BADLANDS MEETS EUROPE
New resort taking shape
In 2005, Calgary automobile enthusiast Jay Zelazo was doing one of the things he likes to do most: driving his sports car, fast, in a controlled environment. But he didn’t feel safe. He was at Race City Motorsport Park, and he realized the decaying track was literally giving up some of its last laps.
The park remained open for another six years before being razed in 2011, but by that time Zelazo was already hard at work building a dream. That dream is the Badlands Motorsports Resort (BMR), and we’ll get to what that is in just a moment.
About 100 kilometres east of Calgary, near Drumheller, Zelazo found land for sale and invited world-renowned track designer Alan Wilson to offer an opinion.
Wilson has been involved with more than 175 tracks in 16 countries, and he was impressed with the land.
“(Wilson said) the location and topography were perfect for a unique and challenging motorsport facility,” says Zelazo’s father, James.
Zelazo senior, a chartered accountant, began working with his son and a group of like-minded investors. They bought the land and hired Wilson to design Badlands Motorsports Resort.
BMR is, according to its website, “a destination resort (with) two European-style road courses set on a 525-acre property in Kneehill County.”
Road course and track areas will be focused on recreational driving, grassroots-level competition and driver education and training.
The facility will incorporate a wide variety of other services and amenities to be enjoyed by members and the public.
“A clubhouse, retail areas and hotel, residences, parks and sports facilities will give families and visitors of all ages opportunities to enjoy the area.”
After investing millions of dollars and working for more than 10 years on the project, BMR is hoping to see the starter’s flag very soon, says chief financial officer and project manager James Zelazo.
“There are a number of rules and regulations we have to abide by,” Zelazo says of the project.
“We are very serious about maintaining environmental conditions as they are, and have completed comprehensive site designs, architectural and engineering studies, as well as environmental, sound and traffic assessments.”
While the project borders the Rosebud River, none of the proposed development will take place by the water or near the cliffs.
One of the two road courses will be in the valley and the other will be above, on the plateau.
“We hold the environment in high regard,” Zelazo says. “Why would we devastate the land that forms a part of the attraction for visitors to a resort that is a motorsport park? It’s meant for families to enjoy, and will cater to all walks of recreational life.”
In the future, that could mean walking and mountain biking trails, skating and curling areas and even the possibility of a disc
We’re well on track here ... BMR is a facility for all Albertans to enjoy, and will introduce many to the Canadian badlands region.
golf course and a kayak launch by the river.
But motorsports will come first, and to that end the group long ago completed a sound study that was based on street-legal vehicles, such as BMWs, Corvettes and Porsches.
Zelazo says those vehicles would represent the majority of users; there won’t be a drag strip or an oval course.
According to the study, the highest noise level, at 37.1 DBA at the closest receptor, is well below the permissible sound level of 50 DBA. Normal speech is around 60 DBA.
“Our comprehensive site development plan and formal applications for subdivision have been filed with Kneehill County,” Zelazo says. “It’s been a significant amount of work to meet all the requirements, and we’ve done all that’s been asked of us.
“It’s currently the largest tourism development being proposed in Alberta, and offers many benefits, including as many as 150 permanent jobs. We will also have an ambulance at the facility, and would allow its use in a Kneehill or (neighbouring) Wheatland County emergency should the need arise.”
Zelazo concludes, “We’re well on track here, and should see shovels in the ground very early next year. BMR is a facility for all Albertans to enjoy, and will introduce many to the Canadian badlands region.”