STATESVILLE, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – A new park is open in Statesville, but you won’t find any trees or grass there, just mounds of dirt. Moto 40 MX Park opened on April 1 in Statesville and has been seeing a steady flow of two-wheeled riders from all over the country.
The familiar designer and co-owner of the park is Supercross and Motocross champion Chad Reed. Reed was asked to help design the course, before being offered a role as co-owner. Preparing and building the course took months, but has already proven to be a hit for amateur riders.
“I mean I have been taken by the sport. I mean my mountain bike is just sitting in my garage and I have been mountain biking for 20 years,” said Casey McKinney.
McKinney turned 46-years-old within the past month and started riding within the past year. He found Moto 40 MX Park through word of mouth and makes the drive from Charlotte nearly every week.
“I love the workout, I love the engines. I love the sound,” said McKinney.
There are also plenty of high-flying jumps and there is no one better at navigating them than Chad Reed.
“I have been riding motorcycles since I was 3 and a half years old,” said Reed.
The more than 30 years of experience riding make Chad the perfect person to design the motocross park.
Safety is always the top priority, so there are three tracks ranging from beginner level to advanced.
“We are not a racetrack, we a strictly a practice track,” said Reed.
Although you won’t see any races, the park is drawing a crowd from all over the country. The pandemic helped put motocross and Statesville, North Carolina on the map.
“Most of the people that are wanting to play those stick and ball sports are now wanting to go outdoors put a helmet on and just be free,” said Reed.
Freedom is something Chad is learning a lot about. He retired from professional riding during the pandemic, but he’s keeping busy not only designing the park but co-owning it with guys that all share a common interest.
“I am excited. I am learning a lot about things outside my norm and yeah I love working with the guys,” said Reed.
You’ll find Chad at Moto 40 nearly every week spending a lot of his time watching his 3 kids ride, who are all under the age of 12.
The park has been so successful they recently expanded from opening only on weekends to also Wednesday afternoons.