Today's Raceways

The modern slot car raceway is, in most cases, an "emporium" - many times encompassing more than just slot car racing. Many are also called "hobby shops" and offer numerous other hobby-related items such as kites, rockets, hard-plastic model kits, die-cast, NASCAR collectibles, Scout clothing, Pine-Wood Derby cars (and tracks) trains, radio-controlled cars, planes, boats, as well as many items which ladies find appealing - bead kits, clay, and similar products.

Many places diversify the business to include such things as go-karts, video games, pool tables, Foosball machines, miniature golf, and snack bars. Most places conduct special birthday party functions for adults as well as the youngsters. The owners and employees of these facilities are required to be extremely knowledgeable about all phases of the hobby industry.

Opening a modern facility such as the above requires an investment of tens of thousands of dollars and the typical work week for a track owner can be as much as sixty to eighty hours. In a lot of instances, the shops which feature primarily slot car racing are open six to seven afternoons and evenings per week so they will be there when people want to come in a play. Rent and/or lease payments on these places can be exorbitant because they are usually fairly large and track layouts take up a lot of space. Just maintaining an adequate inventory is also very time-consuming and expensive.

Today’s modern raceway is well-lighted and comfortably climate controlled. Virtually everything in the store is computer-controlled, including the sales area as well as the race directing on the tracks. These things require a lot of electricity which is certainly not inexpensive. Add to this the price of insurance for every person who walks through the door and you can see that owning a business of this type is costly. So those who go to the trouble, time and expense of providing the public with a fun place to play does so very carefully and with much pre-opening planning and thought. For this sizable investment, the owner asks only that the consumer enjoy themselves by behaving in a civil and reasonable manner.

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