January 23, 2020

Bremerton's Circuit of the Northwest aims to rev up racing enthusiasts

Image provided by Circuit of the Northwest/Blue Architecture [enlarge]

Blue Architecture designed the Circuit of the Northwest clubhouse, shown here from the back.

Construction is expected to start early this year on a 232-acre, 2.66-mile racing circuit and private club on Port of Bremerton-owned land across from Bremerton National Airport, according to the ownership group.

The $33 million project, called Circuit of the Northwest, is slated to open in 2021.

The ownership group is led by Brian Nilsen, whose family owns The Brothers Powersports, a multiline powersports dealer in Bremerton.

The group said it has a 50-year lease on the land, which overlooks the Olympic mountain range.

German Formula One driver and road course architect Hermann Tilke designed the racing circuit with lots of turns and up to an 80-foot change in elevation.

The private club will have a hospitality venue and member clubhouse designed by Blue Architecture with dining facilities, an exercise center, spa, meditation facilities, lounge, speakeasy, meeting spaces and road course simulators. The destination will also have a technology lab, private garages, “autominiums” to house members' cars, motocross and karting facilities, an indoor shooting range and RV Park.

Festival and event sites will be for public and private use, and a STEM education center to further science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculums through motorsports will be open to members and others.

Northbrook, Ill.-based KemperSports is the hospitality management and membership sales partner of Circuit of the Northwest, which KemperSports CEO Steve Skinner said “will be a game-changer for racing enthusiasts across the Pacific Northwest, giving them a destination like no other in the country.”

KemperLesnik, a sister agency of KemperSports, is providing public relations, sponsorship sales, branding and digital marketing strategies.

Joel Cohen Group will manage the project's construction. A contractor has not been selected.

MapLTD will provide civil engineering services and oversee surveying, engineering and master planning.

Sales for memberships in the private club are underway.

KemperSports builds, owns, leases and manages golf courses, resorts, athletic clubs and lodging venues. Among the properties it manages are Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon; The Glen Club in the Chicago area; and Chambers Bay in University Place.