A group of cyclists has propsed building a $35 million Olympic style indoor cycling complex to be built in Austin. If it is built, it would only be the second indoor velodrome in the U.S. The proposal calls for a 250-meter wooden track surrounded by 5,000 seats. A 75,000 building adjoining the velodrome would contain office space, restaurant/retail space, and a museum dedicated to Lance Armstrong. Dormatory style housing could be added in the future. A benefit of the velodrom could be the relocation of USA Cycling, the sports national governing body, to Austin.
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If the velodrome gets built in Austin, Gerard Bisceglia, head of USA Cycling, which oversees all amateur and professional bike racing in the U.S., says he would consider moving the group's headquarters — along with the national and Olympic cycling teams — from the Olympic Training Center site in Colorado Springs, Colo., to Austin. Cyclists now train on an outdoor track at the center but travel elsewhere to ride during the cold, snowy months.
There are four possible locations for the proposed velodrome with three of the being on public land. Those are located at MoPac Blvd. and Town Lake, the Butler baseball fields on Toomey Rd., and the University of Texas' JJ Pickle Resaerch Campus in North Austin. Voters would have to approve a measure to build the facility on parkland. The fourth possible location for the velodrome is a undisclosed site in Central Austin that is privately owned.
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