Posted June 5, 200718 yr Bicyclists peddle plans for local racing track Wheeling and dealing to build velodrome Tuesday, June 05, 2007 Terry Oblander Plain Dealer Reporter Article Removed
June 24, 200717 yr very exciting news. lets stay on top of this. here is some history from the local cycling link: Cleveland's Track History Many people are surprised to learn that Cleveland has had dozens of indoor velodromes over the years, built in the Armory or the Auditorium. (see picture below) 100 years ago, Track Cycling was THE sport of the day, with the 6 Day Race being the most popular event. Madison Square Gardens was built as a Track Cycling Arena. Top professional cyclists earned 2-3 times as much as other sports; the highest paid athlete of any sport was an African American cyclist named Major Taylor. 6 Day races were popular all the way through to the WW2 era. Every major city in North America had its own race each winter, when the college football season was over (pro football was strictly small time) and the baseball season had yet to start. The track would be built before each event- in the 30’s the full cost was around $2500- and dismantled afterwards. Sometimes it was stored for the next event or shipped to the next city, but more often it would be burned as firewood. It was the Jazz Age Sport. After midnight, bands from nearby nightclubs would perform at trackside. Comics, jugglers, singers and dancers would entertain late night spectators as the riders continued their racing. Movie stars, politicians, and gangsters mixed with everyday sports fans to create an atmosphere not found in any other sport. It was not uncommon for the larger arenas to have 17,000 fans in one night and top 70,000 for the week. Cleveland Auditorium, 1936
June 25, 200717 yr Wow... what's up with the enclosed velodrome craze these days!? We're trying to build a velodrome here in Pittsburgh too... in the long-dead rivertown of Brownsville... about 35 miles to the southeast... it's touted as being an economic saviour for that depressed pocket of our region.
July 20, 200717 yr pd: Velodrome backers seek fairgrounds site The race is on to choose a place to build Friday, July 20, 2007 Terry Oblander Plain Dealer Reporter Article Removed
July 20, 200717 yr I think we need to make sure this gets built in Cleveland proper. anyone up for letter writting?
July 20, 200717 yr Wow... what's up with the enclosed velodrome craze these days!? I'd bet a million bucks that it's due to the insane popularity of track/fixed gear bikes these days. People get into the bikes first--usually for aesthetic reasons and cool points--and then learn about the sport. Regardless, awesome news for Cleveland.
July 20, 200717 yr Why? The world's largest indoor bike park is already located in Cleveland?? And it's getting bigger - expanding to more than 100,000 square feet this fall. http://www.raysmtb.com/ Also check out this page, with comments from bike enthusiasts from around the country (and world) about Ray's. It's one of Cleveland's best-kept secrets (mostly to ourselves it seems!)... http://www.thebikinghub.com/mtb/ray%E2%80%99s-indoor-mountain-bike-park/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 20, 200717 yr the two are a little different... and why not have both and really become a cycling hub? next thing you know, we'll have a bicycle mart going into the old May Co. Building! I'd love to support this in any way possible, but somehow $5,000 in fundraising and $5,000 in sponsorships doesn't give me a ton of confidence. Especially for a project with a $10 million price tag. I'm anxious to hear more, though!
July 20, 200717 yr KJP...thanks! That place looks AWESOME! (said with the enthusiasm of a 12 year old) why is this place not open year round?! ugh!!
July 20, 200717 yr why is this place not open year round?! ugh!! Because there is no heat or air. It gets really hot in there in the summer. At least in the winter, the riding keeps you warm. This is about two blocks from my house.
March 25, 200817 yr it appears some renderings are starting to turn up for the velodrome. these are sited at the county fairgrounds in berea. the previously posted article suggests this is preliminary. but nonetheless...pictures. http://velodrome4c.blogspot.com/2008/02/rendering-of-our-velodrome.html http://velodrome4c.blogspot.com/2008/03/3-d-models-proposed-layout.html
March 28, 200817 yr Why? The world's largest indoor bike park is already located in Cleveland?? And it's getting bigger - expanding to more than 100,000 square feet this fall. http://www.raysmtb.com/ Also check out this page, with comments from bike enthusiasts from around the country (and world) about Ray's. It's one of Cleveland's best-kept secrets (mostly to ourselves it seems!)... http://www.thebikinghub.com/mtb/ray%E2%80%99s-indoor-mountain-bike-park/ That looks like way too much fun. On another note, velodromes are also great for high-speed R/C car racing.
August 14, 200816 yr http://www.wksu.org/news/story/22250 http://fasttrackcycling.org/ NEO Velodrome Thursday, August 14, 2008 Today (Thurs) a group of Clevelanders will decide where in Northeast Ohio they want to build a velodrome. A velodrome is a bicycle track with high, banked turns. The non-profit organization is called Fast Track Cycling and they have received the backing of the Cleveland Foundation's Civic Innovation Lab. WKSU's Mark Urycki reports: http://www.wksu.org/news/daily/2008/08/13/23495.mp3
August 14, 200816 yr Maybe if the Browns ever decide they need a new training facility they could locate it next to this... using it as their indoor training facility. I see this as a way to keep this building financially stable. It would also work out for the Browns in that they wouldn't need to fund their own new indoor facility. What do they call that? A win-win???
September 2, 200816 yr Slavic Village is conducting a feasibility study for the Velodrome to be located on the former St. Michael's site on Broadway.
September 2, 200816 yr ^ excellent place for it!!! Sorry I don't have something in print to post. I work in community development (hence the name "cd-cleveland"), and the executive director of Slavic Village Development mentioned the study as part a presentation focus group of CDCs. I agree, though. Great concept for that site.
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