BUSINESS

Area Promoter Plans West Coast Indoor Motorcycle Arena

Saturday, March 22, 2003

By KAREN GREEN ALEXANDER - Trenton Times

      TRENTON - Hoping to start moving dirt here in May to build a revolutionary motorcycle sports arena, developers are already planning a similar facility on the West Coast.

     Clayton Keeler, president of XArena Motor Sports of Pennington, said his company has reached an agreement with entrepreneurs in Ontario, Calif., to create a facility there.

     XArena has final city planning board approvals for the Trenton project on about 11 acres between Brunswick Avenue and Route 1, said Dennis Gonzalez, Trenton's director of housing and economic development. He said the city council is expected to consider a land-lease agreement with XArena, possibly as early as next month.

     The $25.5 million, 230,000-square-foot facility would include a three-track supercross arena and a wind tunnel for indoor skydiving. Supercross involves motorcycle racing indoors on dirt tracks with obstacles.

     The sport attracts 140 million television spectators a year and is growing, Keeler said.

XArena is pursuing the West Coast facility before breaking ground on the one in Trenton to stay ahead of the competition, Keeler said.

     "I know once we get this up, others will copy," he said.

XArena also is looking for arena sites in Florida, Michigan, Texas and Washington, where demographic studies have shown there are the riders, spectators and income to support a facility, Keeler said.

     Of the West Coast site, Keeler said, "We're extremely excited."

"We're thrilled to be able to announce this agreement and to officially begin the development of our second facility simultaneously with our original facility in Trenton," he said.

     "Southern California is an ideal location for such a facility because the summer heat can be as extreme as the winters in the East. A climate-controlled professional indoor facility is in high demand, and we hope to answer that call with XArena West," Keeler said.

     The Trenton arena will be the first specifically designed and built for supercross, Keeler said.

Hillier, a West Windsor-based architectural firm, designed the facility.

     The design was recognized by the American Institute of Architects this fall.

Witherspoon Inc., a Pennington-based construction management firm owned by Keeler, is the builder.

     The next step in Trenton for XArena is to get construction permits, Gonzalez said.

The city owns a small parcel of the planned site, no more than an acre, which is used now for recycling operations and salt storage, he said.

     Most of the site, eight to 10 acres, is owned by Public Service Electric and Gas, which is planning a long-term lease - 30 to 50 years - with XArena, Fred DeSanti, vice president of external affairs for PSE&G, said.

     PSE&G bought its portion of the site in the early 1900s and manufactured gas there, but has not done that for 60 to 70 years, DeSanti said.

     PSE&G cleaned up related contaminants there and is now waiting for approval of the cleanup from the state Department of Environment Protection, DeSanti and the DEP said.

     "We're very pleased this ground is being returned in a clean manner for a productive and fun use for the community," DeSanti said.

     Remediation included removing structures, piping and 200,000 tons of contaminated soil related to the gas manufacturing, a DEP official said.

     Clean soil, a protective cap and gravel have been placed and there is ongoing monitoring, he said.

The Trenton arena will become the XArena headquarters, Keeler said. It will serve semi-professional-level racing, he said.

Plans are for construction to take place in Trenton as planning goes on in California, Keeler said.