OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => General Discussion => Topic started by: Hoony on February 28, 2014, 09:29:46 pm
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Sporting Motorcycle club Statement from facebook - Barrabool Track to Close end of 2015
Tuesday, the 25th February 2014 will be remembered as a dark day in the history of off road motorcycling.
After 4 years of conflict with neighbours, Motorcycling Australia (MA), the owner of the iconic McAdam Park motorcycling facility, has conceded defeat in its battle to turn the venue into a high level, multi user motorcycling facility. McAdam Park will close its gates for the final time at the end of 2015.
At a VCAT directions hearing held this week, MA entered a binding settlement agreement with a local land holders group whereby MA will sacrifice the existing usage rights for motorcycling which are attached to the land, and ultimately sell McAdam Park.
Though the Sporting Motor Cycle Club (SMCC) were a joint party to several VCAT proceedings spanning nearly 4 years, MA chose not to allow the club to have a say in these most recent negotiations over McAdam Park’s future. It was largely from the efforts of SMCC members that via a lengthy VCAT proceeding in 2011, existing usage rights were won and motorcycle riding formalised as a lawful activity on the land.
The SMCC, who has been based at McAdam Park since 1962, will now face being left homeless, with no guarantees of an alternate replacement facility. Needless to say the club is astounded at this devastating course of action taken by MA; especially as alternative courses of action which possibly could have resolved issues with the local community, were never explored.
The SMCC believes the core reason for this outcome was MA’s dogged unwillingness to negotiate toward a realistic and fair outcome. When MA acquired the property in 2009 and conflict arose, local residents voiced their objections saying they would only tolerate ongoing usage if it were based around historic club levels; MA’s intentions were vastly different though and to the end maintained its insistence for McAdam Park to have high levels of activity and for it to be used by multiple user groups – that gulf was never breached. VCAT did not accept that MA’s plans would be an appropriate outcome.
Under the settlement agreement, McAdam Park will operate until December 2015 on a more restricted basis. Details on clubs usage in 2014 are yet to be provided.
In closing - The SMCC would like to say we are sorry to all supporters, individuals, clubs and businesses who helped with the ‘Saving Barrabool’ campaign to get us across the line in 2009. The aim was simply for the SMCC to gain control of the land and also honour the legacy left by Clive McAdam and family who wanted the SMCC to continue so that we could then control our own destiny. All funding raised was handed to MA to assist with purchase of the land. What lay ahead no one could have expected.
The rest as they say, is history.
With regard to our future club operations, the SMCC is already in negotiation with our local and state government representatives.
Regards,
SMCC
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worse than a union!
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Let's run the 2015 Classic Nats there as a wake.
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Let's run the 2015 Classic Nats there as a wake.
Now that'd be super coooool!! ;)
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Thank you very much MA, you got what you wanted. Prime real estate to sell and fill your pockets with...... That was their goal right from the start......
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From a very good authority that was not the case,
As usual hindsight is a beautiful thing,
The best intentions can be derailed,
Still the loss of such a wonderful piece of dirt and the years of effort by the few is indeed sad,
Motorcycling relies on venues,
I hope that all the stake holders can work towards a replacement.
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Let's run the 2015 Classic Nats there as a wake.
Now that'd be super coooool!! ;)
And go out with a bang....oops, I mean ROAR.
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Let's run the 2015 Classic Nats there as a wake.
Classic Nats and Classic Dirt on at the same place, same time. They would be lining up like the old days.
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Sad sad Barrabool to be lost. Not many of the historic tracks left now. Hope the crap rumours about Ravenswood are just that worthless crap rumours.
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From a very good authority that was not the case,
As usual hindsight is a beautiful thing,
The best intentions can be derailed,
Still the loss of such a wonderful piece of dirt and the years of effort by the few is indeed sad,
Motorcycling relies on venues,
I hope that all the stake holders can work towards a replacement.
Hi Graeme, i would love to know what points you consider not the case. Everything in that statement is factual.
Regards,
Peter Ovens
Secretary
SMCC
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From a very good authority that was not the case,
As usual hindsight is a beautiful thing,
The best intentions can be derailed,
Still the loss of such a wonderful piece of dirt and the years of effort by the few is indeed sad,
Motorcycling relies on venues,
I hope that all the stake holders can work towards a replacement.
Hi Graeme, i would love to know what points you consider not the case. Everything in that statement is factual.
Regards,
Peter Ovens
Secretary
SMCC
The way I understood it Graeme was referring to the statement above his post which read "Prime real estate to sell and fill your pockets with...... That was their goal right from the start......"
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Sad sad Barrabool to be lost. Not many of the historic tracks left now. Hope the crap rumours about Ravenswood are just that worthless crap rumours.
I called into Ravenswood on my way home from Melbourne last year to watch some Viper races.
A well respected Club member said D.C.N.R.E have put 2015 down as the year to close.
any motor Sport Club or Club using land with a creek going through it is living on borrowed time
in todays political climate..
A few years ago Swan Hill had Motor sport Clubs spread all over Town making a noise at there various venues
with the Town getting bigger complaints about noise kept coming up..
So the Council Got all the clubs together and asked them how much room they needed to run there sports on
Then they purchased a few hundred acres off land for them to set up a permanent motor sport complex 7 klm
out of Town
It now has a Speedway track for Cars.. Full size go cart track...A speedway track for bikes only.. An MX track
A super cross track .. A short course track and long course track for cars. plus 25 acres for the 4x4 club to play
on...
Now they are now well advanced with plans to build a state of the art 1/4 mile drag strip .
The Stig
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Good on Swan Hill councilors to have the vision for a motor sport complex. If only all councils had the balls to do something similar. With the constant closure of MX tracks comes the trouble of kids screaming around neighbor hoods and through parks etc. The rest of us will have to take to the bush tracks again.
MA needs to stop being putting their heads in the sand. We need somewhere to ride and race. MA has our money, supposedly to manage our interests, so, instead of buying into insurance companies and buildings in the CBD, how about buying a few parcels of land so the motor sports communities can get together and build something for the future.
Maybe they could even start arguing on our behalf about the historical significance of some of the tracks.....oh hang on, that would require money for barristers.....
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If MA/MV sell Barrabool, they will have an obligation (morally, at least) to replace it?
If the real-estate is as valuable as everyone says, surely they will be able to find some suitable land slightly further out?
VCAT has pushed them into a binding agreement, so how well/how hard MA fought is now irrelevant. The challenge now is to make sure the venue is replaced.
The blame game is now a destructive waste of time.
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From a very good authority that was not the case,
As usual hindsight is a beautiful thing,
The best intentions can be derailed,
Still the loss of such a wonderful piece of dirt and the years of effort by the few is indeed sad,
Motorcycling relies on venues,
I hope that all the stake holders can work towards a replacement.
Hi Graeme, i would love to know what points you consider not the case. Everything in that statement is factual.
Regards,
Peter Ovens
Secretary
SMCC
The way I understood it Graeme was referring to the statement above his post which read "Prime real estate to sell and fill your pockets with...... That was their goal right from the start......"
OK thanks GMC. If that's the case then my question still stands. Very, very few people know what actually went down at Barrabool, even fewer willing to tell the truth to save face.
Nathan, there certainly wont be any blame game going on from our end at least - only education. Working forward, we cant afford heading into another cataclysmic screw up. This is an extremely important issue, the health of off road motorcycling in Geelong and regions has gone from great to almost gone in a few short years.
Our clubs (2 main ones) and interclub relations have been thrown into a cock fighting ring! No 'authorities' stepped in to quell the situation, more and more cocks just got chucked into the ring! Our club members have had it with mindless management of a raft (Noah's ark??) full of issues - that's on all levels. Another thread on here made mention of common sense, or more so the lack of it these days in decision making processes. How true.
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Thank you very much MA, you got what you wanted. Prime real estate to sell and fill your pockets with...... That was their goal right from the start......
Peter my reply was to the above, MA is a Federation of 6 States and a Territory, you know that MAs goal was not to buy to sell as they then had to pay back Govt contributions.
I feel sorry that your years of efforts have not panned out, for Barra is a brilliant venue.
To me it should have been the site of OZ MX GPs
I still lament the Chad Reed International
I hope that all levels of Govt make amends to your club for this sport and it's future are nothing without Venues.
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Thanks Son I see your point. I dont think MA 'bought to sell' either, but it must have been a huge incentive to be told (at the time of negotiations) the total 'outside' funding being tipped in from joint partners totalled (approx) $2.4M, leaving MA needing to contribute only (approx) $800K to get ownership of a prime $3.2M property. In the end (after the City of Geelong council pulled out because MA not wanting to comply with funding conditions) McAdam Park still only cost MA half what it is worth. I'd be pretty happy if I bought a new house but someone else paid half for me! Thing is, what happens now to that money, MA have told our club our money paid in "its gone" (that from the highest authority :) )
Chad not coming certainly put a dent in the fundraising, but we still are proud of that event and the level we took it to.
After meeting with our local council and local member Andrew Katos we are not confident of good support for the clubs. Easier for them to work with the 'governing body' on an alternative venue for our region. The health of clubs within our community seems unimportant in comparison to just following 'the path of least resistance'.
Propaganda, politics and lip service are like ear plugs against common sense!
There is a default alternate site near the Avalon airport. City of Geelong investigated an Avalon option years ago but it was put on the back burner. Years of investigations have not uncovered any other potential sites. Its not a patch on Barrabool, flat and rocky. Waiting for someone to put forward a good business plan to see how it could work . . . .
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When you have friends on the inside of Govt pushing your barrow and things still go to $h!t it really can pi$$ you off.
The former Fed Sports Minister rode a DRZ250 her kids had minibikes and her hubby a DRZ400, I sold the former First bloke a DR650, I got to ask questions and received some answers, but to see over $100 million go to a Winter Institute of Sport for a few paltry Olympic medals every 4 years is criminal then they get several Mill a year as well, compared to the few hundred thousand we receive every year.
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Interesting to hear about the former First Bloke. I knew about Kate Lundy's family being into dirt bikes, but not Mr Tim.
If MA is suggesting that they will/can simply pocket ~$3M when the Barrabool land is sold, then there needs to be a BIG fight, starting pretty much immediately. I don't know the ins-and-outs of the donation process, but "I/we donated to maintain a high quality MX track in this part of the world. If you have failed to maintain Barrabool, and cannot replace it with a track of similar standard, then I want my money back" would be my starting point.
I don't know what real estate is worth in that part of the world, but if it can't buy and develop a suitable venue within 20 or 30km of Barrabool, I would be surprised.
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MA is a Federation,
Managed by Board that you can correspond with,
Just like any democracy,
You can ask questions,
You can be involved in the Process,
You might be just as disappointed as others that tried,
MA has a moral obligation to do the right thing and I'm sure it will try to,
Other events of recent weeks will have a big bearing on next years outcomes
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Less places and time to go skiing than ride your bike Graeme let alone give a bobsled a run. Lack of venues is a problem for all motosport. Sad to hear about an iconic track closing down.
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gmh, Toyota, Barrabool...wait, loss of profit got the first two due to high cost...what happened at barrabool,
where did the $$ go?? ..who benefits? how do the "local constituents" suss out what actually happened???
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Interesting to hear about the former First Bloke. I knew about Kate Lundy's family being into dirt bikes, but not Mr Tim.
If MA is suggesting that they will/can simply pocket ~$3M when the Barrabool land is sold, then there needs to be a BIG fight, starting pretty much immediately. I don't know the ins-and-outs of the donation process, but "I/we donated to maintain a high quality MX track in this part of the world. If you have failed to maintain Barrabool, and cannot replace it with a track of similar standard, then I want my money back" would be my starting point.
I don't know what real estate is worth in that part of the world, but if it can't buy and develop a suitable venue within 20 or 30km of Barrabool, I would be surprised.
Very interesting point you raise about the funding raised NS, is it time people actually stand up and fight for motorcycling in this country? When other governing bodies do things it's members refuse to accept they will protest/revolt/strike, do whatever they can as individuals coming together to achieve an outcome they desire, or at least are willing to accept. Maybe it's time we stopped tapping keys and start banging down doors. I think it's time to piss or get off the pot, we'll continue to be shat on if we're seen to wear that shit so easily and without a fuss.
As far as venues go i think what will be challenging in any business plan submission will be any guarnentee in "projected revenue" if that venue will rely predominantly on "racers" to supply it, I've come to realize that the majority of riders are happy being just that, riders..recreational riders...not racers. This is we're others are capitalizing and doing a good job of it, in the last few weeks a track only 50k or less from Barbool has opened up, well it was there for years but in poor condition and saw little action, someone has now poured a little money and time in and made it great, given it a new name and now punters are flocking there by the hundreds every weekend to part with $40 to ride as much as they wish for the day.
How do you compete with this? You don't! There is another venue not too far from that one that is also currently being re commissioned and will be operating in a similar way in the not too distant future. Funny thing is MA doesn't see a cent from these venues, no MA license is required to ride, not even a "rec" license...so unless they start pumping money into venues quicker than private business will they're gonna miss the boat anyway. Just my 2c
Cheers, Brendan
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If MA is suggesting that they will/can simply pocket ~$3M when the Barrabool land is sold, then there needs to be a BIG fight, starting pretty much immediately. I don't know the ins-and-outs of the donation process, but "I/we donated to maintain a high quality MX track in this part of the world. If you have failed to maintain Barrabool, and cannot replace it with a track of similar standard, then I want my money back" would be my starting point.
I don't know what real estate is worth in that part of the world, but if it can't buy and develop a suitable venue within 20 or 30km of Barrabool, I would be surprised.
Spot on Nathan. There needs to be answers. Not just "it's gone", but a detailed statement of how that sort of money disappears when,
to my knowledge, MA has bugger all in the way of liabilities. Is that money propping up another arm of MA that we don't know about? For too long MA has been rattling the coin tins at every intersection without being held accountable for the monies collected. Any money that was donated to the "save Barabool fund" should be returned pronto. Unless MA goes into liquidation, they have no excuse not to return the money raised so they could purchase the iconic Barabool land. Perhaps a class action from all those involved in the process might make the greedy honchos at MA take note that they can't keep continuing to be held un-accountable.
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If they close the track down what is going to happen to the all tiles on the wall we bought to raise money to try and save the track. ??? Hope they don't just get bulldozed into the ground :'( . Darcy
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I remember buying the "bricks" as well......I think it was in ADB magazine?......hopefully the club gets looked after.
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More on this unfortunate outcome is coming to light,
I hope MA do far better on the communication front,
More than anything I want to (SEE) better transparency
AND comment
Something like "Spokesperson for Motorcycling Australia said"
As against the last 20 years of no comment on anything in the press ever,
Even some riders winning World Championships and never having spoken to David White what BS!!!
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Don't worry, I have a feeling we''ll see more on this tomorrow . . . hopefully positive rather than same old same old.
For those who are not up to speed click here http://www.smcc.com.au/index.htm (http://www.smcc.com.au/index.htm)