Those attending the Thunderbird Club Show and Shine event at Cam Clark Ford in Airdrie on Aug 24, will notice a Mercedes AMG car with the Rockyview Motorsports Park (RMP) logo emblazoned on it.
Along with the car will be a diagram of the planned layout for the Rockyview Motorsports Park complex proposed to be built northeast of Airdrie.
“We have intentionally gone for a less than high-profile approach so far as we still have to go through the approval process with Rocky View County, but the feedback that we have had from being at car shows this summer has been extremely positive,” said Rockyview Motorsports Corporation President and CEO Dominic Young.
During the last few months, those involved with the RMP project have been working hard preparing to submit an initial proposal to Rocky View County later this year.
The proposal, which has been in the works since last year, is expected to be presented to council later this fall. From there, the proposal will go through a public participation process in what Young hopes will be the approval of a land use redesignation for his group.
“That entails all of the environmental considerations, stormwater managements, and traffic studies that have been done, along with making sure that our design fits into any environmental concerns that may be presented to us,” Young said.
Although the exact location has yet to be disclosed, the diagrams of the $30-million facility have given people an idea of what Rockyview Motorsports Corporation would like to build.
The main track on the facility is a 5.3-kilometre, 24-turn road course facility, which can be used for a variety of different layouts and is being designed by Tilke Engineering of Germany, who have designed a number of Formula 1 racing facilities.
“As everyone knows, the central feature of the facility is the road course, and our potential partnership with the Calgary Police Service will allow us to have an extended road course that they can use for their vehicle training centre,” Young said.
“One of the biggest focuses for us is with safety, especially when it comes to people racing on the streets, as there have been some concerns about that since Race City closed two years ago.”
Race City Motorsports Park, which was located in Calgary and featured a 3.2-km road course, a half-mile oval track and a quarter-mile dragstrip, was in operation for 26 years until it closed in October of 2011.
The closest multi-use facility is Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, which has a dragstrip and a dirt oval, along with a road course facility that is currently being completed.
Part of the RMP proposed site is being set aside for athletic faculties such is soccer fields and tennis courts.
“We have put an emphasis on community sports and recreation into our proposal, and we have coupled that with the racing faculties,” Young said.
As the Rockyview Motorsports Corporation prepares to submit their proposal to Rocky View County, they are still looking for support from the public for their project.
“Everyone who has an interest in racing in southern Alberta is encouraged to submit a letter of support, as that helps to show the amount of people who would like to see this happen,” Young said.
Letters can be submitted
www.rockyviewmotorsports.com.
