Cyclists Have a Ticket to Ride

The expansive Home Depot Center sports complex in Carson has drawn almost universal praise since its opening last year. None of it came from the cycling community.

As the complex was taking shape four years ago, the velodrome built for the 1984 Olympics was to be removed to pave the way for the 27,000-seat soccer stadium. Supporters viewed the velodrome’s destruction as a hostile act toward the one-time symbol of track cycling.

Any ill feelings might be a distant memory. The sparkling $15-million ADT Event Center, the only permanent indoor velodrome in North America, was introduced in grand style last week to usher in the return of track cycling near its former home.

“We’ve gone from the outhouse to the penthouse in the cycling world,” said Tim Leiweke, president of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Home Depot Center. “The amazing thing is we’ve been able to go from the fear that they were going to lose the Olympic velodrome to now having the best facility anywhere in all of the Americas.”

The 3,000-seat velodrome stadium is the latest addition to the sprawling complex, which is already home to major events in soccer, tennis and track and field as well as becoming a year-round training center in those sports.

Officials with AEG and USA Cycling are eager to make the facility a regular, if not permanent, base for track cycling. Already three major events have been scheduled, starting with the World Junior Track Cycling Championships that run for five days beginning Wednesday.

A race on the World Cup circuit takes place in December and the World Track Cycling Championships will be held there in March. It has been 18 years since the last major cycling event took place in greater Los Angeles.

“This facility, in an incredible way, takes us toward competing at the highest level in the sport,” said Gerard Bisceglia, USA Cycling’s chief executive. “This is going to become our second home. We will be out here and we will have our athletes here.”

Designed by architect Ralph Schurmann, the ADT Event Center track was built to a similar standard used in velodromes throughout Europe and Australia. Roughly 110,000 pounds of Siberian pine were milled in Germany and then shipped here for construction of the 250-meter oval.

The track, which was completed in May, has banks as steep as 45 degrees and can produce speeds of up to 53 mph. The enclosed facility has 2,500 permanent seats with removable seating that can accommodate up to 500 more.

“It’s definitely comparable to the best international tracks that we race on,” said Christian Stahl, 21, of Bethany, Conn., a U.S. Olympic team member who has tested the track.

Bisceglia called the velodrome a “shot in the arm” for track cycling. There are 20 working velodromes in the United States, including top facilities outside Philadelphia and Dallas. All are open to the elements and inclement weather often hampered training during winter months.

“We were woefully underrepresented in that area of the sport because we didn’t have the facilities to compete with the top countries like Germany, France, England and Australia,” he said. “We are now on par with those guys.

“When we are given an opportunity to compete on an equal level, Americans prevail.”

Stahl said he would hear about projects over the last few years but contained his excitement until he saw a plan that finally developed.

“There were rumors about cities wanting to build tracks, but they were just rumors,” Stahl said. “In my mind, I just kind of blew this one off but when it actually happened, I was like, ‘Wow, this is all right.’

“I couldn’t wait to come out here and check it out.”

While members of the U.S. national and junior teams are expected to be year-round residents, Home Depot Center General Manager Bill Peterson said the track will be available to club teams on a rental basis while classes for youths will be conducted daily.

Peterson said the ADT Center will not suffer the fate of the Olympic velodrome, which had become abandoned in the mid-1990s. “It won’t fade away after a certain time,” he said.

Pat McDonough beamed as he toured the facility with Bisceglia and other USA Cycling officials. McDonough was one of many cyclists who lamented the loss of the old Olympic oval after winning a silver medal in the team pursuit on the track in 1984.

“It was kind of hard,” said McDonough, now the federation’s national track program director.

“So many of us were sorry to see the Olympic velodrome go. But now I feel like we’ve traded up.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Welcome to the Velodrome

* What: The ADT Event Center is the only indoor velodrome (bicycle track) in North America.

* Where: Home Depot Center, Carson.

* Cost: $15 million.

* Capacity: 3,000.

* Specifications: 250-meter wood track made of Siberian pine with banking that ranges from 13 to 45 degrees.

* Upcoming event: World Junior Track Cycling Championships begin with opening ceremonies Wednesday. Two sessions will run at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. from Wednesday through Saturday. Event will conclude Sunday with one session beginning at 4 p.m.