Soon, when you’re done picking up some great deals at the Gilroy
Premium Outlets, you might be able to top the day off with a few
high-speed laps around a high-end go-cart track.
Soon, when you’re done picking up some great deals at the Gilroy Premium Outlets, you might be able to top the day off with a few high-speed laps around a high-end go-cart track.
Brian Bradshaw, owner of Sea-Tek Precision Machined Products in Morgan Hill, and his wife, Denise, are looking to open Arroyo Circle Racing, with tracks for both beginner and advanced riders, by March 2011. The Morgan Hill residents hope that it could be one of the largest go-cart race tracks in the United States.
“Our goal has always been to start one of the largest indoor racing facilities in the country,” owner Brian Bradshaw said in a prepared statement.
Bradshaw said he and his wife have been in discussions with the city and several building owners in the area. Several city representatives have said he is looking specifically at the 126,000-square-foot former Wal-Mart building at 7900 Arroyo Circle, which has been vacant since the Wal-Mart opened at 7150 Camino Arroyo in September 2005. However, Bradshaw stressed that no deals have been signed with the building’s owner.
“We’re just doing a lot of research right now,” he said.
Gradually, Bradshaw hopes to turn the go-cart attraction into a full-fledged family-friendly recreational center. He mentioned paint ball, laser shows and live music as possibilities that he would love to see, although he said such plans are a long way off.
Bradshaw also eventually hopes to manufacture some of the same go-carts he plans to use at the recreation center, possibly building them somewhere in the greater Gilroy area. His Morgan Hill company, Sea-Tek, builds wafer fabrication equipment and medical analyzing equipment, among other items.
Bradshaw already has constructed a specially made prototype of the go-carts, built with independent suspension and uses an airplane engine. The cart has the “handling of a Porsche,” Bradshaw said.
“People who are into go-carts have been waiting for this for about 100 years,” he said.
The closest indoor go-cart arena is in Burlingame – a 55-mile drive from Morgan Hill. Cambrian Go-Karts in San Jose sells and services go-carts, but careening around twists and turns is left to outdoor tracks, usually on private properties.
Morgan Hill Big 5 manager Rosemary Sierraz and colleague Peter Hall said customers at their Cochrane Road store haven’t shown interest in go-carts, perhaps because the necessary helmets aren’t sold at Big 5. Sierraz did say that a nearby track would be a nice option for adrenaline-loving families.
“It would be fun. I think everyone would be excited about it,” she said – a new business opening in South Valley is appealing, too, Sierraz said.
Employee Peter Hall said while Big 5 customers aren’t looking for go-cart equipment it can’t be denied that riders love the thrill.
“I’ve seen them on TV, and whoever is riding is screaming with delight, they’re not terrified by any means,” Hall said.
Earlier this month, Bradshaw made a presentation about his plans at a Gilroy Economic Development Corporation.
“He’s been making the rounds, expressing enthusiasm,” said Richard Spitler, CEO and president of the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation. “It sounds like a neat project. It’s kind of family-oriented recreation.”
Spitler said he has been working with Bradshaw on a letter of intent to the city.
The city of Gilroy could join other unique tourism draws such as Gilroy Gardens, local wineries, Premium Outlets and the Garlic Festival, he said. Although Gilroy is not as dependent upon tourism as some other cities in California, there is growth potential for that industry, he said.
“Everyone, I’ve talked to has just been enthusiastic,” Spitler said. “I don’t see a downside to this one.”
Out-of-towners said a go-cart track would be just another reason to visit Gilroy.
“That would probably bring a lot more entertainment here,” said Juan Gutierrez, 26.
Gutierrez, a GAP bag in hand, said he makes the two hour-trek to the Gilroy Premium Outlets from his home in Merced about once a month. On Friday afternoon, he, his sister and her boyfriend made the rounds at the outlets.
“If you’re looking for variety, this is it,” Gutierrez said. “But my brother wouldn’t come because he didn’t want to go shopping. (Go-carting) would give him something to do. That would be perfect.”
Her two children scampering ahead of her, San Franciscan Kathy Chao’s instructions for them to wait fell on deaf ears.
“Could I drop them and leave them?” she joked. “But it would be nice to have a place to drop them for an hour or so.”
Though few Gilroyans were shopping at the outlets Friday, locals working at the Clarks shoe outlet said a go-cart track would be a great place to unwind after work.
“It could be really cool,” said Jacqueline Ourricariet, 20, of San Martin, who heads to StriXe in Morgan Hill with her coworkers after work.
“There’s nothing to do in Gilroy,” said coworker Juan Becerra, 20. “I think it would be something for kids to do.”
Bradshaw said he is happy to receive support from city leaders and members of the community.
“It is an exciting thing, and I am an excitable guy,” Bradshaw said. “I’m working full-time on it, but I have so much more to do.”
