Monica Hernandez / Eyewitness News
Email: mhernandez@wwltv.com | Twitter: @mhernandezwwl
The only thing better than watching cars rush past at over 100 miles per hour is driving them.
At least, that's what Steve Robinson will tell you. The amateur enthusiast spent the morning sharing his passion for cars with his 6-year-old son during the grand opening of the NOLA Motorsports Park.
“To see the development here and what it’s brought to the area, it's really nice to see something here, this type of magnitude,” Robinson said.
The 750-acre multi-million dollar facility in Avondale is one of a kind in the state and, developers say, one of the best in the nation.
“What we built is really special,” Mitch Wright said.
Added Wes Ratcliff, director of business development for the park, “To finally see it out here, to be able to drive on the track, hear the tires, hear the cars behind us drive on the track, it's just amazing.”
And with scheduled events expected to bring hundreds of racing enthusiasts from around the globe, developers believe it will be a big economic boost for the area.
“There's no other race track that's this close to a major city with a lot of fun things to do,” Ratcliff said.
Said motorcycle coordinator Ron Rink, “So now you cannot just come to NOLA for a lot of the entertainment side and the festivals, now you have a track that you can also come.”
The track gives amateurs a place to hone their skills and pros a place to compete. I decided to take a first-hand look at what it's like... to speed down a race track.
And developers hope others will experience the rush of racing here while those like Robinson said they're excited to have a local venue for the sport they love that gives people another incentive to visit New Orleans.
The motorsports park also includes a 23 acre go-kart facility and developers are also planning to build a second race track that can connect to the first, making it the longest in the country.
The park will host its first professional spectator race in October.
