JDA in talks with GA Tech to do study of motocross

Grady County is home to what the industry considers some of the best motocross training facilities found anywhere, and just what the impact of the industry is on the community is something local officials would like to know.
Officials with the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Enterprise Innovation Institute recently met with Grady County Joint Development Authority and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chadd Mathis and Executive Vice President Jennifer Majors.
On Tuesday, Mathis briefed members of the development authority on the recent visit.
According to Mathis, he and Mrs. Majors met with Art Ford and Hortense Jackson to discuss a possible economic impact study on motocross in Grady County. The chamber executives also toured the duo around the local motocross training facilities.
“This is a contact I made when I was first hired and I have been working with off and on ever since. At the beginning, they were talking about between $13,000 and $30,000 to do this research, but they now seem to think they can modify the study and possibly get a grant to pay for the analysis. Hopefully, they will come through with something that makes sense,” Mathis said.
According to the JDA chief, there are some grants for rural projects that Ford and Jackson indicated may be obtained to finance such a study.
“It would be good to know just how big motocross is to this community and the potential for future economic development,” Mathis said.