Motocross
sidering several options.
“Sure, if it’s a corporation and there are shareholders, it makes sense, but this is public land,” Jacobs said. “Where are we headed if you’ve got public lands there for the community and you’re trying to turn a profit out of it? It just seems like a moral issue almost.”
There are more than two dozen motocross courses listed in California, but the only other Bay Area park considered comparable is Club Moto in Livermore.
Selena Copeland’s 20-year-old son, Dylan, has been riding at the San Jose track for six years and hopes to be a professional rider, she said. But adding a slog through traffic out to Livermore could derail those dreams. The full-time college
“It’s great to learn on, but its not advanced enough for people who are really into the sport.”
— Andy Bajka
student works two parttime jobs in addition to riding, she said, and his schedule is already packed.
“I’m so sad about this because I think it’s going to be harder now if we don’t have a local track to practice on,” Copeland said. “It’s a really great place for families and it keeps the kids out of trouble.”
Around 150 people use the fairgrounds track in any given week, Stille said, from preschoolers to grandparents.
Andy Bajka, 57, of Los Altos, has been riding at the fairgrounds for the past 10 years and runs the online forum South Bay Riders. If the track closes, hundreds of people will be left without a place to properly enjoy the sport of motocross, he said, adding that other venues like Metcalf Motorcycle County Park are geared more toward beginners.
“It’s great to learn on, but its not advanced enough for people who are really into the sport,” he said.
Bajka expressed anger at county officials for the current situation involving 408MX.
“This land wasn’t given to them,” Bajka said.
“It was given to the community. They didn’t intend it to be leveled and sold off to the highest bidder. It was to be used by the community.”
Right now, Stille said, the plan is to stay open through the first week of January to give people a chance to say goodbye. After that, he said, riders will have to trek to Livermore to find a comparable track.
“I understand where they’re coming from,” Stille said, “but there are a lot of upset people.”