Motorsports Country Club Planned in Central Ohio

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By Owen Milnes  –  Staff reporter , Columbus Business First

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Jimmy Peters has always had a passion for motorsports.

Now he wants to share that love of all things fast and loud with the rest of Central Ohio.

Peters founded Resolute Motorsports and is raising funds to build a $160 million "motorsports country club." He said the funding will come from a "combination of investor equity, institutional debt and likely governmental incentives.”

He has yet to find a permanent home for the club, but is targeting approximately 500 acres near West Jefferson.

Peters said his Resolute Motorsports Club will offer memberships to two full-length road courses, a kart track, an autocross course, a skid pad, an off-road rally-cross area as well as a clubhouse with a bar and restaurant.

“We want to make this a big family experience,” Peters said. “We want to get everyone involved.”

The personal trainer at the Arena District Athletic Club said the facility will feature more than 250 two-story garage condo units, each with an area for vehicles and a space for entertaining.

“It’s a place to bond with your family, network with business associates,” Peters said. “You’ll get to enjoy the camaraderie of the automotive community.”

The facility would provide Central Ohio its third automobile condominium community.

In May 2020, a Detroit-based developer announced plans to build The Motor Enclave, a $30 million community, in New Albany.

A few months later, Powell car dealer Chip Vance broke ground on Horsepower Farms just west of Liberty High School. Phase one of construction is finished and phase two is set to begin in the next two weeks, Vance told Columbus Business First.

Peters said getting involved in motorsports can be difficult because of having to travel to events.

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“I recognize some of the pain points for participating for the average person,” Peters said. “A lot of facilities don’t have great amenities or offer driving programs or track time when it’s convenient for people to go.

The club "will allow them to come on their time through membership to have open track access when they see fit," he said.

The club will offer four membership tiers. The top level will offer clients 244 days of unlimited track privileges. The mid-level membership will offer 50 days of track privileges, and the social membership will offer 30 consecutive days of unlimited track privileges. More information on memberships can be found on the website.

Peters said price packages are still being finalized.

He said the club will be built in three phases, with phase one focusing on the private-side members track and condos as well as public access to the kart course. The later phases will place emphasis on the public race track and corporate entertainment amenities.

The club’s kart course will be about 1.1 miles long and the karts will have a top speed of 55 mph, Peters said. The members’ road course race track will be about 2 miles long and the public road course will be 3.5 miles long.

Technical Track Design, a professional motorsport track design and consultancy with a global portfolio, will design the facility, Peters said.

Bryce Engelhart, owner and lead designer of Technical Track Design, said he’s excited to help grow the motorsports community in Central Ohio.

“It’s going to be a center for everything automotive in the area,” Engelhart said.

Peters said the location will draw people from all around the state and the Midwest.

Brian Ross, president and CEO of Experience Columbus, said the club will provide a unique experience.

“(The club) ties in great to a lot of the mobility community that we’re known for with the Honda plant out in Marysville, with Smart Columbus and just the overall manufacturing of different automotive devices and parts and things," Ross said. "I think this is something that just highlights a part of Columbus that we’re proud of and really has helped our community move forward.”

The club plans to hold social events such as new vehicle releases, wine and bourbon testing events and wristwatch releases.

Peters said he aims to open the facility in 2023.

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Massive Motorsports Facility Proposed

by Dillon Davis - Delaware Gazette

September 28th, 2022

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Resolute Motorsports Club (RMC) is exploring the development of a membership-based recreational, research and development, and educational training facility in central Ohio, and during Monday’s meeting of Delaware City Council, representatives of the club presented a preliminary proposal for the facility to be constructed in Delaware.

RMC is a comprehensive recreation and tourism development based around motorsports.

“As an all-encompassing motorsports facility, RMC is focused on enabling new local motorsports users, as well as attracting motorsports tourists from around the globe,” its website states.

Proposed is a 260-acre facility that would be constructed south of the airport and north of U.S. Route 42. The facility would include multiple driving platforms consisting of three different road courses, an off-road rally course, and karting courses, among other tracks, as well as multiple event centers and a business park for automotive companies utilizing the facility’s resources for performance testing.

While the club would largely be accessed via private membership, the two karting tracks would open to the public for individual enjoyment or for reserved events.

Jimmy Peters, the founder of Resolute Motorsports Club, said the rally course and accompanying rally course school would be just the fourth of its kind in the United States and the only course in the Midwest.

A dealership is also proposed on the site, which would sell high-end performance cars, muscle cars and foreign models. Peters said he envisions the dealership catching the eye of collectors from around the country who would fly into the airport to look at the cars.

The sprawling facility would also have an element of residential use as well with approximately 250 trackside “garage condo” units proposed to be constructed on the site for purchase by members of the club.

Peters said what is currently being presented is just the “tip of the iceberg” for the possible uses at the facility.

“We’ve been working on this concept of a motorsports park for a few years,” Delaware Economic Development Director Sean Hughes said during Monday’s meeting. “How can we take advantage of a rapidly growing industry sector, that being the specialty aftermarket sector, and make that a uniquely Delaware type of industry.”

Hughes added, “This is a really interesting project that we’ve been talking about for years now, and I look forward to being able to continue the conversation.” He went on to say the residual economic impact of such a facility being constructed would be “tremendous.”

If ultimately approved, Peters said the first phase of the facility would include 21 new jobs being created. At full scale, the facility would have a total of 85 employees not including those utilizing the business park.
 

Bruce Daniels, who is the president of the Performance Columbus Auto Group, which is partnering with Resolute on the project, added there would be an educational component to the development that would offer schools for those wishing to pursue careers as automotive technicians.

Following the presentation, Mayor Carolyn Riggle thanked the representatives for choosing Delaware and called the proposal “very exciting” for the community. “We’ll see where it goes from here,” she added.

Pictured is the concept site plan for a proposed motorsports development in Delaware. A preliminary discussion regarding the development, which would be located on 260 acres south of the airport, was held during Monday’s Delaware City Council meeting.

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Resolute Motorsports selects Central Ohio location for $160M 'motorsports country club' development

Sep 29, 2022, 3:56pm EDT

By Jon Bush - Columbus Business First

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A unique project that aims to make Central Ohio a motorsports destination is rolling closer to reality.

Resolute Motorsports Club, founded by local personal trainer and automotive enthusiast Jimmy Peters, has selected a location for what it is calling a "country club" for those who enjoy the thrill of the drive. Though it's not a done deal, Peters told me he has identified a 260-acre site at the corner of Sawmill Parkway and U.S. Route 42 in Delaware for the $160 million development.

Columbus Business First reported on the project last year when Resolute was still in its infancy. Since then, Peters has worked with a family who owns the land on a deal for the property. Terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed, but Peters said they plan to close the deal in the early part of next year. Funding will come from private investment, he said.

Though the project is gaining momentum, there are still some hurdles to cross. The Resolute team will have to work through annexation, zoning, development and engineering review with the city. Resolute may also create a community panel to gain input from local residents.

"They have communicated that they really want to work with the community to make this a positive asset for the city of Delaware," Delaware Economic Development Director Sean Hughes said. "We believe that this project has the potential to make our community the United States’ home to this growing segment."

The club will be constructed in three phases, with Columbus-based Renier Construction serving as the builder and another Columbus company, Archall Architects, serving as the architect.

The first phase will feature a 2-mile road course, trackside garage condo units, a 1-mile karting course and rally cross course. The second phase includes a member's clubhouse, garage condo units, a 3.5-mile public course, event center, fuel station and karting center clubhouse. The third and final phase comes with more condo units, a skid pad, performance center, rental garages and a business park.

Additionally, Peters has a deal in place for a local car dealership to bring its performance-based vehicles to the site. The dealership will offer European brands, muscle cars and other performance vehicles, as well as services such as a detailing center. Peters said he couldn't reveal the name of the dealership, but said it is an existing Central Ohio company.

Resolute will create 21 direct jobs to start, and that number is expected to jump to 85 when the development is fully built out. Companies that decide to locate at the business park also are expected to bring jobs.

The club will be membership-based, with four types available. Those include social, intermediate, top tier family and corporate memberships, which range in price. Peters said exact pricing has not been finalized, but that will occur prior to accepting deposits for future members.

Peters said he's already seen a good amount of interest in the project.

"We've been hearing from people who are interested in everything from memberships and karting to garage condo units and the business park," Peters said.

According to Peters, building a motorsports club will be a way to attract auto lovers to the region from around Ohio, out of state and maybe even from other countries depending on how successful it becomes. Resolute's location near the Delaware Municipal Airport will make it easier for visitors to travel to the site.

"It'll make travel easy for out-of-town members to access the club, as well as for our dealership that will have a lot of high-end vehicles," he said. "There will be a lot of purchasers from out of town, so they'll be able to test drive their vehicle at our track, sign the paperwork, have the vehicle shipped home, get back on the plane and fly out. Being located right next to the airport was a big draw."

But the club won't just appeal to out-of-town visitors, he said. Peters wants to pull in local residents and others from across Ohio who currently race at clubs like Mid-Ohio in Lexington.

"A lot of people around here go to Mid-Ohio currently for things like this," he said. "(Resolute) will make it a lot easier for them with it being closer to the downtown (Columbus) area. Accessibility and ease of access was a real focus when I was coming up with the business plan. I know for me personally that was a big pain point when I started getting into this. I wanted to join a club, but there was nothing around here. Now there will be."

Peters said even the tracks that do exist often lack the amenities Resolute will bring to the area.

"Some places you go to you'll be lucky to get a hot dog or have a bathroom with paper towels," he said. "This will be an upscale offering that will have everything you need from sun up to sun down."

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