Volusia County, Fla. — Volusia County leaders are considering the construction of a motocross track facility in the Port Orange area.

For Volusia County resident Nate Ingram, the love for riding motorcycles has been a constant throughout his life.

“I grew up around motorcycles, but my family was very poor and so when I was a child, I never had the opportunity to race,” Ingram said.

Motocross is an expensive hobby that Ingram got into over the last 15 years with his kids. But there was nowhere for them to ride, so he built a track in his own backyard.

“The kids would get out of school; they’d come back to the house. We had a track right here in the backyard. They never really slowed down. They got out of the car through the house, got all their gear, and got out on the bikes here on our track,” Ingram said.

That’s why he feels a motocross track is needed in Volusia County to provide a safe place for people who enjoy the sport with a place to ride.

“Those memories are some of my most cherished memories as a father,” Ingram said.

Now that Ingram and his family no longer have a track in their backyard since his children are grown, he said in order to race they have to travel to tracks outside of the county, in Orlando or Bunnell. But things might change as Volusia County officials are considering building a motocross track near Tomoka Farms Road west of Port Orange.

“I’m super excited about it. I think it’s a great opportunity for the residents of Volusia County,” Ingram said. “Riding in a safe facility, wearing all the protective gear that’s required and providing them a source to do that so that way we can preserve the rest of our parks and keep the motorcycles and stuff out of those areas, put them on the track where they belong.”

On Sept. 9, 2023, the county entered into a contract with Chicago-based consultant Hunden Strategic Partners to provide a Sports Facility Market and Complex Analysis Feasibility and Pro Forma Study for a sports facility to include BMX and motocross tracks.

On Oct. 17, 2023, the council requested Hunden Strategic Partners forego the motocross needs assessment element of the study and only provide the analysis and the design concept for the project.

They estimated the cost of building this track in Volusia County will be approximately $10.2 million. Council Member Don Dempsey said he does not believe the facility will cost that much.

“I am fairly well versed in the sport. I’ve been in it for about 50 years. And I just, I can’t see how it could possibly be over a $2 to $3 million project. And I can tell you for the record right now, if it’s going to cost the taxpayers of Volusia County $10 million, I am a no vote on this project,” Dempsey said.

According to the study, they expect over 30 years the project will generate more than $362 million in net new spending, $162 million in net new earnings and 47 net new full-time equivalent jobs.

The consultant presented the council with three options regarding the proposed facility.

• Scenario A: County built and operated facility.
• Scenario B: County built with a private investor operator.
• Scenario C: Land lease to private developer and operator.

On April 23, Volusia County hosted a meeting where more than 100 residents attended to learn about the proposed project. Motocross fans, including Ingram, and concerned neighbors of the Tomoka Farms Road area flooded the room asking county officials about the project.

Among them is Jerrica Choufani, a Volusia County resident whose home on Halifax Drive is located close to the proposed lot where the motocross track would be built. 

“We realized it’s less than 2,000 feet from our property and less than just a few hundred feet from our neighbor’s property. So, it really took things back, and we thought there’s no way that this can happen,” Choufani said.

She has been living on Halifax with her husband and children for four years, but they have been in the neighborhood for more than 14 years. She said she loves how peaceful it is. 

“I don’t know if you hear it. It sounds amazing. There’s nothing crazy going on. You hear the roosters; you hear other animals. And it’s really a slice of heaven,” Choufani said.

A slice of heaven where they have animals and live the farm life they wanted to when they moved here.

“Hoping to expand and have some goats, maybe a donkey. So, we’re just trying to get things, you know, kind of situated. That’s another thing is how are the animals going to be affected by the noise,” Choufani said.

That noise is only part of the reason Choufani says the proposed track could be a problem for her.

“In the last two years, we have been almost submerged. On Halifax we were stuck in our house or on our street for three days. This was our backyard. Our goose was swimming,” Choufani said as she pulled up a video on her phone showing the flooding issues they deal with during storms and heavy rain.

She worries development of a large track and parking for the projected 9,400 people that would use it could lead to worse flooding problems. 

“We’re expecting the influx of so many people on this dangerous road,” she said.

Pulling up to the proposed site off Tomoka Farms Road, Choufani wonders how things will change for her and her family if the track gets built. 

“I want people to be also considerate of the people that this it’s directly affecting their day-to-day life, whether it’s being a stay-at-home mom, whether it’s being home schooling your children, whether it’s working from home and having meetings,” Choufani said.

She hopes the county takes the time to hear from residents before making a decision.

“Hopefully we can at least be heard a little bit more and just have it be a consideration to possibly move it somewhere else or to look into other places,” Choufani said.

Council member Dempsey said the next step in the process will be for this item to go back to the council for a vote in about a month or so. Then they will do a request for proposals from potential operators for the track.