Thieves ravage BMX track
BY TIM POTTER
The Wichita Eagle
It's not racing season yet, but already thieves have cast a pall over Emery Park BMX Track.
Wearing glum faces Monday, volunteers who run the BMX bicycle track off East MacArthur gave a rough tally of their losses: the theft of at least 200 feet of thick copper wiring feeding the track garage and light poles, three battered security doors, 10 stolen bicycle helmets.
The volunteers will have to raise at least $5,000 to cover the losses, not including labor, said track president and operator Dayna Brown.
The theft and damage apparently occurred between Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon, Brown said. It's possible that different thieves were involved, she said.
Thieves cut the copper wire at the base of poles and pulled it from an underground conduit.
"A lot of work went into them doing it. I hope it was worth it," said Nikki Winkler, vice president of the BMX track, which is operated by a nonprofit corporation.
Wichita police are investigating the theft, part of a trend fueled by higher scrap-metal prices, said Capt. Darrell Haynes.
"It's a crime that won't go away," he said.
Although scrap prices remain relatively high, the amount the thieves get is paltry compared to the cost of replacing stolen metal, including installation, Haynes said.
It has taken volunteers years to build the track and track buildings, nestled back in Emery Park, about half a mile west of K-15 on the south side of MacArthur.
The city owns the park land, but the group is responsible for damage to track facilities, and they aren't insured against damage, Brown said.
Brown and Winkler worry about how the group, after having to cover the losses, will afford operating costs when the track opens in April.
So the group is hoping that businesses or individuals might donate to the recovery, Brown said.
The track gets vandalized every year, but the latest damage is by far the worst, she said.
Up to 1,000 people turn out for the biggest races at the 1,250-foot-long track, where racers on lightweight, compact bikes roll and jump over berm after berm.
The competitors are as young as 3, as old as 65, male and female.
"It's a family sport," Brown said.
Reach Tim Potter at 316-268-6684 or tpotter@wichitaeagle.com.