Quote:
Originally Posted by sosidge
Although it was undoubtedly badly run, I'm afraid there is no way that a for-profit model on that scale and in that location would work. If they had built the tracks to the right spec in the first place, and done a better job on the PR and promotion, it would simply have gone bust on the same date with slightly smaller debts.
Fortunately we have a number of clubs that are making permanent indoor tracks work. The failure of Moto Arena is not a failure of the hobby.
|
I agree, it was just too big and grand and the RC market, the probably couldn't execute part of their business plan or simply lost sight of what they had to do to make it work, unfortunately they then relied on it being propped up by the RC industry and it simply isn't that big.
There are more people in the UK that do Bell Ringing than RC and I don't see the worlds largest Bell Ringers Mega Center being built with the view of attracting non-bell ringers to the fun hobby of bell ringing. Imagine if you had to kit yourself up with a grands worth of bell ringing kit to win competitions too!!!
I think if they had done indoor karting down stairs, RC upstairs and outside under a cover, run it as a club to get a lottery grant and to remove business rates then I think it could have worked, just! Providing there were no employees and it was run by volunteers.
Also it's a lot harder to run one of these than people think. Build it and they will come simply doesn't happen, you have to give them a reason, you have to become an events organiser. Ardent get 18-22 on a normal Sunday club meeting, it simply doesn't work just to build it and run it, you have to promote the ass off it and for no financial return, it's a hobby, that's what it is. That's why it hurts when people criticise it. At least we can no longer be compared to MA. Number of times I heard it being compared to us, better pit tables, better toilets, better shop, "why don't you put in a mezzanine floor? couldn't cost more than 10K". Here's why we have what we have, here's why we have goats in the car park, because a barn is all we can afford and all this hobby can afford. :-)