The NSC is working in partnership with Friends of Velodrome Racing in Minnesota (FOVRMN) a community group of cycling advocates formed in 2014. The National Sports Center Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates the National Sports Center in Blaine, a State of Minnesota sports campus.

The NSC Velodrome is one of the most unique facilities at the world-renowned sports campus. Opened in 1990, the Velodrome dates back to the original NSC campus. Designed by the world-famous velodrome design firm, Schurmann Architects of Berlin, Germany, the 250-meter wood track has hosted the 1992 Olympic Cycling Trials, several U.S. National Championships, international Grand Prix meets and through the 2014 season hosted a weekly race series, development classes and training sessions.

Through its 25 years of continuous operation, the NSC Velodrome has required ongoing maintenance, both to its Afzelia wood surface and to the wood trusses that support the track surface. Over the years, most of the maintenance work has been performed by volunteer carpenters who have learned the craft of repairing the track.

In recent years however, due primarily to the age of the track, the pace of repairs has increased. Last year the NSCF board of directors received an engineering report that outlined more significant repairs that would be needed to extend the life of the track. As a result, the NSC closed the track for future use at the end of the 2014 season.

In response to the closing of the Velodrome, FOVRMN launched an ambitious campaign that raised sufficient funds to undertake the repair project. The group fundraised via social media, special fund-raising events, and corporate grants. In addition to hundreds of individual donations from local, national and international donors, the FOVRMN developed new sponsorships for the National Sports Center from Cargill and Ticket King. Foley & Mansfield provided a lead gift for the repair project.

FOVRMN also took the lead in recommending, through a competitive bid process, the structural engineering firm of Mattson MacDonald Young and the construction firm of PCL Construction Services to make the repairs. PCL Construction is an international company with many distinctive projects on their resume, including the Velodrome at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles, the Minneapolis Central Library and the new Seibert Field at the University of Minnesota.

FOVRMN has raised funds necessary to cover the $100,000 estimated construction costs. Repair work is expected to begin immediately, with the hope that the track will be open for racing sometime in May.

“The commitment of the cycling community to raise these funds has been impressive, to say the least,” said John Daniels, chair of the National Sports Center Foundation Board of Directors. “Their dedication to their sport, to their community and to this unique facility impressed the board members, and we are delighted to see this project move forward.

“In addition, the partnership created between the NSC and the Friends organization in a short period is something that bodes well for the future. The groups have worked very well together to move this project forward.”

While the repairs will extend the racing life of the track, they are not permanent repairs. Both the NSCF and the FOVRMN agreed that the 2019 season will be the final season of racing at the Velodrome, so the track will operate for five more years, pending annual inspections.

The five-year window will keep velodrome racing alive in the Twin Cities, and give the Minnesota Cycling Center time to generate funding to move forward with an indoor cycling facility at a different location in the Twin Cities, including plans that call for an indoor velodrome.