Alpine Motorsports Club - New Roadcourse/Country Club near Lehigh Valley

[Phokaioglaukos]

Jimbeau wrote:

Pool, tennis courts, restaurant, drive pretty much whenever I want, same reason people join country clubs instead of just paying greens fees. Plus the car club access will be very limited.

Time will tell. It sounds very much like NJMP, which now has some pretty nasty tennis courts and never did install the (small) pool that sat out back of the restaurant for a couple of season. The key will be whether the quality is there and the exclusivity. Philadelphia Cricket Club is voting whether to add a 18% assessment to upgrade facilities. This stuff ain't cheap! I wonder if they'll have club races there--they do say no spectator events, but if GrandAm or ALMS were to call?

[CarreraS]

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.

[nplenzick]

It's my understanding that Alpine is a motorsports country club for automotive enthusiasts. Liberty Bell is more a race track for two wheel and four wheel enthusiasts with planned spectator events and the facilities to support those spectators including a very large RV camping area.
Going back to when it was called Formula Motorsports I believe Alpine has no interest in spectator events and I might have read somewhere that they would have to change zoning or the such. Also they would need to update or at least help pay to update the roads in the area to support any kind of large attendance.
Liberty Bell is in the ideal location for professional motorsports events, great four lane road nearby and very close to a major metro area.
I wish them both well, I see no reason why they can't both succeed. Their really not competing against each other. Since my interest is in two wheels I'll be placing my $$ with Liberty Bell.

[Jimbeau]

All valid points and this was clearly a better risk 10 years ago than now.  This is in my back yard or I would definitely be less enthused.

[ccm911]

After reading Nick's post, I can't help rooting a little more for Liberty Bell.

We need some more 2 wheel action around here.

[dmano]

I also agree with Nick and Chris, I would love to drag my knee again. I so miss riding on the track. I will have to start loosing some Lbs to fit into my Dainese leathers.

[Lainey]

Interesting development.... Steve and I had a hard time writing the check to renew our membership at NJMP this year, and considering our longer term intention to move to PA this may be a possibility for us. Still one needs to debate the cash amount up front for membership vs. going to any track you want with the clubs. Will keep an eye on this one!

[betegh9]

nplenzick wrote:

It's my understanding that Alpine is a motorsports country club for automotive enthusiasts. Liberty Bell is more a race track for two wheel and four wheel enthusiasts with planned spectator events and the facilities to support those spectators including a very large RV camping area.
Going back to when it was called Formula Motorsports I believe Alpine has no interest in spectator events and I might have read somewhere that they would have to change zoning or the such. Also they would need to update or at least help pay to update the roads in the area to support any kind of large attendance.
Liberty Bell is in the ideal location for professional motorsports events, great four lane road nearby and very close to a major metro area.
I wish them both well, I see no reason why they can't both succeed. Their really not competing against each other. Since my interest is in two wheels I'll be placing my $$ with Liberty Bell.

I didn't know that PAST members are allowed to chime in this forum............ Good to hear you are around. How about showing up to one of out events? I'll buy you a beer.

[nplenzick]

I enjoyed my time in PCA Nick and I really do miss instructing. However I find four wheels boring as hell on the street and way to expensive for the track. With the business I'm in I travel extensively so it's pretty tough for me to do anything at the moment other then concentrate on this business for the time being.
To be honest with you I wouldn't be interested in a membership to any racetrack as I would just be bored going to the same place all the time. However I know many golfers who pay large membership fees to belong to a country club so I don't know why that wouldn't work for the gear head.

[ccm911]

Interesting point about the Golfers and Country Clubs.  I know one RTR member who is a total "Golf Monster", yet he won't join a club since it would not provide enough variety.  I am kinda the same way.  Why spend big money to be relegated to essentially one track?  I am not convinced that the car/motorcycle hobby is a good fit with regards to the Country Club model.  And as someone else mentioned, do you really want to be sitting by a pool where it is so noisy that you couldn't hear yourself think?

I'd have to give the "Liberty Bell" idea the nod in this shootout.