How Much Does it Cost to Build a Race Track?

A race track is a facility built for racing athletes, vehicles, or animals. It provides racing enthusiasts a place to live their dreams off auto racing glory.

Building a race track is not for every person as it requires massive resources. That’s why it is always recommended to take advice and talk to everyone you can who is already in the race track business and learn as much as you can from their failure and success.

Some racing tracks are oval-shaped and can also be banked, allowing universal spectators views or high-speed racing off cycling or cars.

Racing tracks are concrete and donate the mixture of loose gravel together with a binder, usually cement.

Cement is the most commonly used binder for racing tracks because it remains unchanged during races.

While the dirt racing track has a clay surface, some tracks use dolomite, clay mix, or sometimes clay and sand mix.

If you really desire to own your racing track, you can also consider buying an already existing track.

For doing what? Well, you can still consider to buy Go-Kart Cost, or Top Fuel Dragster Cost.

As a building, it is not as easy as building any mall or plaza.

But owning a race track can be a very profitable business for anyone.

Racing tracks can exist road courses, standalone companies, as part of larger entertainment complex or as a private

General Overview Of Cost To Build a Race Track

If you desire to build a serious track, the design phase alone can cost more than $10 million. But there will also be needed a massive amount of earthwork. Typically, for earthwork only, there must be $1 million to $10 million tons of soil required. However, you must be ready to pay $20 plus million only for the earthwork.

An important thing for the construction is Asphalt mix, and, for a racing track, you must need 15,000 to 300,000 tons of this mixture.

It roughly costs about $100 to $200 per ton, but it can vary depending on oil prices.

However, 15k to 300k tons of Asphalt mix can cost $15 to $60 million. This cost is only for one material.

Still, you must be ready to pay more cost to build runoff area, paddocks, stands, fences, etc. however, the track needs the proper foundation as well, which means many truckloads of road base and equipment to lay it and then the asphalt will go on the top of all.

In-Depth Study On Cost for building a racing track:

On average, building a two-lane pavement racing track can cost about $100,000, but as you know, two lanes are not for race tracks. So it is reasonable to assume the double cost for building a four-lane racing track that can cost approximately $200,000 per mile.

But the cost can go higher if you wish to make a longer track. Other costs include tire walls, banking curves, landscaping, and any elevation change.

In United Stated, building a standard racing track can cost at least $7 million.

However, many factors affect the cost of a private racing track, like pavement quality, track location, facilities, and many other variables.

Other costs may include construction costs, equipment, legal fees, and any electrical and mechanical work.

You can estimate that building a curved race track can cost more than $1 million with all these basic calculations.

This is the cost without calculating the expenses of buying land and maintenance costs for the pavements.

Maintenance is one the most important factor in determining because race tracks can’t have potholes. If cars drive over dangerous roads, they will need complimentary car services. And maintain a track can maintain its functionality and quality for a longer time.

Cost To build four-mile paved racing track

A four-mile paved racing track can easily exceed $1,000,000 with the cost of land. Adding up the cost of buying land and pavement maintenance, the price can go much higher.

A recent report has revealed that the start-up cost of the well-arranged race track is about $7 million.  

Cost of land

Approximately 17.5 acres of land is needed to build a half-mile track. One acre is equal to the 4046.86 square meters, which cost very high.

However, for a standard racing track, you will need about 500 acres to 1,500 acres.

So you must be ready to pay $1.29 million or more only for the land if you decide to build a racing track.

Construction cost

You also have to pay a considerable amount for the construction work like landscaping, gravel runoff, grading, tire walls, banking curves, adding hills, etc. In conclusion, the construction work can cost about $2.4 million.

Mechanical and electric work Cost

A good racing track is not just a corner followed by a straight road that is laid into another corner, but it must have some emotions of the audience and a delighting sight.

To make your racing track more appealing, you should add full close circuit TV, protection fence, and crowd.

For all these, you must be ready to pay $523,000.

Equipment and other facilities cost

A good racing track is what has all the necessary facilities not only for the players but also for the audience, like a parking facility, washrooms, canteens, and dress-up rooms for players.

This all can cost about $108,000.

Legal Fees

Legal fees include insurance costs, taxes, permits, etc.

That can normally cost about $1,128,000.

A racing track requires a team of workers and subcontractors. People from the outset are needed to welcome the drivers to maintain a track and repair faulty equipment.

You can possibly reduce the initial cost of building racing tracks by minimizing construction or technology costs, actual road construction, and the use of high-quality technology, but reducing these pre-costs can result in more expensive subsequent costs because tracks will require additional maintenance in the future. 

Race Track Surfaces

Racing track surfaces include;

  • All-weather running surface; for Athletics and tartan
  • Artificial Turf for electric radio-controlled racing
  • Concrete for motorsport
  • Dirt for horse racing, motorbike, or stock car
  • Grass for amateur motorsport and horses
  • Asphalt or Tarmac for cycling, motorsport, and cycling

Athletic & Running Tracks: What are The Differences?

Athletic tracks are designed as multi-purpose facilities and used for daily training as well as staging local or regional competitions.

They can be built with two different surface types; polymeric rubber or multi-sport synthetic turf.

Running tracks and athletic tracks are the same as they are made with the same material.

They are exactly 400m. Usually, the surface of running athletic tracks is of red color because this color is most UV stable, and it doesn’t react and fade in the sunlight.

Building an athletic track can cost approximately $600,000.

Horse Racing Tracks

Horse racing tracks are called racecourses. Horse racing tracks are made up of sand, rubber, fiber, and wax. Horse racing tracks can be very beneficial and profitable.

Benefits Of Building a Racing track

Racing tracks are very profitable that can be a source of high income for you. You call allow different types of sports on the same racing tracks.

Race tracks can make a massive amount of money when people bet on races, and these racing may include car racing or horse racing.

They offer purses hung from a hook at the finish line to attack trainers and owners to run their horse on horse bet. In recent decades, races on track have become a significant source of revenue for many countries. 

Construction of racing tracks

After buying the land for the race track, you have to finalize the structure for your racing track. The construction requires;

  • Grading and banking curves
  • Creating hill
  • Adding gravel runoffs and tire walls
  • Landscaping

Race tracks are broken down into many elements, such as standard corners, double apexes, standard corners, and chicanes.

Buying a Racing Track

Car lovers often fantasize about owning their race tracks. No doubt, it is out of reach for most people because of its high cost.

However, there needed much attention while building a racing track, so you can also buy the racing tracks.

The cost for buying a racing track can be as low as $889,000 to about $10 million.