BANGOR, Maine — Longtime city residents likely remember the days in the 1970s when snowmobiles zoomed across an icy surface on the Bass Park track.
Anyone longing for the good old days — along with those who love the adventure sports seen on the X Games — are in for a treat in January, as East Coast Snocross rolls into town for an event they’re calling the Paul Bunyan International SnoX.
The Paul Bunyan SnoX will kick off East Coast Snocross’s 2015 season on Jan. 10-11. In all, nine stops, including events in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Quebec, are scheduled.
The races are being presented by the Eastern Maine Community College Foundation.
CarolAnne Dube, the executive director of the EMCC Foundation, said a former board member suggested snowmobile racing as a fundraising activity, and the group started investigating the opportunity.
“When we started, I didn’t know what snocross was,” she said. “A lot of folks in our circle, sitting around the table, didn’t really know. The learning curve was straight up.”
But after studying the opportunity and talking to others who knew more about the sport, the board decided to pursue the event. When East Coast Snocross joined EMCC Foundation members to unveil the plan during a snowmobile show in Augusta in October, Dube said she learned that there’d be a lot of support from those who love sledding.
“The response from there, that’s when it really hit home,” Dube said. “So many people had been to the snowmobile races [at Bass Park] back in the 70s. The response was, ‘It’s about time.’”
By that point, Dube and other board members had learned that those 1970s races around the Bass Park oval sometimes drew between 10,000 and 15,000 race fans.
She said as part of the group’s due diligence, they wanted to know how many people typically attend East Coast Snocross events. She learned that events average between 4,000 and 8,000 per weekend.
But she said Bangor has more to offer than most other stops on the tour.
“A lot of the other venues they do are out [in western New England] and in the mountains,” Dube said. “They’ve done events on golf courses. But [they’ve] never had a whole lot of opportunity with stadium seating.”
Bass Park has stadium seating, among other nearby amenities, including hotels and restaurants. Many of the other venues, Dube said, are in towns with a single hotel and a gas station or two.
“When I built a budget, I conservatively estimated 6,000 [attendees] for the weekend,” she said. “Folks have been telling us that we’re too conservative with that estimate, but I’d rather be too conservative than over the top.”
Tickets will cost $20 for a single day and $30 for the entire weekend.
In a news release announcing the Bangor tour date, East Coast Snocross general manager Shawn Achilles said staging event in the Queen City was a perfect fit.
“I’m anticipating that Bangor should be a thrilling lid-lifter for this year’s series,” Achilles said. “The EMCC Foundation is putting in a lot of legwork in getting ready for the Paul Bunyan. [We’re] expecting a huge crowd to cheer on the pros and semi-pros competing for national attention.”
In addition to the pro and semi-pro classes, serious recreational sledders can sign up for “trail class” races. Also, children age 4 through 10 will be eligible to compete on smaller, age-appropriate 120cc sleds.
Dube said two EMCC staff members have already indicated that they’ll take their sleds and compete in the trail class.
And while much of eastern Maine has seen more rain than snow lately, Dube said the races would not be dependent on the existence of natural snow.
“We’re making snow,” she said. “What’s been phenomenal about this event is that people have just come together. Hermon Mountain is letting us borrow eight snow guns, and we’ve got professional snowmakers from Sunday River who have volunteered their time. They’re going to come and supervise to make sure we get it done.”
Dube said East Coast Snocross staffers have told her that there’s no such thing as having too much snow, and that enough snow to build the course can be made in three or four nights. Snowmaking will begin the Monday before the races are to begin.
Dube said attendees of the Paul Bunyan International SnoX will find a festive atmosphere.
“We’re really trying to create a fair-like atmosphere, so we’ve got several vendors, food trucks that are coming in,” she said. In addition, both Sea Dog Brewing Company and Hollywood Casino will be on hand to serve adult beverages, and the Maine Discovery Museum will provide some child-appropriate activities for kids who may have tired of watching snowmobile races.
For more information, or to register for trail or youth races, go to Eastcoastsnocross.com.
