Sports car club to build facility in Maricopa

A private club for driving enthusiasts of luxury sports cars is purchasing 280 acres in Maricopa for a racetrack, clubhouse and garages.

Matt Williams, vice president of marketing for Private Motorsports Group in Scottsdale, said Maricopa was chosen for the Apex Motor Club after an “exhaustive search” for just the right site.

“We have been welcomed by the city of Maricopa with open arms,” he said.

The city’s proximity to Sky Harbor Airport, the topography of the area and the business fit for a clientele “of our nature” were all important factors for the decision.

Williams said Apex is under contract to purchase the property on the west side of Maricopa from El Dorado Holdings. They expect to break ground late in the first quarter of 2017 and complete a 2.5-mile road course that summer. Completion of the entire complex is expected in 2018. The project is estimated at $25 million. Financing is already in place, he said.

Completing a grading plan is the last step for acquiring a use permit from the city.

The planned complex eventually will have a 15,000-square-foot clubhouse, locker room, restaurant, fitness center, pro shop and more.

“It will be the ultimate man cave,” Williams said.

The plans also include a karting complex, a garage condominium for up to 128 cars and a fueling station.

Apex Motor Club has a membership waiting list of 300 people with expectations of reaching between 450 and 500, which is the cutoff. Memberships run from $4,000-per-year executive level to $12,000-per-year corporate level.

The idea for Apex has been developed over the past two and a half years by a group of people who love to drive.

“We all came from different backgrounds,” Williams said. “Some are in big business, some are in entrepreneurial businesses.”

Seeing a demand for year-round racing in the country in a strong car culture, they wanted to fill a “real need in the Phoenix Metro area” for a facility like they have imagined as Apex.

“The climate in Maricopa is perfect,” Williams said. “In Chicago, you have five months at best.”

In April 2015, Private Motorsports Group debuted a Driver’s Club event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park that allowed amateur drivers to take their high-performance cars on a racetrack under professional supervision. Apex Motor Club will provide a setting for members to do so in a country club setting on a more regular basis on a track of their creation.