SCCA to move headquarters to Kansas
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
August 23, 2001TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Sports Car Club of America, Inc. announced today that its national headquarters would move to Topeka, Kansas in November of 2002.
The 60,000-member club, known as the largest and most diverse active motorsports organization in North America, makes the move to Topeka after calling the Denver, Colo. area home for nearly 30 years.
"This is a landmark day in the 57-year history of the SCCA," said Sports Car Club of America, Inc. President and CEO Steve Johnson. "This new venture provides the SCCA a wonderful growth center for years to come and will put Topeka on the map as not only the capital of Kansas, but the grassroots motorsports capital of the world."
The SCCA and its SCCA Pro Racing Ltd. subsidiary will move all national administration, management and operations offices currently in Centennial (re-named from Englewood in 2001) to a new state-of-the-art building on a site between Forbes Field (home of the SCCA Solo II National Championships) and the Heartland Park Topeka race circuit. The building and relocation was made possible through negotiations between the SCCA, the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority, Go Topeka/Chamber of Commerce, the state of Kansas and the Kansas Region, SCCA.
"Over the past several years, the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority has experienced considerable growth and expansion of new and existing facilities, but nothing as dynamic or as exciting as the announcement that the Sports Car Club of America is relocating its corporate offices to the Topeka Air Industrial Park at Forbes Field," said David Stremming, MTAA President. "Having the Sports Car Club of America's corporate offices will bring worldwide exposure to the city of Topeka and the State of Kansas. I personally feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg of the great accomplishments that will be completed between the partnerships established between the SCCA and the MTAA."
"This is wonderful news for the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority, the city of Topeka and the State of Kansas," said Kansas Governor Bill Graves. "The SCCA's move to Forbes Field will encourage economic development, create new jobs and give Topeka national exposure in the motorsports community. I know many people worked hard to make this development possible, and I want to thank them for a job well done."
The new site will create a campus for SCCA, with the ability to not only host Solo and road racing events, but to incorporate classrooms and other training facilities for volunteer specialties including, but not limited to, corner marshalling, event officiating, timing and scoring, registration, event safety teams and technical inspection. The entire motorsports community, from the top professional organizations to the most basic club gatherings, utilizes the expertise of SCCA-trained members on a weekly basis, and will benefit from the new facilities.
"The campus is just another step toward making the SCCA a well-oiled machine from an operations standpoint, where procedures are carried out with the highest possible consistency and efficiency nation wide," said Johnson.
"This facility will be a center of pride for the SCCA membership, the City of Topeka and the entire North American motorsports community alike. Future plans on the site include adding an SCCA museum, commemorating the greatest moments and people in our history, and other exciting aspects to accommodate for our future growth as we head toward 100,000 members.
"In addition to the physical and functional attributes of the campus, the financial benefits alone will allow the SCCA to invest in its programs, staff, members and regions, and put us in the position to control our own destiny."
Johnson believes that while the move to Topeka will be positive for the SCCA membership, it will greatly benefit the community as well.
"The SCCA has a tremendous amount to offer the Topeka, and, particularly, its young people," said Johnson. "Our organization will be very active within the community to help build the city along with the SCCA. We're looking forward to bringing new people to Topeka, as well as creating new opportunities for current residents."
Profiles
The Sports Car Club of America, Inc. is a 60,000-member motorsports organization, which incorporates all facets of autocross, rally, and both club and professional motorsports events. It annually sanctions nearly 2,000 events through its 109 regions and professional subsidiary. Landmark events for the Club include the Club Racing Valvoline Runoffs® National Championship races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the Solo II® Nationals and ProSolo® National Series at Topeka, the ProRally® Championship and the United States Road Rally Championship, in St. Louis, Mo.
SCCA Pro Racing Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of SCCA, Inc., sanctioning the Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup, the longest continuously-running road racing series in America; the Speedvision World Challenge GT and Touring Car Championships, the most exciting production-based road racing in North America; and the Pro Spec Racer series, an ultra-competitive entry-level professional series putting the emphasis on driver ability in identically-prepared, purpose-built racecars.
Topeka is the capital city of Kansas, located approximately 60 miles west of Kansas City, Mo. on Interstate 70 in Shawnee County. The third largest city in Kansas has a population of over 120,000, is the home of Washburn University and is centrally located between the University of Kansas (Lawrence, Kan.) and Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kan.). Corporations with offices in Topeka include Goodyear, Frito Lay, Hallmark Cards, Heinz Pet Products, Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Payless ShoeSource. Topeka is not far from the geodetic center (geographic center factoring the curvature of the Earth) of the continental United States.
The Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority is the owner and operator of Philip Billard Airport, Forbes Field Airport, and the 450-acre Topeka Air Industrial Park, which is located adjacent to Forbes Field Airport. The MTAA owns and maintains the approximately 4,000 acres in which Forbes Field and Philip Billard Airports are located. In addition to owning and operating the two airports, the MTAA owns approximately 160 buildings and hangars at Philip Billard Airport, Forbes Field Airport and in the 450-acre Topeka Air Industrial Park. The MTAA also has approximately 125 tenants and subtenants on the premises.
Text provided by Eric Prill
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