Wednesday, July 14, 1999
Loveland looks to Indy for bike ideas
Local leaders plan tour of indoor velodrome
BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LOVELAND — The wheels continue to turn on Loveland officials' attempts to build an indoor bike-racing track that might attract steady interest from national- and local-level racers.
The wheels next stop in Indianapolis, where on July 23 Loveland officials hope a tour of its velodrome facility there will provide a blueprint for Loveland leaders.
Buses leave Loveland City Hall at 5:15 p.m. The tour includes dinner and watching the Friday night races at the Major Taylor Velodrome in the Lake Sullivan area of the Indianapolis park system. Guest speakers will discuss the economic and cultural impact the racetrack has had on Indiana's capital city.
Since 1997, all internationally sanctioned events must be held in an indoor velodrome.
Indianapolis' circular track is 333.3 meters (about 1,000 feet) long, with 28-degree banked corners. It recently was the site of a national race, just two days after Greater Cincinnati concluded its Elite National races in June. Racers can reach speeds of 40 mph.
“The neat thing about cycling,” said Chip Ellison, vice president of tour co-sponsor the Queen City Wheels cycling group, “is that ... it's not just an elite activity. Cycling spans the whole range. Everybody grew up riding a bike.”
Mr. Ellison, who also is manager of Wright Brothers Cyclery, said Tuesday that seats were still available on the two buses reserved for the two-hour drive to Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis track, which is open to the public, debuted in 1982 and was operated by the city's parks and recreation department until 1996, when it was privatized under the control of the Indianapolis Bicycle Coalition.
Linda Fink, the Indianapolis velodrome's facility direc tor, said running the track has had mixed results. The public does take advantage of it and it does attract national events, but it's not a revenue generator.
“We break even, but it's a struggle,” she said Tuesday.
She said funding was greatly reduced when the city stopped operating the track. But she said “competition for amateur sports dollars here is very strong.”
Loveland Mayor Lee Skierkiewicz envisions better economic results. His grander plans for economic development of Loveland include a hotel and restaurants that would cater to the thousands who would attend cycling events.
The U.S. Elite and Junior National Road Cycling Championships here last month drew an estimated 30,000 spectators for the five days of races, which the Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau said generated an estimated $119,025 for the local economy.
Previously, Mr. Skierkiewicz and the Loveland administration drafted a proposal for a comprehensive feasibility study, and the Ohio state legislature responded with a $50,000 grant.
The city then contributed another $25,000, which is being used to pay for the Indianapolis trip.
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