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One of the great things about the BMX renaissance is the sport is not limited by age. Once the domain of teenagers, BMX competitions now include a wide range of generations, from 3-year-olds tottering around the track on pedal-less ¡°strider¡± bikes to racers like Kittie Weston-Knauer,?who at 69 is the oldest competitor in the sport. Yet despite the growth BMX has enjoyed, there still aren¡¯t many places to practice. USA BMX, the?, counts fewer than 400 sanctioned racetracks in the United States and Canada.?

The good news? This is beginning to change.

Many communities are finding that a BMX track can be a great complement to athletic and recreation fields, at a cost far more reasonable than one might expect. For around $3 million, a community can build a world-class Olympic-level track, suitable for hosting major events. And, a new community track could cost less than $1 million. There are ways to further bring that cost down by using existing infrastructure. For example, in South Knoxville, Tennessee, a football stadium at a middle school once sat idle, the concrete bleachers flanking an empty patch of grass. But that site is being transformed this year, as my team¡ªthe?Action Sports Group¡ªis working with that community to design and build a BMX track.

For the investment, the community will not only have a new recreation option, but it is a facility that will generate revenue¡ªtalk about a win-win! Tracks generally charge approximately $10 for admittance during weekday open practice sessions, and on race days, they can charge fees in the range of $25 to $45 per rider, depending on the event level.

A track that is built to host large-scale national or international events can bring in serious revenue. In August 2017, Rock Hill, South Carolina, hosted the UCI BMX World Championships, the sport¡¯s biggest event of the year. The competition brought 3,700 riders from 48 countries to the?Novant Health Rock Hill BMX Supercross Track, which opened just three years earlier. City officials estimated that the World Championships added $19.2 million to the local economy¡ªwell over the $13 million they had projected¡ªand an additional $10 million when you add in national and international travelers¡¯ airfare.

If you build it, they will come

There are a few key pieces in constructing a BMX track. To create a facility large enough to draw people from beyond city limits, it requires at least 2 acres, but 4-5 acres is preferable. The site includes the track, as well as sufficient parking for daily use (a few hundred spaces) plus overflow for large-scale events. And support infrastructure is key. To handle the crowds, you¡¯ll need restrooms, shade structures, picnic areas, and a spectator area comfortable for enjoying the sport (whether it¡¯s a set of bleachers or an elevated berm overlooking the track).

To steal the sentiment from a certain baseball movie, if you build a high-quality facility, they (the riders) will come. BMX racers travel. While the recreational riders in a community might only go to their ¡°home¡± track, those who are more serious about the sport will travel the country, or the globe, to find a new place to spin their wheels, much like golfers who travel to various courses that offer new and exciting challenges and differing levels of difficulty.

The appeal of BMX is wide-ranging. There¡¯s a low bar to participate, usually the only required equipment is a bike and requisite safety gear. There¡¯s also a long-established culture in the sport, which is seen in the camaraderie of the riders, their passion for a well-designed track, and even the clothing and music that accompany the sport. Most of all, where the rules of some sports limit the number of players who can participate at any given time, when you show up to a BMX track, you ride. As we often say, no one sits on the bench in BMX.

BMX tracks are no longer an afterthought or the ¡°alternative sport¡± option. They are the all-inclusive, revenue-generating, excitement-driven activity any community could, and should, consider.