Ziegler Motorsports held a grand opening for its huge, 85,000-square-foot facility in Kalamazoo, Mich.,yesterday. As part of the festivities, Zeigler Automotive Group announced the addition of four new vehicle franchises as well as the opening of an on-site Tap House tavern/restaurant, the third of its kind in the Kalamazoo area. Several hundred off-road enthusiasts and business people attended the grand opening.
Billing itself as the "first of its kind," Zeigler Motorsports aims to be a one-stop shop for everything motorsports related, and it's well on its way so far. With the addition of four new franchises (including Polaris Industries), the mega-dealership now offers sales and service for a total of 16 brands of snowmobile, motorcycle, ATV and other off-road vehicles. Snowmobilers can now get models from any of the BIG 4 (Arctic Cat, Polaris, Ski-Doo or Yamaha) here. Other franchises include KTM, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Can-Am, Honda, Sea-Doo, Star Motorcycles, E-Z-Go and Bad Boy Off Road.
"We are changing the motorsports industry by creating a unique, world-class customer experience and destination for motorsports enthusiasts," said Aaron Zeigler, president of the Zeigler Automotive Group.
Ziegler said the dealership fulfills his dream of providing a better place to shop for and buy jet ski and off-road equipment. Located off Sprinkle Road, south of I-94 and on the southern portion of the Midlink Business Park, the dealership officially opened in early March.
The Sprinkle Road Tap House is an attached, 4,500-square-foot casual-dining eatery that is accessible directly from the dealership showroom. The restaurant seats up to 160 people and keeps 29 beers on tap, and it's scheduled to open to the public on June 26. Although it is in partnership with Ziegler Motorsports, the Tap House will operate independently while adding to the recreational atmosphere.
Zeigler also announced the addition of a fourth on-site vehicle test course: a two-mile side-by-side course through the neighboring woods. The dealership also has three other test courses already in operation: a junior track for children and novices, a 1.3-mile motocross track, and a course with natural obstacles for ATVs and side-by-sides. Utilizing more than 41 acres of partially wooded and previously undeveloped land at the south end of the 240-acre business park, the dealership has crafted the motorsports courses (including 4 miles of trails) to allow customers to test vehicles before they buy, and ride them after they buy.
Zeigler said the motorsports operation has grown from sales of about 50 vehicles per month before the new facility opened, to about 200 vehicles last month, attracting customers from Indianapolis, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Northern Michigan and other parts of the Midwest.
"We're over 200 units per month and that's more than double what we were doing before," he said. "Adding Polaris and Indian Motorcycles, we're going to start doing at least 300 units per month."