Formula One style go-kart racing, event center, coming to Brook Park

For all the northeast Ohioans who fancy themselves a would-be Danica Patrick, Kyle Busch or (for the old-timers among us) A. J. Foyt, the opportunity to realize those alter egos will soon arise courtesy of Boss Pro-Karting, which is coming to 18301 Brookpark Road this summer.

"Boss Pro-Karting is an indoor professional go-kart track and event facility," says Boss co-founder Brad Copley. "We have an indoor Formula One style go-kart circuit. Additionally, we have meeting and gathering spaces that can accommodate up to 200 individuals."

The new 36,000-square-foot facility will feature a 1/5-mile indoor racing track that will expand to 1/4-mile in the fairer months when overhead doors open to an outdoor extension. The 18-turn track was inspired by classic Ohio racing venues such as Mid-Ohio, Nelson Ledges and the seasonal track at Burke Lakefront Airport, which was home to the Grand Prix of Cleveland from 1982 to 2007 when the likes of Al Unser, Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Tracy flew beneath the checkered flag. The races at Burke fueled a generation of memories.

"We want to tap into that exact feeling," says Copley. "We can deliver that again to Cleveland."

Memories notwithstanding, these are not your dad's go-karts. The Sodi RTX European F1 Race Karts go for a cool $20,000 each and while they can achieve speeds of 75 miles per hour, Copley notes that the karts will be governed at 50 mph.

The all-electric emission-free karts will be staged and charged in the two-lane pit area. The battery-powered aspect of the karts also allows management to "have complete control to improve the racing experience and keep it safe," says Copley. Boss Pro-Karting's fleet will include 26 Sodi karts.

Boss will have four event spaces with square footages of 2,400, 800, 600 and 400. The largest of will accommodate sit-down parties of up to 200. While catering options are still tentative, Copley says Boss will be flexible with clients when it comes to dining service. There will be a full liquor service with a zero tolerance policy.

"You are no longer able to race if have a drink," says Copley.

While Copley expects to attract corporate and private clients to the event center for everything from bachelor parties to company team-building events, local teens and adults looking to unleash their inner Andretti will be welcome to enjoy the facility seven days a week.

"We'll schedule and book times for private groups," says Copley, adding that casual concessions such as pizza, pretzels and hotdogs will be available and racing will start at $20 a go, with lower pricing for the subsequent races. Future programs include leagues and training sessions and summer camps wherein kids can learn about driving, competing and racing.

"Who knows?" poses Copley of prospective attendees. "They could be the next Jeff Gordon."

The project is the brainchild of Copley, who wore a business suit for much of his professional life, and his cousin Lee Boss, who wore a racing suit.

"Lee was a three-time World Karting Association Champion," says Copley of his cousin. "He won the National Karting Circuit in 2004, 2005 and 2006. He also raced SCCA cars at Mid-Ohio, and Sprint cars in Sandusky, Attica and Eldora," he adds, noting that those three tracks are all in Ohio. "He has a long racing background."

Copley's racing experience is more subdued.

"I'm a mechanical engineer who grew up making race car parts," says the former vice president and 25-year veteran of MTD Products.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) orchestrated the deal by uniting the Boss team, the commercial real estate firm Weston Inc. and the City of Brook Park to bring the unique $4.2 million project to fruition.

The city came to the table with a $50,000 demolition grant and a 15-year tax abatement that will apply to the improvements on the three-acre lot (namely, the building). While Weston owns the building and the land, the Boss team will operate the facility and owns the business and all the associated equipment. Janotta & Herner is the architect and general contractor on the project.

The project was unique, notes NGKF's senior marketing coordinator Matt Orgovan, on account of the build-to-suit aspect.

"There's not a lot of those going on right now," says Orgovan.

"You design the building around the need," notes NGKF's director Jeff Kennedy, explaining that existing buildings had columns and layouts that simply could not accommodate the challenges of a racing track. Hence a customized "build-to-suit" design was in order.

Formerly occupied by a vacant rental car facility and V-Ash Machine Co., demolition on the site is complete and foundation work has begun. Boss Pro-Karting is expected to open this summer ahead of the RNC, a realization that was long in coming.

"My first experience with this was in Budapest in 2002," says Copley. "That's what inspired me. When I saw that track in Hungary, I just fell in love. I thought: man, we need one of these in Cleveland." Since then, he's visited tracks around the globe.

"It's just taken me since 2002 for the market and the opportunity to be right to actually build one."

Erin O'Brien
Erin O'Brien

About the Author: Erin O'Brien

Erin O'Brien's eclectic features and essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and others. The sixth generation northeast Ohioan is also author of The Irish Hungarian Guide to the Domestic Arts. Visit erinobrien.us for complete profile information.