OMA .... wow do we have it good or what? And the possibilities !

hershey

hershey

PR Elite
The recent CTMX posts got me to thinking. How great do we really have it here, tracks making huge strides to improve our riding experience here in Ohio.

Malvern has drastically improved the quality of dirt and prep, the work that goes into doing that is massive. Dedication at its finest

OIR saved from the brink of being lost forever, lots of good things being said about the prep there as well!

MX213 has made many changes to the track and improved the prep over the time involved with the OMA. Unfortunate we didnt see them this spring.

Briarcliff .... the original track prep King that has lead to the bar the other OMA tracks have as a guide. Constant changes and refinements. Money always put back into an ever growing facility for our moto bliss.

CTMX definitely wins the award for growth! Off the hook marketing capabilities and willingness to try new things ( transponders and FREE classes). On top of that making huge strides in traack expansion and prep.

What if all these strengths from each track were brought under one canopy.

Think for a moment about it. Each track running the same basic plan for races outlined by the OMA

- Appointing one marketing team for ALL OMA events using CTMX strategy. Mirror the CTMX strategy since it works so well. Adopt the free class rotations and Pro class. Get sponsors on board for the entire season, BC is also fantastic at getting event sponsors. Line them up for the entire race series.

- Require minimum track prep policy ( which I think they have ). Have one or two BC prep kings travel to each OMA event and HELP ( not rule ) the tracks in figuring out the best way to optimize prep for THEIR dirt and conditions. Standardize a race order that optimizes track conditions for bikes, quads and pee wee riders. Again appoint one person to be in charge of training and enforcing these at each event.

- Require minimum track facility standards ( Again I believe are in place ). Ensure the facility is safe for riders. Require standards for restroom facilities and cleanliness. Ensure the grounds meet specific standards. Require wash water is available for racers to fill with. Fencing standards should be enforced. These items could be inspected prior to each race day.

- Appoint one person to be in charge of flaggers for ALL events. Hire and train flaggers to come to each event. If individual tracks have flaggers they want to use then they need to go through the training class and work other events as well.

- One transponder set up for all the tracks. Any underground wiring would have to be set in place an left at each track but if all the tracks split the price of one system and each used it that would reduce the cost. And like we saw in another post $15 isnt objectionable for a rental fee. Plus many would buy it if they were going to use it all season.


My point is we already have each of these things done very well at at least one of the tracks already and some at more than one track. Why not step up the game? Change the OMA business model and form a group that takes the individual strengths from each track and mold it into track requirements for each and every event?

Imagine if each track in the OMA ran 3 events per year for racing ? If each event were 3-400 rider events wouldnt that be better than 5,8,10 events with 150 +/- riders? You could make more money with less events and more importantly give a better race experience for the riders? 15 races spread throughout the racing season with the turnout like the Battle series each time. The remaining weekends riders could go to other less worthy events, practice tracks or take time off. Require 12 races for year end awards.

Reduce the total amount of available races and increase the racing experience. Make it so desirable that racers need to show up!!!
 
It is all still their profit, that wouldnt change. It would increase their profit with less races.
 
I'm saying why should BC DRIVE to anew trak and show them what needs to be done.

Tried it at dirtworld and that was a flop due to promoter and lack of equipment....
 
GeorgiePorgie said:
I'm saying why should BC DRIVE to anew trak and show them what needs to be done.

Tried it at dirtworld and that was a flop due to promoter and lack of equipment....
Click to expand...
Gorgie, I think Dave is assuming that these guys are way past dirtworld from a promotional and equipment standpoint. However, I also agree with Dave and his general premise, which is, if some one is doing things a little bit different from the normal and having a good level of success then why shouldnt others try it and see if it works for them, too. While there is a level of competition among them they aren't typically competing with one another on a race day with another race. The other thing with this idea is there could be some similarities from track to track and consistency in the training of each of their employees/helpers so when I show up I kind of know the product I'm getting with no big surprises. That way they can put their creative spin on the promotional stuff but each one can share with each other and hopefully increase the toal turn outs and profits without being afraid that it will hurt their track or business. I also believe that sometimes less is more, meaning that, if you have fewer races in some cases, that there is a good chance of getting more people to show up when there is a race. Make it a bigger event with more excitement and they will come. I think we all have to remember that these type of ideas are for the betterment and advancement of the OMA brand. I think it has been a success so far and I hope it keeps growing....btw I also know that some tracks have things that others don't and vise versa but you have to sell the positives of your facility.
 
Thanks for noticing and making this post Dave. It is very much appreciated. The first year Jeremy and I were at every race putting up banners and helping run equipment. Helping with anything we could. By the end of that season I damn near hated motocross. We are still always willing to help out or loan equipment when needed. We do communicate as a group and bounce ideas off each other. You even see a lot off the same track workers, flaggers and sign up staff at different tracks.

I think you are going to continue see the number of races decrease. OIR and Malvern scheduled less than last year. We currently have several tracks both in the north and the south showing interest in getting on board next year. That obviously lead more tracks and fewer races at each. We have a bunch of open weekends this year. Jeremy and I struggle with weather to grow things or not. Are we just creating more problems and headache??? Malvern's night races are the exception to this way of thinking. It is just a different animal and we realize that, wich is why we made it its own series. Last year we had fewer night races than I have seen it the 25 years I have been around and we had an outcry that our patrons wanted more. I think we had 11 last year and schedueled 9 this season. We are currently looking at taking advantage of 2 open weekends in August.

Transponders at every track for every race is a tough sell. I know buying one setup and someone (don't know who) taking it to every track sounds simple but in real life it wouldn't be. Thing get lost, broken, forgotten, mistreated. People who say they will do something and have every intention of doing so have thier plans get changed for them occasionally. Hell Shane at Dirtworld still has one my $100 radios somewhere as I let him use them all every race to help save him an expense.

Anyway, again thank you for noticing. We all can and will continue to improve.
 
Im not the track prep king, that dude is in Buchanon Michigan. We draws bigger crowds than all of us put together, and doesnt need promotional tools to do it. He just has a bad ass track and runs a bad ass program. He pretty much needs a flyer that says "Red Bud" "Date" "Time" "Fee". Done.
 
BriarcliffMx said:
Im not the track prep king, that dude is in Buchanon Michigan. We draws bigger crowds than all of us put together, and doesnt need promotional tools to do it. He just has a bad ass track and runs a bad ass program. He pretty much needs a flyer that says "Red Bud" "Date" "Time" "Fee". Done.
Click to expand...

Thank you for making a negative comment as usual. You cant even take a compliment can you?
 
I don't think he was making a negative coment. I think it was more meant to be humble, saying he is not the king, Red Bud is.
 
Jason

I understand the being burned out on MX. I got there last year and dont even have a track open to the public! On top of that you are running Zack all over to race.

Im not saying you or JO have to handle this. Maybe parts of it but I was thinking more about having an OMA official that would be tasked with one specific part of running an OMA track. If you cut the total number of OMA races to 10-15 per season ( excluding your night series ) I think it would be something people could do. Give the official a free practice and race pass for the events. Most likely it would be an OMA member that would do it anyway.

I envisioned it being an OMA duty. So the OMA would have officials that were employed by OMA to do the tasks. You have many members that go to every event so employ one of them with the free race incentive. The tough one would be the track prep and transponder system. But the system would have to be OMA property purchased by ALL the tracks with the OMA being in charge of it. Assign one individual to it.

I guess the question is what is the OMA? Is there a monthly board meeting? Are there members of a board of sorts? Or are you just a group of tracks running races?
 
I could be your Giuseppe Luongo. I can make the rules and when someone complains to you about something just pull a Davey and say "Oh I cant change the ruling, it is an FIM ruling... I mean Youth Stream... I mean Old man River" (The name of my "organization")
 
If only that guy at dirt world could have seen the vision.....he could have been reaping the benefits of all the hard work...instead he screwed it all up!!!! goes to show if you have the right people and are dedicated to the bigger picture ....Anything can happen...(you hear me Mr.HAnd)
 
BriarcliffMx said:
Im not the track prep king, that dude is in Buchanon Michigan. We draws bigger crowds than all of us put together, and doesnt need promotional tools to do it. He just has a bad ass track and runs a bad ass program. He pretty much needs a flyer that says "Red Bud" "Date" "Time" "Fee". Done.
Click to expand...

I must be in the minority. Red Bud in my opinion is just another track. Not my cup of tea. I would chose going to Briar Cliff or Red Bud, and like the dirt and track much better. I love racing Malvern also. You can take the sand and keep it!
 
john lilly said:
Gorgie, I think Dave is assuming that these guys are way past dirtworld from a promotional and equipment standpoint. However, I also agree with Dave and his general premise, which is, if some one is doing things a little bit different from the normal and having a good level of success then why shouldnt others try it and see if it works for them, too. While there is a level of competition among them they aren't typically competing with one another on a race day with another race. The other thing with this idea is there could be some similarities from track to track and consistency in the training of each of their employees/helpers so when I show up I kind of know the product I'm getting with no big surprises. That way they can put their creative spin on the promotional stuff but each one can share with each other and hopefully increase the toal turn outs and profits without being afraid that it will hurt their track or business. I also believe that sometimes less is more, meaning that, if you have fewer races in some cases, that there is a good chance of getting more people to show up when there is a race. Make it a bigger event with more excitement and they will come. I think we all have to remember that these type of ideas are for the betterment and advancement of the OMA brand. I think it has been a success so far and I hope it keeps growing....btw I also know that some tracks have things that others don't and vise versa but you have to sell the positives of your facility.
Click to expand...
God Da mn I'm on the money, even if no one wants to admit it.....lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top