1. What's your favorite Monster Energy Supercross venue?
Jason Weigandt: Let me guess: everyone will say the crazy dome outside of Dallas? Too Star Wars for me. There have been a ton of great new stadiums built in the U.S. over the last decade or so, and Dallas isn't the only one. Ford Field in Detroit is still a superb building, but the pits are quite a jam up. The area around the stadium isn't as bad as you'd think, but if you drive a little further you'll see first-class ruin porn. Look it up, kids. Indianapolis' new Lucas Oil Stadium is massive and awesome, and the weather and parking is just good enough to allow for the standard outdoor pits. That's rare in a downtown venue. I'm going with Indy for the win here in an upset.
Jason Thomas: I am a big fan of the new stadiums. New stadiums mean more food options, better viewing in the press box, and an overall more pleasurable experience. In that same line of thinking, I will take Arlington as my choice. Jerry Jones has built an absolute palace on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas. Coming in at a whopping two billion dollars, it has everything you could ever want in a venue. The press box is huge, the food options are endless and the jumbotron keeps the action right in your face. AT&T Stadium is the cream of the crop.
Steve Matthes: My favorite Monster Energy Supercross venue is Toronto. There, I said it. And yes I'm Canadian and yes I'm biased, but seriously, even if I was American I would say it was in the Great White North. The city is way cool, there's tons to do, you can stay in a hotel connected to the stadium, people! The pre-race parties are fun and it's just a really cool race. I'm glad it's back. Yeah, the pits aren't the greatest and that's a drawback but everything else is cool. Go there and see for yourself. Try the Poutine while you're at it.
The second favorite race would be Las Vegas because it's twenty minutes away from my house and I don't have to get on an airplane.
2. What's your favorite supercross city to visit?
Weigandt: You would think I would say the New Jersey round because I'm from New Jersey, and last year's daytime race gave every worker and fan a chance to party in New York City on Saturday night. That was life changing. But I'm actually going to go with Toronto on this one. The stadium is closer to the downtown action than any other that we visit—there's literally a hotel with a bar connected to the Rogers Centre. You can walk in any direction and find cool stuff; it's one of the few races I’ll leave the pits during the day to see something cool. Or maybe that's just because the pits are tight and I can't find as much free lunch at the team trucks? The Canadian vibe is just different enough to be interesting but not so much that it becomes a hassle. The fans get crazy with Friday and Saturday night hijinks. You can tell this is the only race of the year where these folks see the AMA stars in person. They're fired up!
A close second is Atlanta, which has a very special vibe thanks to the DMXS boys and the general growth of the sport in the Southeast. I've literally had some of the best nights of my life at those Friday night DMXS parties. The Georgia Dome, like the Rogers Centre, has pictures of WWE wrestling events on the wall, so that's a tie, but the 'Centre hosted the legendary Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior "Ultimate Challenge" at Wrestlemania in 1990, so that's an edge. Am I going too far here? The Georgia Dome also doesn't seem to draw fans right into a hot spot literally a block from the stadium like Toronto does. And nothing beats Toronto street meat.
JT: This one is tough. I mean really tough. As I’m typing, I still can't decide. I love Toronto and its multi-cultural feel. Being outside of the USA, it gives an international flare to the series. The Canadians always roll out the red carpet and it will be great to go back this year.
Las Vegas is a city like no other. For many years, it was my favorite place to go and I would give it the no. 2 ranking even now. Las Vegas is a huge party with a supercross on the side.
My final victor is going to be New York. It just offers so much. New York is the media capital of the world and that means great things for supercross. Being able to stay in Manhattan on Friday night, head out to MetLife Stadium for a supercross on Saturday, and then enjoy the NYC nightlife that night puts it over the top. As the years pass, maybe the newness of this event will wear off and Vegas retakes the top spot, but for now, NYC is the main attraction.
Matthes: I might get some heat for this because I've gone on record as saying that it's the worst race of the year but I think Daytona is the coolest venue to visit. Wait, what? You can't see much (unless N-Fab lets you in their suite!), the security sucks, it's far to walk around and like I said, the race isn't that cool. But there's something to being in Florida in the spring. You just cannot beat the weather (especially after going to some colder cities in the weeks before the race), the water is nearby, the speedway is historic and so on. I like being in Florida in the spring, sue me.
3. The last few years the series has gained a few new venues, and lost a few. Give us some thoughts on one of these moves.
Weigandt: Supercross has grown tremendously in the past twenty years, and has proven it can draw a good crowd almost anywhere. It's a far cry from the 1980s, where only the California races and Pontiac, Michigan, seemed to really draw. These days the promoters could make a lot more money if they just went to the cheapest venues, or kept doubling up like they have always in Anaheim—or like they tried in Atlanta last year. If you're going to draw somewhere around 50,000 anywhere you go, just do it with the least amount of work and count the money.
The good thing is Feld hasn't done that. It's really, really expensive to race in New Jersey, and I bet the new Boston race (Foxborough, Massachusetts) will cost a pretty penny, too. Not only is every single element more expensive, from (union) labor to building, parking and equipment rates, but it takes a lot more marketing and PR effort to cut through the competition in these huge markets. For all that work and expense, the crowds will be just a tick larger than other more user-friendly venues, so it's not the most profitable situation. These big races in big markets legitimize the sport, though, and introduce the stars to a whole new audience. It's a great sign for the sport that it has worked out so well.
JT: Boston will be interesting. Much like NYC, the weather is going to be very unpredictable in April. We could possibly have back-to-back mudders if things don't go well. Minneapolis will be fun to return to, especially with a new stadium. Attendance was always very high in Minny, so look for that to immediately return to the line-up.
I would like to see the series return to Florida, besides the annual Daytona stop. Attendance has struggled in past attempts in Jacksonville, Tampa, and Orlando, making it a tough sell for Feld Motor Sports. Being based in Florida, though, surely they are looking to have a hometown race.
Salt Lake City was an event I was sad to see go, but even more so, I am shocked we lost Seattle from the schedule. Seattle's downtown vibe is one I enjoyed and even though we seemed to always be riding in the mud, I still looked forward to it. Of all of the events we lost, Seattle would be my first choice to bring back.
Matthes: Well, I'm glad Toronto is back. I can't wait until the series goes back to Minneapolis because I've always said that the Midwest people in places like Minny, St. Louis, Indianapolis—they absolutely love supercross. Boston should be interesting but I can't help but think that either Boston or NYC (or both!) is going to get some bad weather, which won't be that much fun. I can't put NYC on this list because of the ridiculous line to get into track walk while they checked us all for bombs.
I'd like to see Winnipeg get a race. I know it will be really, really, really cold and there is a possible chance of massive snow drifts on the track but it would be cool to see my hometown city get a race and I can visit Debbie (my mom) at the same time. I will not be holding my breath for this, though.