Estrella To Bring SX to PHX

There have been a few rumors kickin around the forums and pit areas the past week, that we may be seeing another BMX Supercross track in the United States before long. Today, BMXNEWS confirmed that Estrella Mountain BMX in Goodyear (Phoenix), AZ is the place. In an exclusive interview with “News” today, Track Operator, Justin Hill said that they are “already moving dirt, and getting the straightaways in place. The [8-metre starting] ramp is in the process of getting its engineering drawings approved by the City of Goodyear, and we expect that to be done in the coming week.”

The track will be a “ride-along” track which will have two starting hills (Elite and Challenge), and will have parallel straightaways…basically a replica of the 2010 UCI Worlds track in South Africa (both tracks sharing a last straight). “We want riders to be able to train on the Worlds track so they have the best preparation possible” said Justin.

Justin’s clearly-stated goal is to offer an additional resource to the long-established SX track at the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. “This track will be open to more riders, and will be a little more affordable to train on. We are working with local resources like the Comfort Suites here in town and the LA Fitness club nearby, so visiting teams can ‘plug in’ to a package deal we will set up for them. When they land, all they need to do is show up, and we’ll hand them their hotel keys and gym cards. We will even have an entertainment component set up at the local Dave & Busters so the riders can enjoy some down time.”

You may recall that Estrella (properly-pronounced “Ess-tray-ah,” for the Spanish word for “Star”), made headlines earlier in the year by resigning their NBL sanction and joining the hometown crowd of the ABA. Since the switch, local and state-race moto counts have gone through the roof.

A natural question, given the fact that his will be one of only a handful of permanent BMX Supercross facilities in the world, is “Will you be hosting a UCI World Cup event?” On that, Justin is, understandably, a bit guarded, simply saying “Naturally, we hope to attract that kind of event to Estrella, but nothing firm has been put in place yet. The ABA is a tremendous help in helping us make the right connections on that.”

Another begging question is “What happens after the 2010 worlds? Will you be changing the track to model the 2011 worlds?” Again, maybe more work is being done behind the scenes than can be spoken of publicly, as Justin says “We do plan to change the track in the fall. If the 2012 Olympic design is out by then, who knows?”

All this development is not some “way down the road” affair, for as we said at the top, dozers are moving dirt now, and the ramp is due to be built in the coming weeks. Justin says that they are shooting for an “early-to-Mid-June” opening.

BMX News will have first photos of the in-progress build, and we hope to have coverage from the first events and ribbon-cutting ceremony when the time comes.