SOURCE: Austin Business Journal - June 15, 2007
by W. Scott Bailey
That is the plan one Boerne entrepreneur is pursuing as he pushes forward with a proposed world class private motorsports resort that would be tucked into the Texas Hill Country somewhere between San Antonio and Austin.
Steve Patti and his Motorsports Resorts International team is pursuing funding and a location for a multimillion-dollar project that would mix the sport of auto racing and vacation into a single Hill Country development. Once completed, the track could serve as a private retreat for owners of high-end sports cars and corporate gatherings, as well as a site for race team testing and public events including sanctioned professional races and other entertainment. Patti expects the bulk of his clientele to come from Austin's affluent neighborhoods, where it isn't uncommon to see a Ferrari or Lamborghini roaming the streets.
The working name for the development is Bergrennenring www.bergrennenring.com, which is German for hill race circuit. The master plan includes a competition-quality open road track designed by internationally acclaimed Formula One track design firm Tilke. The project would also include a clubhouse, day spa and other resort facilities and amenities, as well as an exclusive residential development.
The development would, in large part, be geared toward car club enthusiasts, who would have access to the tracks via memberships.
There are similar developments outside the Houston and Dallas areas and in other parts of the United States. But this would be the first facility of its kind in the San Antonio-Austin area.
"We have an opportunity to do something in the Hill Country that is already being done in other parts of the nation," Patti says. "These facilities are making money, and they're growing faster than they can manage their membership base. Why can't we do that here?"
Filling a need Among those familiar with the plans is Greg Gallaspy, executive director of the Paseo del Rio Association.
"I think they have a great concept," says Gallaspy about Patti and his team. "This would be a first-class resort and it's an idea that can work."
One reason it could work, according to Gallaspy: "Pro (racing) teams are looking for more areas where they can train." He says Bergrennenring is a place where Indy car teams, for example, could look to do some of their auto testing, relying on the proximity of two important metropolitan areas for infrastuctural and even promotional support.
Matt Burkholder is general manager of Barrett Motor Cars. The San Antonio dealer sells Jaguars, Ferraris and Maseratis.
"I definitely think there is a market and a need for this," he says. "There is a vacancy in this ... market that needs to be filled. I think there are enough people who would be interested in participating."
Tourism boost Patti says the plan is to develop the resort somewhere along the U.S. Highway 281 corridor between San Antonio and Austin, in the heart of the Texas Hill Country.
Leaders in at least one community within that area are attempting to attract the project to their area. Recently in Johnson City, council members unanimously passed a proclamation of support of the motorsport resort development. Johnson City officials confirm that the project would include an 1.8 mile general use road course with parking and limited amenities.
Patti says the second phase would include a 2.5 mile professional road course with permanent seating for as many as 20,000 race fans, along with a clubhouse, day spa and other amenities.
Johnson City officials believe the proposed development would stimulate tourism and economic development in the area.
Once built, who would come to the proposed motorsport resort?
"Very affluent six-figure [income] households who bring investment money with them and put up weekend residences," Patti says. "We want to put together a vacation attraction..."
If and when Bergrennenring comes to fruition it may not be the only fast-paced playground in town. Austinite Bo Rivers, the owner of Autostrada, a Lotus car dealership on North Lamar Boulevard, told the Austin Business Journal in December of his plans to build Harris Hill Road, a 1.8-mile asphalt road course that will be open to owners who want to burn rubber on their own tires. Rivers said his track will be about two miles east of I-35 in the hills of San Marcos. He stressed that the road course won't be a racetrack, but a venue where sports car enthusiasts can test the potential of their high-performance machines.
W. SCOTT BAILEY is a staff writer at the San Antonio Business Journal, an affiliate of the Austin Business Journal.
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