I heard......really, it was said over beers at the bar at applebees this afternoon. Two contruction guys talking about buying the farm next to the racetrack, (assuming jane's place), and then continued on discussing with wonder if there was any gravel on the racetrack property. now at first i wasn't taking it serious, in the middle of the afternoon, drinking beer, maybe just dreaming, trying to lean in and listen without ending up on one's lap, although the one guy was easy on the eyes, pretty structurally built, sandy blond, mid 30s, anyway, i left the same time they did and they each got into their own hummers, black ones. anybody know?

suel

Gravel? Hm.. this must be Travis Smith at work.

didn't he drive a street stock? does he still drive?

There is an ad in this weeks Marc Times that Owosso is for sale

How much?

$500,000 is what the owners are asking.

The appraised value of the property and business is $230,000

how did they arrive at the appraised value? seeing how the s.e.v.s have gone in the toilet with realstate values in this state along with the buisness going down the $h!!tter i would think the taxable value when they bought would be what the place is worth. plus any personal property, tractors, trucks what ever.

dont let kamlays buy thell screw that one up to....but for 70,000 less you can buy a part ashphalt and a dirt track

you know owosso is a great track like so many others in this state that have fell,,,,why is it none of these tracks can make a go of it..after a couple of years they fall,,or even if there doing great with fan counts and car counts they get put up for sale..now i know they've been having trouble.but it seems like every track goes through this..kinda of like a stall..i always thought the county or the cities should own the tracks instead of 1 or 2 person,kinda like whittmore...cuz it would bring money into the commuinty,and would allow for updates to the track..i dont know i hope the old girl can survive..dont want to see another golf course

Isn't that remark a tad bit unneccessary?

Actually Nate Whittemore is owned by a club and gives back to the community through charitable donations and allowing civic groups on the premises to fundraise for worthwhile causes.

A club with the right individuals can be successful with a lot of communication and a lot of sacrifices made by many.. A club with the wrong individuals can be thing that detracts from a business as well. Small business averages of success with new ownership are horrendus for startup. In excess of 80% failure in less than a 5 year span. Of the remaining survivors the failure rate is also very high. Parternships are in the highest of the failure rates due to the extreme amount of communication required to get things agreed on and handled. It is like a marriage without the sex. You gotta do a lot of talkin and end up pretty frustrated many times.

The government plan I think would be a dismal failure. Most government ventures cannot sustain or are not successful when looked at from a business stand point. There is way way to much burocracy to operate on the thin margin a speedway has to run on. The government only does a couple things efficiently the only example of a profitable business they can model is the post office. Even the post office goes through slumps and has an achilles heel (email)

If you had a husband wife team with a ton of energy, common sense and people skills with a racing history they might be able to get the job done with a new business startup. The odds would be extremely stacked against them. For the investment of capital there are much better investments for a family business. 500k could purchase a lot of real estate rentals in the right community that could produce residual income pretty straight forward month after month that could pay a business debt down predictably over 10 years. A speedway for the same amount of capital outlay pales in comparison to the potential for success. A couple weekends of rain could put a startup out of business if they did not have the backing needed to get them through a season. A couple weekends rain in other investments dont mean squat.

Add in variables such as qualified tech men, qualified announcers, qualified flag people, qualified security and safety workers and then keep them all customer focused after they get their as* chewed a few nights in a row and you can kind of see how the lure of being a famous race track promoter sounds good for about 10 seconds.

If a person gets in a makes a few mistakes like all new people do and then drops the ball with poor choices in words or actions then that gets the racing community fired up sometimes for a whole season. A whole season of ticked off customers in a satuated market makes for a recipe for failure. Add in the internet with people that can bash freely sometimes with reason and the no accountablility of being anonymous and it becomes a PR night mare. Make some statements as a business owner without really looking at what they sound like and you get a reputuation that a few have cultured as promoters.

It can be done- dont get me wrong but It is a trudging up hill battle with little sleep, little financial stability and your reputation on the line with a vocal customer base. Treat em right and things can make it. Drop the ball with a few beginner mistakes and you are outta business the first year.

I have to admire the passion that you put into speaking what you think it takes to make it. Passion is the thing that carries people through when the outcome is not clear. I hope things click for Owosso shortly so Dave can keep a great race track going. There are lots of drivers that love the place and will stick with him through some tough times. It would be good if he really wants to sell if he could find a buyer while it still has an established customer base. That is an easier road than it going vacant and then trying to sell like the Tri City scenario.

Nate:

The debt service on a 550,000 loan is enormous. Now add taxes, insurance, staff costs, maintenance, plus a fund for future capital projects ( paving, lights, etc. ) and you are talking about a monthly payment that would choke a horse.

I have said it before and will say it again, a race track is one of the very worst investments. With dwindling car counts, front gate attendance and rising costs, Owosso at that price would be a losing proposition for any promoter.

As one of my former clients, Harry Melling told me " I have lost a small fortune in racing, there is no sense in buying a short track and losing more. I have enough tax write offs ".

The value of the track is in the property, NOT the business. The only time a business operation can show value is when it can show a profit. I believe the last formula I heard is 4 times the amount of NET earnings ( it may have changed by
now ), plus equipment and real estate. So in this case Owosso is worth only the value of the property and equipment because they are losing money. There is no net profit.

Chris

Isn't that remark a tad bit unneccessary?

no.i dont think so.. but thanks racenparts and chris that really did help to explain things alot better to me..i travel to all the tracks that surround me,,,this is a great track,and i just dont wanna see it go like i did tricity..

David Stremme said in an article that he was looking to buy a track, maybe he should buy Owosso -- then maybe I'll return there just messing.

So, in a thread about Owosso Speedway, with no mention of: A) The Kamlay family or B) Tri-City Motor Speedway, you bring up them and bad mouth them. I must be blind, because I'm not seeing the neccessity here.

cuz if they buy it the track will shurly die.noone will be able to race it..the track is for sale.i said dont let kamlays buy it my opinion..if you like racing there or working there dont let them buy it..but thats my opion if you dont like it or you do.thats why this is a message board to speak your opinon

You got opinion right the first time but missed it twice after that. SPELLCHECK works wonders at making it seem like a rational, intelligent post. If you come across as a rational, intelligent person, people in general will take your comments more seriously. No offense, just stating a simple point.

Okay, before you play the "It's My Opinion" card, let me ask: Have you heard anything about the Kamlay's thinking about buying Owosso? If not, then what you said would fall under "random verbal attack."