OCTOBER 4, 2006
By Danny Brault
Dave Chesterman (left) and his son, Scotty, stand in the doorway to their soon-to-be indoor arenacross track.
It’s that time again, when riders sell their bikes and prepare for their hibernation until the snow melts and the ice thaws so they can resume their two-wheeled passion. Or is it? In the last few weeks, there have been constant updates on mxforum.com with regards to an indoor MX track in Southwestern Ontario, located in Tillsonburg (just minutes from the Gopher Dunes track). Well, after viewing the photos, we just had to get a first hand view of this new facility and find out if it’s true: that we have somewhere to ride when the mercury drops. The owner of the arena—and of Chesterman Farm Equipment, Dave Chesterman, is very close to finishing his project and by mid-November, he’s hoping to open the doors. We stopped by the Chesterman shop just outside of Tillsonburg to check out the new riding facility and to see if it’s the real deal—which we believe it is.
RXC: Just a little background here, Dave. How did you get into motocross?
Dave Chesterman: Someone [looks at his son, Scotty] started off with a little 80cc bike and we ended up at the track, racing; same story as everyone else. Our practice track got bigger and bigger and we were riding more and more and last winter, we started riding indoor tracks in the states. Because of our business background, we have the ability to put something together that, apparently, no one else thought could do or didn’t want to invest that much into. So, here it is [the indoor track] and it’s part of our business.
What’s motivated you to build this indoor riding facility?
I’ve been looking at diversifying our business, which has traditionally been farm and recreation products and with the farm economy on a slow decline, I’m looking for other avenues. A motocross track is what we’ve settled on; it fits in good with our existing Polaris dealership and our home maintenance-type products.
|
|
|
The Chesterman's indoor riding facility stands just behind their farm and recreation business, which is located 10 minutes west of Tillsonburg, Ontario. |
Something like an indoor MX track doesn’t sound cheap!
[Laughs] It’s not! But, that’s the good part: we don’t have to worry about indoor arenas popping up on every corner, competing with me. It’s a huge investment and anyone putting together an indoor arena is not doing it for fun. It’s way past just building something so your kid can ride. You’re basically looking at supporting the sport in probably a four-radius.
Ontario has a history with indoor riding facilities—the London Motoplex and the old airplane hanger in Dunnville—but there were problems with those two and they shut down fairly quickly. What do you think is going to help you guys or could help you to be more successful from previous attempts?
In all honesty, I think the Dunnville one probably had the ability to succeed, but they weren’t tied together with another business that could benefit from an arena. The arena itself doesn’t generate enough income to make it go. The fellow that was doing it probably had to quit his job to sit there and keep an eye on the track; it was in a rented building, in an area where there wasn’t that much population and people had a hard time finding it and it wasn’t promoted properly because not a lot of people knew about it until it was already gone. London was a different story. They went after the big show, more like the supercross. And, I understand their prediciment, they wanted to open it before the facilities were ready. From a rider’s standpoint, racing there was a poor experience because you did everything outside, you rode it quick and then you were back out. The whole idea is you got to treat the riders nice; give something for their entertainment and their money and they’ll come back. Another big headache, if you’re looking for spectators and paying public, then you’re looking at seating facilities and crowd management and it just brings a whole new cost and reponsibility. So, in essance, I’ve stripped off the spectator aspect of it, and it’s for the riders. We’ll have enough room for riders to spectate or mom and dad, but that’s about it.
|
|
|
Since they already operate a business--Chesterman Farm Equipment--it has helped with the costs and logistics associated with building and in the near future, maintaining the facility. |
Could you just over a few of things that riders will experience at your facility?
Well, because the riding surface is strictly that, I can get the air in and out and keep it fresh for the riders. It’s like a hockey arena: when you’re out there, you’re active and being warm or cold is not an issue—you don’t need a bunch of hot air out there. However, when you’re in between rides and you want to rest, you need a heat. So, we’ll have enclosed heated pits for the bikes and enclosed heating for the riders’ lounge. So, if you spend all day here, it’s a comfortable enviroment to be in. I think that’s a huge issue with indoor tracks that don’t have that. We’re going to have vending machines; the town is close enough that people can go get food—or have it ordered in. We will have bike storage, so if you want to keep it here all winter, you can. So, you can just jump in your car and drive over and grab your bike and wheel it in. The storage area will be in the main building, not the arena, for security purposes.
What is it going to cost to ride here during the winter? Will there be memberships? Day-passes?
Both. Because of the history of indoor motocross tracks in Ontario, I didn’t want to jam season passes down everyone’s throat. So, for the naysayers, come in, pay for the day and that’s it, that’s the extent of your risk—one day of riding. Everybody that comes into this building has to be a member, so that’s $30. It’s cheap. I went for some of the expense to pay for insurance, the paperwork and keeping track of everybody’s memberships, so that’s an easy deal to cover. And, then $30 to ride per day from that point on. If you want to buy a season pass, then $650 and you can ride as much as you want. The hours at this point will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. So, you’re daily pass or seasonal pass, covers you for those times. There will be private lessons before and after, and that’s where we will slot in riding schools, birthday parties or buddies just wanting to get together and ride.
Has there been much response from the industry or riders are this point?
A huge response from riders; a huge response from guys that want to teach and be involved with it. It’s got everybody pumped, but the only thing I’m running into is doing the … show me thing. People think it’s too good to be true—it’s not going to happen, so I kept this more or less undercover until Walton. That’s so when everybody hears it, they don’t think it’s going to be a year until it’s ready. The eight months of work that went into it before hand, nobody has seen that happen.
The facility will feature a traditional AX style two horseshoe-ring layout with obstacles challenging everyone from small-wheeled bikes to intermediates to pros.
A portion of the arena will feature two levels--a pit area on the floor and riders' lounge above--and both will be heated.
We were just bench racing in the office the other day, that BC and Quebec riders seem to excel over Ontario riders when it comes to indoor racing. So, with a facility such as yours, it gives our guys a chance to better their arenacross skills.
You can go to Florida, but you can only go there so long until you’re out of money. This way, if you’re within two or three hours, it’s an easy deal to come down every weekend and ride continually. And an indoor track is a huge exertion on your body. I can ride 15 minutes on an outdoor track and be tired, but five minutes on an indoor track and I’m exhausted! It’s not because it’s supercross obstacles, but it’s because whichever obstacles are there, they just keep coming at you. You’re at a corner, you’re at a jump, you’re at a corner, you’re at a jump—there is no long straightaway to sit down and rest.
If people want to find out more on the track, or how to contact you, what is the best method to reach you?
You can phone, but the best way to get most of this information is on the wesbite, chesterman.ca. And, we’re an ongoing, running business already, so by all means come by and look for yourself. It is a construction site and you can’t run around free, but they can come in and have a look and see our dealership.
Thanks, Dave. We're excited to try out the new track this winter!
No problem.
For additional information on the Chesterman's indoor track, please go to chesterman.ca.
