New Facility Gets A Thumbs Up

Edmonton Sports Scene
June, 2002

With a full month behind them, the boys at Stratotech Park International Raceway have now nicely worked out the kinks of the spectacular new facility and as June rolled in, they were ready for a summer of entertaining action.

The Edmonton and District Karting Association has adopted SPIR as their home track after racing in Warburg for the past decade and the season kicked off on May 5 with the opening race of the season in all classes. As hoped, everything went smoothly and Derek Pogany said that everyone let out a huge sigh of relief after getting the first one under their belt.

“The response to the track and the facilities was overwhelming,” Pogany shares. “Most people don't realize the magnitude of the facility and how good it really is. We have meet and exceeded everyone's expectations."

For people who still haven't found the time to wander out to the track just northwest of Fort Saskatchewan, they'll get their chance later in June when Stratotech celebrates their grand Opening from June 21-23. The three-day celebration kicks off on Friday, June 21 with a special day for the local media who will get the full meal deal tour of the facility and the following two days are reserved for racers and casual fans to come out and see the newest gem in Edmonton's racing crown.

“We're excited to have the opportunity to let people come out and experience the facility for themselves,” Pogany states. “We hope to have our permanent grandstands in by that time and once they're installed they will comfortably seat about 600 people. We also have plans to install a platform that can eventually house luxury suites if there is an interest.”

While we've written about SPIR in past issues, this month the boys from Sports Scene ventured to the track to get a better understanding of what we have sitting in our own backyard and according to Sales Manager Paul Milberry, this truly is a facility you have to see to believe.

“I couldn't believe it,” he raved. “I saw the pictures and the drawings and I knew that it was going to be a nice facility, but I never could have imagined just how incredible it really is until I saw it first hand.”

Of course it's nice for the management team at Stratotech to receive rave reviews from the public, but in reality the proof is in the pudding and the people they really needed to impress are the drivers that race on a regular basis. As Pogany explains, there has now been two sanctioned races and the response was a resounding thumbs up.

“Everyone was extremely happy with the track and the facilities,” he smiles. “Of course we cater to the racers, but we want to make sure that everyone understands that this facility is for everyone. You don't have to be a racer to come out and enjoy some family time together. Karting truly is a sport for the whole family. Even if you don't have the time to commit to racing on a full time basis, you can still store your kart here and come out any time you want during the week to race against the clock. Because we designed the facility to offer something to everyone, the whole family can be a part of this.”

While on the surface it might seem like an expensive venture, you have to put it into relative terms. It costs upwards of $2000 a year to have a child in hockey, and for that amount you can buy yourself a reliable used kart that can provide years of enjoyment and entertainment.

Besides go karts, Stratotech is also set up to handle sport bikes and again, the response from the racers after the first event on May 26 was a unanimous passing grade.

“It's a very technical course for bikes and everyone was extremely happy after the first race,” Pogany confirms. “We had close to 1,000 racers and fans out and we expect triple that number for the next race on June 15 and 16. We even had one of the drivers test our foam wall and after the race he sent us an e-mail and thanked us for saving his life so we know that they work,” he chuckled. “All in all, I think we've designed a facility that will help increase the interest level in bikes and karts."

With the first season now moving along nicely, the management team at SPIR have already started to look to the future of the facility and that is likely to include driving schools as early as next year.

For more information on Stratotech Park International Raceway you can call them at 417-8321 or better yet, take them up on their offer to tour the facility on June 22 and 23. On June 23, the EDKRA will be hosting another event and fans will have a chance to see a live race that is certain to get your blood flowing.