Premier Motorsports Park Planned for St. Mary's County
By Pete Hurrey
Crispin Etherington has a dream for Southern Maryland that includes an influx of jobs, revenue, tourism and more for St. Mary’s County. On the drawing board and in pre-approval stages is the proposed Tatton Park; a Motorsports Park with a projected opening in 2011.
“We are looking at a couple of locations and it would be premature to speculate at this stage where the facility will ultimately be located,” said Etherington in a recent interview with TheBAYNET.com. He went on to state that among the many details being looked at by his development company is the noise level for a motorsports park and how best to situate the property so as to conform to any community noise standards.
As currently planned, the facility will be located on 450 acres in Southern Maryland within forty miles of Washington DC and fifteen miles of the Chesapeake Bay. The planned Tatton Park will feature two road courses, an off-road and rally facility, clubhouse, bike trails and a nature preserve. Tatton Park will offer a limited number of memberships to individuals and corporations and will be available to automobile clubs, and for the holding of national and regional events hosted by organizations including SCCA, NASA, SVRA and CCS Racing.
Tatton Park, it's projected, will play host to national and regional events, driver education, accident avoidance and security training for the military, off-road activities, rally cross, drifting, autocross, karting, and recreational facilities for families and spectators.
The park will feature two courses which can be run independently or combined into a single 3.5 mile track with challenging elevation changes and tight turns which will test the technical skills of even the most talented driver. According to the designers, all the support facilities will be designed and built to a standard that will meet and surpass the requirements necessary to host SCCA sanctioned events and comply with the “Go Green Initiative” established by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Bill Scott, the owner and operator of Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia will operate the driver education, accident avoidance and security training programs at Tatton Park through BSR, Inc., the recognized leader in vehicle antiterrorist training worldwide. Jens Scott will assist Mark Lindsey, principal of Baskervill, the project’s architects, in designing the specialist facilities required by BSR, Inc.
One thing is certain, when the new park opens it will be another place for the citizens of St. Mary’s County to work and earn a living. The park will attract tourism dollars from around the county and the racing set will support a number of area eateries, hotels and support service businesses.
Etherington is a native of Great Britain and has been involved in motorsports for many years; both as an active member of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and participant in regional motor racing events. He has been involved in commercial real estate development for over thirty years both in the US and UK.
For more information, please contact: Crispin Etherington, Tatton Park Associates, LLC, 2341 N Forest Drive, #52, Annapolis, MD 21401 USA. cabe@tattonparkmd.com
