The hum of high performance engines. The thick, dust-laden atmosphere. This is what greets visitors entering Mototown USA, a 200,000-square-foot indoor motocross stadium in Windsor, Connecticut. The arena has become a haven for riders during the winter months, an escape from the snow and ice. The air may be cold, but the course is in excellent condition.If you're interested, you can find the full article in Imagine's "eEdition" over here.
Thomas DeFranzo, developer and proprietor of Mototown USA, built this facility to satisfy his life-long love of motocross racing. But this year, once the riders take to the hills outdoors, DeFranzo and his staff will not be grooming the tracks in preparation for their return.
“Once everyone goes outside for motocross in March, this building will cease to exist as a motocross facility,” DeFranzo explains. “We’ll begin to move the dirt out, power wash everything, and start putting down touch-up paint.”
Mototown USA is in its final season. Come spring, it will be converted into film and television sound stages. DeFranzo’s plan is to eventually find a new location for the original operation, one where he can build both an indoor and outdoor course.
Until then, it’s goodbye, motocross, hello, motion pictures.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Windsor movie studio
I recently contributed an article to Imagine News, a monthly publication dedicated to the film and television industry in New England. The piece concerned a proposed $110 million movie studio complex up in Windsor, CT. Yes, I realize that mentioning this here is shameless self-promotion, but the project sounds pretty interesting. To begin, it's being built from a massive motocross facility. Plus, when complete, it will offer about 400 full-time jobs to local residents. With our economy floundering, that sort of number sounds pretty fantastic.
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1 comment:
From the gearheads to the groundskeepers, this is a terrible blow to the livelihoods of those in Connecticut's motocross industry. Mototown USA is also one of the precious few places in that part of the state where teenagers could escape the violence of CT's mean streets. Thank you for bringing this article to my attention!
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