Racing into the Future: Strategic Marketing for the Regina Auto Racing Club

The Regina Auto Racing Club (RARC) had been operating the Kings Park Speedway since 1967. In 2016, the race track and facilities were beginning to show their age and were in need of costly upgrading. Unfortunately, the club had also been suffering from declining attendance over the past five years, and the associated decline in ticket revenue had led to a shrinking race schedule. At the end of the race season in 2016, the club managed to break even financially and had a modest bank account balance. Although RARC was a non-profit organization, the continued financial viability of the club was at risk, and action was required to increase revenue. The club needed to decide among four non-mutually exclusive business strategies. Should it repair and rebuild the facilities to renew the appeal of the venue and attract more spectators? Should it increase its advertising and promotion activities to improve awareness of the club and events? Should it increase the number of race classes and special racing events, or should it introduce non-racing events to the facility to take advantage of other revenue-generating opportunities?

The case is suitable for use in MBA and executive program courses on strategy, marketing, entrepreneurship, and not-for-profit. By the end of the class discussion, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Apply environmental scanning frameworks to make sense of evolving competitive realities.</li><li>Assess the ongoing viability of a business opportunity.</li><li>Benchmark best practices of comparator organizations (e.g., other member-operated race clubs).</li><li>Develop a vision and specific goals for a business.</li><li>Develop growth strategies, noting constraints such as financial resources.</li><ul>

• SME Strategy