Sydney Indoor MX Dome closes after less than a year of operations

Less than a year after its opening the Sydney Indoor MX Dome at the Eastern Creek Motorsport Hub has closed - amid reports of creditors seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid debts.

Opened in July last year, the $5 million indoor motocross facility was conceived by moto cross enthusiasts Mattew and Barbara Bartolo and sat within a 12,000 metre² inflatable dome structure imported from Europe.

However, as reported by the Blacktown Advocate, the facility closed at the end of March with creditors reportedly calling for the business to be wound up with claims of no payment.

The company behind the MX Dome is facing the threat of insolvency from winding up orders issued in the Supreme Court, after legal proceedings were launched by Nextgen Earthworks.

However, the Blacktown Advocate has reported that Nextgen Earthworks isn’t the only contractor out of pocket, with Full Scope Electrical Services Director, Jason Freer, revealing he is owed close to $250,000 for works completed at the Eastern Creek site.

Freer told NewsLocal “we have $248k owed to us for our works that remain outstanding.”

With Freer’s company worked on the project from December 2019 to June last year, assisting with everything from the design phase to construction and handover, he added “the majority of the payments made to us were late, in hindsight, that was the writing on the wall to the financial troubles they were facing.

“This has really affected the ability to grow my business, it has put a strain on my business relationships and has resulted in a significant personal and emotional impact on myself.

“Trying to keep a business afloat during a pandemic, while not being paid close to a quarter of a million dollars has been an enormous burden to carry.”

Another firm, Master Fabrication, is reportedly owed $95,000 for the MX Dome’s steelwork structure.

The MX Dome opened after five years of planning and construction in July 2020, but was almost immediately impacted when a four-year-old boy and his family were struck by an out of control bike that launched through the air before crashing through barriers on 8th August.

The preschooler lost consciousness during the incident and was treated for head injuries by paramedics and the CareFlight specialist team as the incident unfolded.

In a statement made by Sydney Indoor MX Dome post online, a representative said it was “with the heaviest heart we announce that the Sydney Indoor MX Dome will not be re-opening”.

The statement added “In December 2020 we announced we had to close for maintenance which was true since the air-filled dome requires a different sort of maintenance than opposed to a normal structure

“But also during this time we hoped to re-design the track, do some front of house maintenance and improvements ... and remedy some problems with the company.

“Matt and Barb Bartolo have been the faces and names you have seen in direct relation to the Dome from the start of project up until their proudest moment of opening the Dome officially to the motocross community.”

Images: The exterior of the Sydney Indoor MX Dome (top) and motocross action inside the facility (below).