Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park - planned for an old Menard's building on the northwest side - has delayed the grand opening scheduled for Friday and Saturday because of a holdup with city permits, according to a release issued by the operators Wednesday.
Much of the construction inside the old store appeared to be complete during a tour late last month. Owner Ray Petro and general manager Eric Schutt were certain at the time that the opening was on track.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Schutt said the delay is the result of a "complicated situation."
"We thought we had everything in place with the city permits," he said. "We don't want to place blame on the city. The city is working with us."
According to the city Department of Neighborhood Services, Ray's has pending applications for its occupancy, alteration, electrical and fire suppression permits. The elevator in the building failed an inspection and needs to be repaired.
Petro announced in March that he planned to replicate the successful indoor riding area that he had established in Cleveland in 2004. He signed a lease for the shuttered Menard's, on N. 76th St. south of Brown Deer Road.
Over the summer, he and a crew of carpenters built a maze of wooden ramps, bowls and boardwalks, filling roughly 110,000 square feet, including the mezzanine.
The release said they now hoped to be open by Christmas.
The sport course inside the Ray's MTB Miwaukee. Photo courtesy of Ray's.
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