WAILUA — Club Moto Kauai, a nonprofit that runs the Wailua Motocross Track, is moving forward with plans to relocate to a track in Kalepa near Hanamaulu.
The club plans to have the new Kalepa track built sometime in the next year or two.
“We just want to move forward and not look at the past. We’re starting new. This is all new – new club, new everything, new focus, new ideas. Starting fresh, it’s what we’re doing,” said Craig Arzadon, Club Moto Kauai board member.
In November, the Kauai County Council approved a 40-year license agreement with Club Moto Kauai for use of about 18 acres of land in Kalepa.
Arzadon said the club aims to build a better facility in Kalepa and that once that is complete, the club will cease operations in Wailua.
“We’re running out of dirt. What Kalepa brings is better material for a better facility,” Arzadon said. “Also, we’re moving away from the ocean. The salt just kills everything – our bikes and everything. If you don’t wash your bike or do anything, the salt just kills it. Emergency vehicles if they need to go in, the dirt road is pretty hammered at times. It gets muddy and everything. This new facility is right off the main Maalo Road. Easy access for emergencies and safety.”
In the meantime, though, the club has plans for the immediate future in Wailua.
Club Moto Kauai will host a meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Wailua track to discuss with the local dirt biking community its plans, which includes building a more kid-friendly track.
“We just want to make it, the facility, so that people feel safe and can enjoy themselves without feeling like they’re going to get hurt,” said Rick Hurst, track facilitator and club member. “We want to make it for everyone, and that’s why we’re going to make four separate tracks. And, we’re going to have a BMX section so that kids can come down with their bicycles and do their thing.”
Hurst added: “One of the important things is that we’re not for the 5 percent. We’re for the 95 percent. We’re for the majority. What the majority wants is what that track is going to be. It’s not going to be for the guy that wants to become a Supercross star. It’s going to for the majority, for people and families to enjoy themselves.”
Another change the club plans to discuss is a required fee to use the track. An exact number is to be determined.
“There was times when everybody paid at the gate, and it didn’t matter who you are. That money goes toward maintenance so that you can have a nice facility,” Hurst said. “But what happens is, you’re my friend and everybody else is your friend, and your kid is working the gate. ‘Uncle so-and-so is coming. Ah, let him come. No worries.’ All of sudden, you have 25 people there, and only two people paid. All of those things are going to change. Everybody is going to pay so that we can maintain this place and keep it right.”
Info: clubmotokauai@gmail.com
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Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
