific Metro Park properties.
In order to register for a permit please provide the following items:

• A model aircraft application provided by the staff of the Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation.
• Annual Permit Fee: $35.00 for Residents; $45.00 for Non-Residents
• Proof of public liability insurance in the amount of $300 thousand (AMA card, homeowners' insurance, etc.)

After received, permits are valid for one year and should be renewed thirty days prior to the permit expiration date."

Kinda drifting the topic, I know, but I never knew you'd need to have an annual permit to fly an R/C plane at a public park. Wonder if they ticket a bunch of kids with cheap R/C planes in the days after Christmas?