SVRA: NOLA president explains how vintage racing fits into track's strategic plan

ABOVE: NOLA President Kristen Engeron checks out SVRA CEO Tony Parella's 1972 Corvette.

When NOLA Motorsports Park President Kristen Engeron took on the job of managing the new racing facility in 2013, it wasn't because she was a race fan. She doesn't hesitate to admit she was the new kid on the block in the world of wheel-to-wheel competition.

"I had a lot to learn about racing and I will always look for the people and experiences to teach me new things," Engeron says. "First and foremost, though, this is a business. Passion can make it easy to forget what it takes to make a profit."

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NOLA is among the latest of an emerging breed of racing circuit – a multi-purpose facility – as motorsports evolves with changing times. Engeron calls NOLA "an events facility" as evidenced by the name of its signature structure – the Event Center.

NOLA isn't only about hosting racing events. While racing and going fast create an exciting backdrop for activities there, Engeron and her team strive to present the kind of atmosphere that facilitate corporate events with an immersive quality that makes customers feel they are a part of the action.

"Being a business you have a very basic question to answer: How to turn a profit?" Engeron notes. We are a corporate and special events company with a racetrack. We need to think that way to understand all the opportunities."

Engeron's boss is the founder of the NOLA facility, Dr. Laney Chouest, who established NOLA in 2011. A retired medical doctor, Chouset has the resources to finance the operation. That's important to Kristen and her management team as it relieves them of the pressure of creditors and debt payments.

NOLA has an FIA certified 2.75-mile auto racing circuit, three go-kart tracks (LEFT), autocross pads, a drag strip and 36 lots for trackside residential home development. The previously mentioned 34,000 square foot Event Center (BELOW) is designed for corporate conferences, receptions, training or similar functions both public and private. Two restaurants and commercial kitchens support such activities.

NOLA also provides WiFi access and high bandwidth networking to visitors throughout its entire 750-acre grounds with 100 miles of fiber optic cable. Other resources include 14,000 square feet of warehouse space, a 12-acre lake and a fleet of high performance automobiles that can be rented for days of high speed driving. In other words there are still a lot of yet-to-be developed assets on the grounds that provide headroom for considerable growth.

"You can't succeed with just track rentals and gate receipts," Engernon says. "We look for quality events to keep us constantly busy. We host 5K running and biking events. Our karting business is open year-round. Karting is an entry to racing so that's important to the ongoing relationship with consumers."

More than anything Engeron believes relationships with major automotive brands and racing organizations provide NOLA with its sweet spot. By thinking creatively and collaborating with such companies, they see opportunities beyond traditional race weekends.

"The money at a track like our is in having companies like Jaguar, Ferrari North America and other major brands use our park as their platform," Engeron adds. "We are wide open to developing new concepts. Our vision is to have every major automobile company looking to us to meet their needs. This could be anything from dealer training to helping them with video or film production."

Part of Engeron's strategy is to foster a safe culture that encourages unabashed ideation throughout the employee team. She stresses that it is important everyone at NOLA feels valued, never discouraged and even excited to continue to contribute thoughts.

"We only are only limited by our imagination," she says. "Everyone on our team wants to contribute to something bigger than they are as individuals. We try to honor and encourage that."

As for racing events and specifically the SVRA, Engeron sees great potential. Like others in the industry imagining a new future for motorsports entertainment, she is intrigued by the concept of automobile-themed festivals.

"In South Louisiana, we understand festivals," Engeron says. "It's our culture. Give people something that is family oriented, affordable and safe and you can grow the event. You just need to hold their attention with interesting content."

SVRA President and CEO Tony Parella is enthusiastic about the festival concept and sees it as important to continuing or accelerating the trajectory of growth the SVRA has seen over the past three years. Like Engeron, he feels it's important to give the active minds of today's consumer constant stimulation.

"Tony has a lot of energy and is great to brainstorm with. I think Tony and all of us at NOLA share the vision of making this SVRA weekend a signature event," Engeron asserts. "You don't have to be a race fan to appreciate a good festival with an automobile theme. I think within three years we'll see a gate as large as 15,000 fans. In a lot of ways passion fuels this sport but we need to manage with a business head, not a racer's heart."