The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-26
PLANS FOR COLISEUM.
Jack Prince Thinks He Will start
Work of Building Friday.

Jack Prince Thinks He VIII Start
Work of Building Friday.
The immediate building of COLI
scum at Thunderbolt, and the holding
of a three week meet of indoor motor
paced bicycle racing, beginning about
April Is, is practically assured. Jack
Prince, who arrived in Savannah sun
day to arrange matters, returned to
Atlanta last night, but is expected
back Friday morning to begin work
The race meet promoter and veteran
w'heelman visited the bicycle dealers
yesterday, and also had a conference
with Mr. G. O. Maggie, general man
ager of the Savannah Electric Com
pany. he announced himself as be-
ing greatly pleased with what he had
accomplished, and while the final con-
tract with the street railway COM
pany was not made Prince expects a
telegram from MIR. Maggie tomorrow
that will bring him back to Savannah
at once for the purpose of beginning
the erection of the coliseum.
He has already made arrangements
with Capt. M. j. Doyle, with whom he
is on very friendly terms, for the use
of7the race track at Thunderbolt, which
he considers is an ideal spot for a
coliseum. Prince is impressed with the
belief that moter-paeed racing would
attract large crowds, and he can bring
the riders to Savannah for three weeks
The bicycle men and others with whom
he talked are also of the opinion that
the races would attract large crowds
and would be a paying investment,
The race promoter had to return TO
| Atlanta to look after some matters at
| the coliseum there.
He has arranged all of his plans for
the construction of the coliseum, which
will be located In the race track, with
| the entrance at a point on the shell
road The crowds would get off at the
Yacht Club station, and have only a
few yards to walk. Il expect to return
Friday morning from Atlanta" said
Prince before he left, and begin work
at once with a force of forty men.
While the contract with the street
railway company has not been closed
1t is practically certain that Mr. Maggie
will wire me Thursday and close up
matters
Il will build an eight-lap board track
that will hold speed of a motor cycle
making a mile in a minute and ten
seconds. The banks will be built at
an agile of As degrees, and the stretch
will have an angle of 80 degrees. There
will be two grandstands; bne at the
back stretch and one at the home
stretch. The coliseum will accommo-
date between 5000 and 5000 people. The
entrance will be on the shell road, and
from that point the steps will run up
to the grandstands. I will use 175,0n0
feet of lumber in constructing the COLI
scum. | have already made arrange
ments for lighting power, and there
will be twenty-four 2,000-candle power
arc lights aroudn the track. The
track itself will be of board and over
a half-million nails will be used in its
construction, although not one will
show on the surface. The boards will
be 1x2, and will be put down edge
ways"
Prince is enthusiastic over the pro-
posed coliseum and appears thorough
ly in earnest when he asserts that he
will be able to give Savannahians
three weeks of exciting motor-paced
races annually. Some of the finest
bicycle tracks in the world are made
of boards and the Willow Grove track
at Philadelphia, which is in the list of
fast ones, is made of that material.