Right now, slow-moving construction vehicles roam the area, but BMX bikes soon will zoom along a new track taking shape at Mylan Park in Morgantown.
Five acres of land next to the Peak Health Aquatic Center are being reshaped for the Mountaineer Bike Yard, a complex designed for BMX racing and public recreation.
The facility will feature twists, turns, pumps and jumps, along with venues and vistas where the public can watch competitive BMX racing.
“We will be able to host about three national events over five years,” said Ron Justice, Mylan Park executive director. “Those are very large events that host around 10 to 15,000 people in attendance and some of the top riders in the country.”
The facility also plans to host eight regional events each year, with attendance expected to reach around 5,000 people.
For local riders, the project has been a long-awaited addition.
“Being a member of the Mountaineer community myself and riding bikes for a long time, this is something a lot of students and members of the community are looking forward to for quite some time,” said local biker Nyle Bajwa.
The project is expected to cost approximately $7 million to build. After undergoing environmental studies, Mylan Park received a federal grant of nearly $5 million to help fund the project.
Construction has taken several years to get underway. The original grant for the project was received in 2022, but the funding was not released until 2025, with construction beginning in early May.
The Mountaineer Bike Yard is scheduled to be completed by December, with a grand opening slated for early March 2027.
This story was adapted from a television news story with the help of AI. The content was reviewed and corrected for accuracy and structure. All reporting, facts and quotes are original and were gathered by Mountaineer Playbook reporters.