Detroit's indoor cycling track Lexus Velodrome rebrands as Mad Track Arena
The Detroit Fitness Foundation's partnership with the Detroit Lexus Dealers Association ended after eight years, and Lexus will no longer be represented on the outside of the building. The dome will take on a new moniker: Mad Track Arena (MTA).
'The Detroit Lexus Dealers Association believed in, supported and helped us bring our mission to life,' CEO of the DFF Dale Hughes said in a statement Monday, July 21. 'Thanks to this partnership, thousands of young Detroit youth have experienced the life-changing joy of learning to ride a bike, and hundreds more have taken their first laps on our Olympic-caliber track. Together, we've introduced cycling to new generations, developed elite athletes – including Olympians and a World Champion – and established the Velodrome as a hub for community, competition and wellness in the heart of Detroit."
The track inside the dome is a 1/10th-mile wooden oval with 50-degree banked turns, a shorter track than what riders use in the Olympics but similar angles.
The track is designed for Madison racing, a two-cyclist team relay race invented in Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Madison is currently an Olympic event, and the newly branded Mad Track Arena is considered one of the premiere training grounds for the race. Mad Track Arena will continue to host the 2025 and 2026 National Madison Championships in November of the next two years.
The arena officially opened its track in 2018 with money from a private donor and sponsorship money, including Lexus' assistance. The arena loses Lexus' sponsorship money, a financial blow for the nonprofit, but Hughes is confident they will find funding.
'It's a significant loss of revenue, obviously,' Hughes said. 'But what Lexus helped us do is get us from that baby position to we're up on our feet and we're running and we're creating champions, a lot of our programs are succeeding and growing. That's what we want to do. … We obviously have overhead and we will cover that overhead, and we will be looking at other partners to come on board at this time.'
The arena's overhead is greatly reduced by an anonymous financial sponsor paying their mortgage, but Hughes still needs funding to support community initiatives. He's excited about building the brand of Mad Track Arena across all their different ventures. In addition to the racetrack, there is also a 1/8th mile walking track and weights available for use.
'We're starting to use the brand to really identify al the different aspects of what we do here,' Hughes said. 'Mad Track lifting for people that are lifting. Mad Track walkers for all our senior walkers. … Now we can really use our brand, which is Mad Track cycling, Mad Track Arena, as what we're all about. We're about Madison racing. That's our main feature, but we're a community center and we offer a lot of stuff for the community.'
Mad Track Arena is open seven days a week.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit cycling track Lexus Velodrome rebrands as Mad Track Arena
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