Oregonian columnist and bike nut Jonathan Nicholas writes in this morning’s paper that a Portland developer* would like to see an indoor velodrome come to downtown Portland.
The developer,* Steve Brown thinks Portland would be a perfect place for an indoor track racing facility. He told Nicholas,
“It’s not hard to imagine combining the excitement of bike racing and beer to create something much more entertaining than the Blazers.”
Sure it’s just an idea at this point, but given several factors, it’s an idea that we might be hearing more about in the future. Here’s more from Nicholas:
“Bike racing, already a big-time sport in Europe and Japan, may be ready for U.S. prime time.”
Los Angeles already has a world-class indoor velodrome and Philadelphia just announced plans for one earlier this week. Nicholas also writes that the developer, Steve Brown, is a competitive track racer who took ninth at nationals earlier this year.
Track racing, like cyclocross is a great discipline primarily because it is so spectator-friendly and has the ability to get the general public excited about bikes. I love this idea and I hope this little rumor sticks around and maybe even grows into some real plans…
*Correction: Steve Brown is not a land and building developer. His company specializes in business development. Sorry for any confusion.