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Joined
1/12/2023
Location
Concord, MI, USA
Is there an AX venue that stands out to you? Maybe where you watched your first race, or even competed in your first AX? Did you see an epic takeout or even a melt down?
Will Rogers Coliseum. Lots of history there. Honorable mention to Guthrie, for the massive floor space.
The Denver Coliseum- watched for two years, raced 5 years in a row. Not a great venue, but I will always have fond memories.
Guthrie. By far the best track.
Niagara Falls, me and a buddy used to sneak in every year (I know, the nerve of some people). We new a bunch of the riders and we would all go to the Ballet down the street after the races. Good times for sure lol.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Guthrie and Claremore, both have the best dirt in the nation!
Not many older AX races on yt. But 02 Denver is & it’s a good 1. Chad Johnson put the quickest pivot in a corner down battling Jeff Wiloh. Jeff also got taken out so hard he ended up under the bike by Rusty. They interviewed Jeff he said no I,m not mad That’s just racing. Milwaukee was always sold out & Very exciting. Could never get a ticket for the opener in Rockford because it sold out early.
dont forget the Alamodome
I grew up going to the Rockford Metro Center in Illinois to watch AX. Super small arena, but always enjoyed it as a kid/teenager.
My first race ever took place in Will Roger's Coliseum in 1987. Got 3rd place in front of a crowd and I was hooked!
Edit: Oops, I quoted the wrong person.
Dayton, Ohio. Always sold out. Raucous crowd. Intense racing, boozy party vibe. * Pic Fort Wayne, IN
Reno for best race between Blose and Hayes.
Best venue for me was Tacoma Dome, larger layout than most.
Orleans was cool too
Reno was always unique with its larger floor space. I remember years back it even having an over/under. Getting lapped and blocked passed by all the big names back in the late 90's early 00's was cool too !
I’ve always wondered if arenacross could strike some deals with colleges to use their stadiums. I don’t know the first thing about getting a stadium signed up to hold a race, I just know every podunk town in the south has multi million dollar stadiums used a dozen times a year.
But honestly any basketball/hockey type arena has a cool feel walking around the venue just in terms of it feeling more professional. The counter to that is I absolutely love the track builds in the bigger rodeo/livestock arenas. Guthrie 1 had a longer lap time than the supercross that same weekend!
Going back to the Feld days there were two that stood out. Baltimore was awesome. They utilized their iconic stage (you started on the stage and dropped in, and the sweeper before the whoops went up and over it.), plus all the “wheelie boy crowd” this board loves to hate absolutely LOVED the racing. It was a much more diverse crowd, and they packed the stands and every block pass, and yes, wheelie, was met with cheers. The Cedar Park arena (outside of Round Rock/Austin TX) because it was a very nice building and the hockey arena left the dasher boards in. You could slingshot around the first turn up against the boards to enter the next section with a ton of speed. The downside was the turnout was practically non-existent for spectators.
I think ultimately it comes down to two things. What venue will allow you to continue to build tracks outside of the generic double horseshoe layout, and what market is going to have a good crowd turnout. The changes to the format with 1v1+1 and the fans being able to sponsor riders has made the racing a much more immersive experience. A good fan turnout can lead to riders making a significantly bigger envelope if they play their cards right. If you consider yourself a fan of any form of dirt scooter racing, you should really check out the arenacross series.
Rockford was always a fun one! We don't have a ton of opportunities to watch motocross or ride once it gets cold. This event was like an island in the middle of an ocean of cold/ snow
I enjoyed going to Toronto the 2 years it was there. But Ft. Worth and Guthrie are all my favorites.
Doubt they could afford a college stadium, but there are some pretty nice high school football stadiums that would be awesome.
Since youre a fellow-Texas, i've always thought the coolest thing ever would be to have an arenacross during the State Fair in the Fair Park Coliseum
At the Cotton Bowl?
Kinda got college football happening then.
cotton bowl would be even better, but im trying to keep my dreams somewhat realistic haha
Pit Row
Dcu center in Worcester ma. My parents took me there for my 8th birthday. They knew I was obsessed with dirt bikes and wanted to do something special for me. It was the first dirt bike race I ever went to. Still have the arenacross hat my dad bought me in the closet.
I raced quite a few on the west coast and always looked forward to Reno. They usually, if not always, had an extra lane or two.
The wnc ag center near Asheville, NC has been rocking every winter since about 1991.
Traditionally kicks off weekend after Thanksgiving with 2 or 3 weekends scheduled through the winter.
Got to see riders like Mike Jones, Zach Osborne, Nathan Ramsey, Jeff glass, robbie Horton, Shane mcelrath, jordon Smith, mike brown, and many many more battle it out.
Honorable mention would be Columbus, Ohio. Holy cow, that place was a zoo when it was a packed house
Cincinnati was a rocking place when they had ax during the dealer show for several years.
Any place that has indoor pits, a standard size arenacross track (hockey rink) or bigger, and security that doesn't fuck with the racers and pit crew trying to go between the track and the pits.
My first AX was at the Cow Palace in San Francisco/Daly City. It's an older arena and not that big. The racing was great, but the ventilation in that place was bad. Breathing 2 stroke exhaust all night made it not so pleasant.
Also saw AX at Arco arena in Sacramento (RIP). Much better place for AX and was one of my favorite places to go watch boxing and kickboxing. One great memory that I have was taking my niece there one year. She had a huge crush on Denny Stephenson and went just to see him. I told her we would try to meet him if possible and as luck would have it, Denny was signing autographs after the racing trackside and she was able to meet him and get an autograph. Sadly, Arco was demolished last year.
Baltimore was the first place I saw AX and then then ended up racing there on amateur day. It was my home Arenacross so I have a soft spot for it. Hampton Coliseum in Virginia was really cool and my favorite place to race. I had seen so many great concerts there, like Rush, so it was cool to do something in the same venue. I have a lot of good memories from that place.
Ft Worth 1999 - My first pro race. Mike Jones took me out on the first lap of practice.
Target Center was okay. Raced it when it was BOOKOO Arenacross and the Pro entry fee was free. Yes free. Easily the #1 reason BOOKOO Energy went bankrupt. The finish line jump the first year was way too big. Probably a full 80ft double. I've never jumped a double that big and that high with only a 15 ft run on my stock '06 YZ250F. 2nd year it was probably half that size. Somehow I cased it and DNF'd for the night.
I miss Des Moines AX at Veterans Memorial Auditorium
Raced there a few times, good memories .
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