On course to open in 2025, the 37.5-acre Lorain Ohio KartPlex is gearing up to be much more than just an ordinary racetrack — it’s a motorsports entertainment complex.

“There are facilities around the U.S. that have pieces of what we have, but we’ll be the first location in the U.S. that will have all of these components at one address,” says Kristopher McCrone, president and co-owner, Lorain Ohio KartPlex.

Located at 2000 Root Road, Lorain, the $12 million project will include the following elements:

• A motorsports Esports simulator area, a radio-controlled track, a kid track and a full restaurant and microbrewery will open in the second half of 2025. The restaurant will host watch parties for events such as NASCAR, IndyCar and Formula 1 races.

• A competition track will host its first competition by June 2025.

• An indoor electric kart track will open in Q3 of 2025.

• An outdoor rental track will be open by June or July 2025.

• A race shop and motorsports retail store will open first.

The complex started as a vision four years ago when McCrone walked out of his then-office and saw a piece of land in Elyria that would work well for a facility.

While the original plot of land didn’t pan out, McCrone was introduced to a different piece of land in Lorain that happened to be a brownfield, meaning it was an old garbage dump that had been dormant for 40 years. Rather than being put off, McCrone was inspired by a Porsche experience center built on a brownfield in California.

Once the letter of intent was signed in 2020, the team spent 2021 and 2022 engineering and designing the facility. As of the end of 2024, crews have laid asphalt, and in January, the buildings are slated to arrive in time for the facility to host its first club race competition event by June 2025.

Giving Back

While the facility is sure to provide people with their fill of laughs, companionship and adrenaline, McCrone says it’s about more than that.

“We hope to be a flagship in the community, where kids can come and have a safe place to learn and grow and experience the thrill of motorsports,” McCrone says. “To be in a position to give back to a sport that gave a lot to me, it’s a dream come true.”

Lorain Ohio KartPlex will be working with local school districts to educate kids in the grade school level about motorsports, taking the model and education style of a junior achievement program.

McCrone is also hoping to partner with Lorain County Joint Vocational School to develop a certificate-based program, where students can graduate with their automotive certificate to be a karting mechanic, and with Lorain County Community College to develop an associate-level race engineering degree, where students can take base-level courses before finishing their degree at another institution.

What’s Next

For phase two, the Lorain Ohio KartPlex plans to expand into ancillary motorsport activities, such as Supercross, an indoor motorcycle activity.

“My desire is to partner with the Lorain Port Authority and host specialty motorcycle events, where we’d have a motorcycle show in our parking lot once a month,” McCrone says. “We’d open up the whole complex to individuals who have souped-up cars.”

The facility will also incorporate a radio-controlled plane landing strip in the back section of the facility.

“There’s a lot more to the complex that’s motorsports related,” McCrone says. “If it’s got an engine and it’s got wheels, it’s a motorsport.”