Anyone have experience getting permission and access for using an empty and unfinished neighborhood for an organized event? Someone on RallyAnarchy.com pointed out this one in Riverview... riverview fl - Google Maps

Thoughts?

 

Or what about a place like this unused rest stop off I75 south of Venice: MapQuest Maps - Driving Directions - Map

 

Private property is as easy as getting permission of the owner and securing event insurance. But, an unfinished housing development is probably owned by some corporation and you'd have a hard time getting permission or even finding the right person to talk to.

I expect it would be close to impossible to get permission to run on an unused interstate rest stop.

It's a really hard sell to get a site to open up for motorsports these days. Everyone wants to know the same thing... "what's in it for them?" At the local autocross or rallycross level, the answer is "not much" because we can't afford to pay a lot for site rental. It can be a little easier if you find an "in" somewhere. Someone who is sympathetic to your cause, and has the connections to help make it happen (even though there is little or no benefit to the site owner).

Start by verifying that the site is suitable for your purpose. The neighborhood roads are likely curbed, which will make them useless for autocross. Sanctioning for a "road course" type of event may be more expensive than autox insurance, which is relatively cheap due to autox being considered very low risk.

Unfortunately, any way you cut it, securing a new motorsports site takes a lot more legwork than just spotting places on a map.

 

True I suppose... no point in looking at maps... so I'll skip posting the others I've spied that seem to have better potential and much higher likelihood of granting permission and gaining sanctioning body acceptance.

Move along... nothing to see here...

 

dog track in tampa. its always empty unless there is a race and the lot isnt very pretty so they may give permission.

 

Now, I didn't say that there was no point in looking at a map. Just that there's a lot more legwork involved.

Satellite view only shows you a site that is potentially large enough to use. You have to verify that the pavement IS actually usable. I've seen sites get nixed for curbing, rough pavement, holes, trees, poles or stubs from cut-off poles... lots of things that you can't see without physically visiting the site and taking a close look.

Then, if the site really is viable... you have to find out who owns it, contact them, convince them that what we do somehow makes the world a better place and/or sufficiently feeds their pocket, and get permission to run there.

I didn't say it wasn't worth doing, just that it's not easy. The only time it's "sort of" easy is when you have contacts. Like the owner or manager of the site is an active member of the Porsche club, or the corporation that owns the site has an active motorsports club that can help organize events under their banner. A lot of times, without that "inside support", it's difficult.

Places that are NOT completely shut down (and therefore probably not owned by some real estate holding company who's only interest is to SELL it) may actually be easier. Contacts are easier to find and you can simply call them and ask "would you be open to allowing a weekend motorsports event on your back parking lot?" A lot of places with big parking lots have been approached before.

Last time I called Tampa Bay Downs (several years ago), the lady I spoke with had a number ready for me when I called. $1200, was the number, and they required more event insurance than we normally carry. ($2M, I think) The cost was too much for us to break even for our typical autocross and she wouldn't budge on it.

You can also rent the Tropicana Field parking lot easily enough, and it has been done... but they had to do it with entry fees that were on the "track event" level. (like $120+)

We've rented Merchant stadium parking lot in Lakeland in the past. Got a great deal on that one because we had a connection.

Tampa Fairgrounds have been used, an overflow lot at St. Pete Airport, overflow lots at various theme parks... there are lots and lots of possibilities... but it takes legwork.

 

Since you're open to rallycross events... I wonder if it wouldn't be easier to find a rallycross site? Large expanses of usable pavement are hard to find. An open field owned by some poor farmer who might welcome $500 cash to let you come play might be easier to find. Maybe.

 

Thanks for the replies Loren. I always assume it takes a lot more work to put a decent organized event together than just site shopping, but not having and experience, it is/was the first place I started: finding potential locations. I'm still interested in any answers to my original question:
I'm assuming based on your response that you have tried something similar and got rebuffed. Seems a shame, especially here in Florida where there are so many abandoned and unfinished housing developments. Of course they would require proper scouting to determine the viability of the surface and surroundings for an event, but I'm betting some of them might be very promising in that respect, especially for rally-x or rally-inspired single stage event.

Also, while I'm scouting for event locations generally, I'm less interested in foraging out more auto-x type venues. I've come to the realization that while I lament the current lack of events in the Sarasota area, driving an hour or so to GCAC or FAST events isn't that big a deal, and it's worth taking advantage of their established organization and resources. But, and I might just be wasting my efforts here, I would still like to see rally-x events become a viable option locally. I really need to talk to Jeff about his experience and perspective on the whole thing. If anyone knows the situation in this area, surely he does. But one thing at a time... still working to build more local interest and activity in general.

 

Aren't street solo's still allowed?

 

As in the old Portage (IN) GP or similar events in the '80s? SCCA hasn't sanctioned them for years -- the setup rules are gone from the Solo rulebook -- because of insurance costs. Mailboxes got too expensive.... IIRC, the FAST insurance policy specifies distances to hard objects (like curbs) that would make a street event very difficult, even if it's something like an abandoned development.

They were fun, though. Just about the time I got good enough to be invited to the Vallejo GP, I got orders to move...by the time I got back to California, they weren't running it any longer.