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The problem is that the traditional country club model is having difficulty surviving in this economy and with people's changing lifestyles.
Years ago, Dad would go to the club to play golf, Mom and the kids would hang at the pool, play tennis, etc. and then they'd all convene for dinner....one stop shopping. Today, Mom is running Kid A to baseball practice, Kid B to soccer while Dad squeezes in a quick round and bolts from the club immediately thereafter. The restaurants, pools and tennis courts in the country club setting are being underutilized by the membership.
That's why you see old-time, historic clubs like Frankford-Torresdale spinning off swim club memberships and trying to sell their clubhouse in order to survive. Newer clubs have restaurants that are break-even at best with sub-par food and are eliminating plans for swimming pools, etc. (I serve on the Advisory Board of one such club.)
The fact is, this project will live and thrive only if they can attract people to the driving activities. Nobody's wife is going to want to hang at a pool while Cup cars are roaring a couple of hundred yards away and the odds of people using the club as a dining destination on a day when they are not driving there already are slim. As a matter of fact, we only eat dinner at my club in order to fulfill our required monthly minimum. Otherwise, other than grabbing a sandwich after my round, we rarely use the dining facilities at my club. I would imagine the challenges facing a track/driving country club in regards to the ancillary activities will be similar to those of a golf country club.
Just my $0.02.
Years ago, Dad would go to the club to play golf, Mom and the kids would hang at the pool, play tennis, etc. and then they'd all convene for dinner....one stop shopping. Today, Mom is running Kid A to baseball practice, Kid B to soccer while Dad squeezes in a quick round and bolts from the club immediately thereafter. The restaurants, pools and tennis courts in the country club setting are being underutilized by the membership.
That's why you see old-time, historic clubs like Frankford-Torresdale spinning off swim club memberships and trying to sell their clubhouse in order to survive. Newer clubs have restaurants that are break-even at best with sub-par food and are eliminating plans for swimming pools, etc. (I serve on the Advisory Board of one such club.)
The fact is, this project will live and thrive only if they can attract people to the driving activities. Nobody's wife is going to want to hang at a pool while Cup cars are roaring a couple of hundred yards away and the odds of people using the club as a dining destination on a day when they are not driving there already are slim. As a matter of fact, we only eat dinner at my club in order to fulfill our required monthly minimum. Otherwise, other than grabbing a sandwich after my round, we rarely use the dining facilities at my club. I would imagine the challenges facing a track/driving country club in regards to the ancillary activities will be similar to those of a golf country club.
Just my $0.02.
David Felker
PCA Instructor
2009 Grand Am Conti/GTB1 Cayman S Race Car FOR SALE
2013 991S
1999 Spec Boxster #45
1999 996 PCA GTB1 SOLD
2016 GL450 4Matic
2016 Ford F350 Big Boy Truck (Traded up from the 2005 F350 I stole from Yonker)
2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
PCA Instructor
2009 Grand Am Conti/GTB1 Cayman S Race Car FOR SALE
2013 991S
1999 Spec Boxster #45
1999 996 PCA GTB1 SOLD
2016 GL450 4Matic
2016 Ford F350 Big Boy Truck (Traded up from the 2005 F350 I stole from Yonker)
2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited