I'm hoping for some input. What I'm going to say is probably not a popular opinion so I'd love for people to challenge me and disagree and provide reasons why this is where we should focus our efforts...

The velodrome is in the same position it is every month:

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160329/south-chicago/south-chicag...

The insurance is crazy expensive $2,000 a month just for it to sit there in the off-season. It hasn't been used in nearly two years because track repairs need to be completed (right now it isn't rideable). The people that volunteered to run it don't seem to be doing that anymore and Marcus is stuck trying to ask for help again. He has my respect and sympathy for trying so hard to make this happen.

Why isn't there any corporate sponsorship? Is it because they haven't been solicited or because there isn't interest? Groundswell support isn't sustainable due to the high cost of insurance and operations. I've donated in the past hoping it was going to move forward with all of the great programs they mentioned.

Another theory I have is that not enough people would take advantage of this track. The track is quite steep, requiring a rider to keep a speed of 16-17 mph to stay on it. People who do, think it's fantastic and so much fun but given the requirements and comfort-level, it's not as popular as the velodrome in Northbrook. 

Is this velodrome what we should be fighting for? Is this track something that will benefit the community as a whole or is there something that would be better? The tens of thousands of dollars that went towards this track to remain standing but unused could have gone towards great programs like Blackstone Bicycle Works, West Town Bikes, and Bikes N Roses - all of which help train kids to be mechanics, provide after school programs and some of them also train kids to race. Maybe I'm missing something so I am posting this here to ask you - what do you think?