Racers, hemmed in at Walter Fuller, will move to 10 acres. Skateboarders may take their place.
By JON WILSON
Published February 22, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - After 25 years in Walter Fuller Park, the popular bicycle motocross track will close this year.
The St. Petersburg BMX Club and its 400 to 500 riders will move to a much larger site near the county's waste recovery site on 28th Street N.
One of two tracks in Pinellas County, the new, 10-acre center should be in use by the club's fall season, said track director Gary Terpak.
"It's going to be great. It's much more centrally located. People from Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater can get to it much easier," said Terpak, adding that easy access from Interstate 275 also may attract riders from Bradenton and Sarasota.
The couple of acres left in Walter Fuller Park, which is in west St. Petersburg's Jungle Terrace neighborhood, may not be empty for long.
A skate park might be on the way.
City officials will visit Jungle Terrace next month to talk about plans. It would become the city's second skate park after one opened last year in Fossil Park.
"There's been a lot of requests over the years for skateboarding on the west side of St. Petersburg. I'm sure there would be a lot of interest from the user standpoint," said Lee Metzger, city services administrator.
Tom Killian, Jungle Terrace Civic Association president, said city officials will attend the association's regular monthly meeting.
"My view is this: The people are telling me they would like it, but they have to vote on it," Killian said. The city typically seeks approval of residents in affected neighborhoods before going ahead with recreation projects.
For the BMX club, the move will mean more room to conduct major events on the Florida circuit, whose events can draw more than 1,000 age-group competitors. That number is far too many for the Walter Fuller site, Terpak said.
"Now we're starting with a fresh piece of land. We can have a nice layout and good sightlines for the crowd," he said.
Bleachers will be moved from Walter Fuller and the club hopes to eventually build a grandstand similar to what high schools use - probably not as big, "but on that order," Terpak said.
The St. Petersburg club leased the Walter Fuller land for $1 per month will pay the county $1 per year, Terpak said.
In bicycle motocross, which began in California during the early 1970s, competitors race one another around a track with dirt jumps and banked corners. The sport appeals mostly to younger riders but has its share of adult devotees.
Terpak, 31, started in 1981 at a track in Dunedin. At the time, Pinellas County had several.
"There was one in Seminole and Clearwater, and the St. Pete track. It went through a down cycle. A lot (of riders) got out, and there wasn't a generation to take its place," Terpak said.
"What we're seeing now is a huge resurgence of riders, not only youngsters but also the over-30s, including some guys coming back."
Riders can compete on both state and national levels. Terpak would like the St. Petersburg club to land a national event, which could draw nearly 2,000 riders.
Volunteers, often parents, run most BMX organizations.
"We're exactly like Little League baseball," Terpak said, "except it's bicycles instead of baseballs."
