BLAINE, Minn. – (May, 21, 2015) – It was a tumultuous off-season for the velodrome racing community in Minnesota. In December it looked like the only velodrome track in Minnesota was going to close permanently. The track at the National Sports Center was in dire need of repair and it would take thousands of dollars. But, after an impressive fundraising campaign the track reopened this week. “The credit goes to the cycling community and everybody they brought in to raise over $100,000. We had corporate donors. Their were hundreds of donations from individuals from all over the country and even some internationally,” said National Sports Center Chief Communications Officer Barclay Kruse.
The problem with the 25-year-old track was that after years of rough winter weather the structure was no longer sound and the support beams and trusses under the track were rotting away. “They were working underneath the track and they put in structural supports on 374 pieces that are called truss bases that are the vertical supports holding up the track. All the work was done on the underside of the track which was where some of the rot and deterioration was. It took a couple months and right now the rack is structurally sound. It’s good to go for another five years,” said Kruse.
The work was finished just in time as the weekly Thursday night racing series kicked off this week. Barclay encourages anyone in the community to come out and enjoy the fast paced action. “Racing will now go on every Thursday night all summer long until the middle of September. Racing is a very entertaining sport to watch. I really encourage anybody to stop by. There is hardly a sports event in the Blaine area that’s more fun to watch on a nice summer evening than velodrome racing,” said Kruse.
