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Star Racing owners George and Jackie Bryce are shown in front of
the 449 acres on South Ga. Tech Parkway where the Americus
Motorsports Complex will be constructed. New signs along the
roadway frontage of the land point out the future locations of
the dragstrip, road race course, technology park, and training
facility. |
AMERICUS, Ga. - Since the February 9, 2011, announcement of the Americus Motorsports
Complex (AMC), the Star Racing team has been working tirelessly on the
lengthy planning and approval process required for such a large facility.
After more than 30 years in the motorcycle drag racing industry, Star Racing
owners George and Jackie Bryce are utilizing their own experiences and the
knowledge of others in the industry to ensure that this motorsports complex
is a world class facility with as few hurdles as possible along the way.
Before the Americus Motorsports Complex was
announced to the public, meetings had been underway for nearly a year with
the Americus-Sumter County Payroll Development Authority (PDA) to secure a
proper location for the facility. At the time, the PDA owned the 449 acres
of farmland directly across from South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) and
suggested it to the Bryces as a potential land purchase for them to build
on. The PDA had owned these parcels of land since 2002.
However, before the land could be sold for
the purpose of building the AMC, it had to be rezoned by the Sumter County
Planning and Zoning Board from a RR-Rural Residential District to a C-3
Commercial Recreation District. After a 45-minute hearing with a full house
of local citizens, the Planning and Zoning Board unanimously approved the
request on Feb. 3, 2011. It was announced publicly the next week that Star
Racing was the company behind the future facility.
By mid-summer, the Bryces signed a purchase
agreement with the PDA to secure the 449 acres of land, after more than a
year of meetings and talks. The purchase agreement states that in the event
that proper payments are not made by the AMC, ownership of the land reverts
back to the PDA. The agreement also has provisions to prevent the Bryces
from selling or developing the land for something other than the already
stated purpose of a motorsports complex.
After finalizing the purchase agreement for
the AMC land, the Bryces enlisted the help of Paxton Waters Architecture for
the design of the complex and chose local company Harrell & Jackson Inc. as
the engineering firm for the project. With more than 30 years in
architecture, Paxton Waters has been involved in the design solutions on
numerous speedway facilities, including the Las Vegas Motor Speedway,
California Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Prairie Hills Motorsports Club,
Bluegrass Motorsports Club and more. Gary Harrell and Brian Jackson, of
Harrell & Jackson Inc., have more than 45 combined years in the engineering
field. They will act as the project managers for all construction aspects of
the motorsports complex, including wetlands permits, topographic surveys,
bid administration and the overall building process.
"We realized early in the process that
before any dirt can be moved, there were several steps we had to take to
make sure that the construction wouldn't be stopped later on," Jackie said.
"We have many friends in the industry that had great ideas and good
intentions for building a track or dragstrip, but their plans were
interrupted because they didn't foresee a step or problem in the process.
From the beginning, George and I just wanted to make sure that we plan for
everything and learn as much as we can from others' mistakes so that we
don't make the same ones. We wanted to get all the hurdles and red tape
taken care of beforehand," she said.
One such hurdle was the need for Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for the AMC site plan. This
authorization was necessary since the Runway Protection Zone (RPZ) for the
Jimmy Carter Regional Airport across the street extends through the eastern
corner of the AMC's land. Due to RPZ restrictions, the original Americus
Motorsports Complex site plan had to be readjusted to comply with the
federal requirements. During the redesign process all of the original
elements of the complex were kept in the plan and simply rearranged on the
property. After approximately three months of waiting, the FAA recently
announced their approval of the revised site plan, allowing Star Racing to
move ahead in the process.
"When we were meeting with the PDA all those
months before signing the land deal, we knew there were wetland areas on the
property that we would have to deal with after getting our final site plan,"
George said. "That's where we are now in the process; getting the wetlands
mitigation taken care of. It's basically just a matter of getting the
mapping for these areas and figuring out how many acres of wetlands credits
we have to buy. It's all determined by how much dirt we need to move to
build everything, which is why we couldn't start this part until after we
got the final plan approval from the FAA," he said.
The next several months of the process will
involve the wetlands mitigation and the topography mapping that is necessary
for the engineering and bidding phases. After a building plan is in place,
all construction bidding will be handled by Harrell & Jackson Inc. and
priority will be given to local and state companies with experience in this
type of project.
A local investor for the project contributed
the funds for the topography mapping, which is extensive with such a large
piece of land. Meetings with other potential investors have also been
underway throughout the process, with one interested party signing a
Memorandum of Understanding for his involvement in the AMC. Several
financing, investment and loan options have been included in the Americus
Motorsports Complex business plan, formulated by Rob Ginn, Strategic
Business Manager of the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute.
"Our business plan was created to best suit
our community's needs," George said. "There is absolutely no taxpayer money
involved in this project, and the only involvement with government bodies so
far was buying the land outright from the PDA. Other than that, we haven't
asked anything of the taxpayers and community except for their support.
We're confident that AMC's success will garner full support from everyone
when it's all said and done."
Although official construction has not begun
on the Americus Motorsports Complex, there has been a small amount of
activity on the property already. Charles Israel, a local farmer and friend
of the Bryces, was hired to harrow the front section of the land because the
grass and weeds were becoming unmanageable. The Sumter County Board of
Commissioners was also hired to install temporary culverts and driveways on
the property. The most recent change to the land is the placement of
entrance signs for the future dragstrip, road race course, technology park,
and training facility.
"The AMC won't just be a dragstrip or road
course; it'll have many different things to keep it in use as much as
possible," Jackie said. "The new signs on the AMC property look great. We
hope they help people visualize everything that'll be included in the
complex. We know our local community will play a big part in the success of
AMC, and we hope to get everyone onboard before any dirt is moved."
To inform the public about the plans and
potential for the AMC, the Bryces have made countless appearances and
speaking engagements since the February announcement of the complex. The
couple gave the keynote address at the 10th annual Griffin B.
Bell Convocation at South Georgia Technical College. Jackie has also
presented the complex and fielded questions at a number of local community
and government groups, including the Sumter County Board of Education,
Americus Kiwanis Club, Americus Rotary Club, Sumter County Citizens for Fair
Treatment, River Valley Regional Council, Americus Area Employer Committee,
Cordele Lions Club and Cordele Rotary Club, just to name a few. The Star
Racing team also traveled to Orlando, Fla., from Dec. 1-3 to represent the
Americus Motorsports Complex and Star Racing at the Performance Racing
Industry Trade Show with more than 35,000 attendees from the motorsports
industry.
In addition to these speaking engagements,
Jackie is a member of the Americus-Sumter County Chamber of Commerce Board
of Directors, the Americus-Sumter County Tourism Council, the SGTC
Motorsports Vehicle Technology Advisory Committee and the SGTC Law
Enforcement Academy Advisory Committee. Through these positions, she is an
advocate for positive economic growth within the community.
For more information on the Americus
Motorsports Complex, visit RaceAMC.com. You may also e-mail questions or
comments to info@raceamc.com or call Star Racing at 229-924-0031.
Americus, Ga., February 7, 2011 - Star Racing's George and Jackie Bryce announced today their plans to build a $12 million multi-use, world-class motorsports facility in Americus, Georgia. The facility will include a quarter-mile concrete drag strip, 2.5-mile road racing circuit (similar to Road Atlanta), a motorsports related Technology Park, a training facility for drivers education and law enforcement training, and a national motorcycle drag racing museum. Construction is slated to begin in late 2011. Click here for a slide show (PDF) file presentation of the Americus Motorsports Complex.
The positive economic impact to the Americus and Sumter County area will be significant, with a projected annual impact of over 75 million dollars and over 200 full-time and part-time positions created over five years. The economic impact of the Americus Motorsports Complex will be generated through visitors spending money in the community, increasing employment, adding sales tax revenue, tourism, lodging, and restaurant opportunities, and manufacturing growth. This, combined with the projected employment growth will result in a higher standard of living for all the residents of Americus and Sumter County.
In order for the project to continue, several milestones need to be achieved. The property must be rezoned C-3 and a contract with the Payroll Development Authority for the land acquisition finalized. Following that, the master site plan, engineering and architectural drawings will be developed. The final step will be to complete the funding for the project through several different avenues including banks and private investors. "During this time, we would appreciate community support and welcome local involvement," said George Bryce.
Motorsports industries tend to cluster near racetracks. The Technology Park will be the destination for participants, fabricators, suppliers in the motorsports market and other major players within this industry. More companies, like Star Racing, will locate near the track in order to test and demonstrate their products and services. The location of the Complex adjacent to the South Georgia Technical College will offer unlimited potential for motorsports related job opportunities for those attending the school, as well as graduates.
Because of the mild weather conditions in Southwest Georgia, testing, training and competition will be scheduled
year round. Local community events, national car clubs, car shows, cruises and training groups will be attracted and welcomed at the new facility. Local accessibility of highways and close proximity to the Jimmy Carter Regional Airport makes this the ultimate location and destination.
George and Jackie opened Star Racing in Americus thirty-one years ago and love the community and it's people. Jackie said, "We want to do something for the community that has been so good to us. We love Americus and want others to love it here too." George continued, "We have three goals: 1.To bring hundreds of jobs 2. To bring millions of dollars into Americus and Sumter County 3. To lower our millage tax rate for all citizens. Through the increase of sales tax revenue to the city and county, this will lessen the need for property taxes. We believe this is the shot in the arm we need here to continue to have a great place to live and work."
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Click here for a slide show (PDF) file presentation of the Americus Motorsports Complex.
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Bryces' believe if they build it racing will come to
Americus...........WALB-TV Albany, GA
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Jackie Bryce, co-owner of STAR Racing Inc., spoke at a lunch-time meeting of the Americus Kiwanis Club Friday.........Americus Times Recorder
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Motorsports Complex Coming to Americus........Stripbike.com
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$12 Million Motorsports complex planned for Americus.....WALB-TV Albany, GA
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Motorsport Complex coming to Americus..........WTVM.com Columbus, GA
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Legendary Drag Racer George Bryce Gets Zoning Approval to Build $12M Racing Facility......bangshift.com
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AMERICUS — Show support for the new motorsports facility....Americus Times Recorder Editorial
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Bryces plan motorsports complex in Georgia...........Dragracingonline.com
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PSM ICON BRYCE EYES NEW MOTORSPORTS COMPLEX.........Competition Plus
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Motorsport Complex coming to Americus ..... WALB-TV Albany, GA
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Zone change to C-3 was unanimously approved by the Sumter County Board of Commissioners on February 9, 2011 after several individuals spoke in favor of the change and not a single person came forward to oppose it.
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Click here for the article stating that The Sumter County Planning and Zoning Board approved the property rezoning request. It appeared on the Americus Times Recorder web site February 3, 2011.
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Click here for the first article stating Star Racing as principal that appeared on the Americus Times Recorder web site February 8, 2011.
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