Toyota AMA Arenacross Series Kicks Off at Des Moines’ Wells Fargo Arena This Weekend

Series opener returns to America’s heartland with Wisconsin local Chad Johnson looking to defend his 2005/06 title

AURORA, Ill. (Oct. 30, 2006) – America’s longest running arenacross series, the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series - where fans can see the future stars of AMA Supercross - kicks off the season this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3-4, at Des Moines’ Wells Fargo Arena.

The traditional opening venue for the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series, Des Moines’ Veterans Memorial Auditorium, was always “the” place to be to see the stars of arenacross assemble for two nights of bar-to-bar racing action. The stately ‘Vets Auditorium last year passed the arenacross season opener over to Wells Fargo Arena, the centerpiece of the new downtown Polk County Convention Center, which will be the epicenter of the nation’s motocross community this weekend.

“Des Moines is historically one of our highest-attended events of the year and we’re pleased to have Well Fargo Arena hosting the opening round of the upcoming Toyota AMA Arenacross Series season,” said Robert Hansen, director of arenacross for Live Nation. “Being so centrally located in the United States, Iowa is the perfect place to once again begin the series. It’s going to be a great weekend of racing here in Des Moines.”

The defending AMA Arenacross class winner at Wells Fargo Arena is Chad Johnson. Johnson went 1-1 last year and scored some very important early season points that would figure heavily in his overall season championship last year – which he won by one point over Brock Sellards.

“I’m looking forward to getting started on my title defense in Des Moines,” said Johnson. “It’s definitely one of the best crowds we race in front of all year and I’d like nothing better than to repeat my 1-1 performance from last year.”

In the supporting AMA Arenacross Lites class, local Iowan Cody Gilmore was victorious last year.

The week’s schedule of events opens on Thursday (Nov. 2) with Media Day at Wells Fargo Arena from 3-4 p.m. All of the top riders will be on hand for one-on-one interviews and live riding displays for your cameras.

Toyota AMA Arenacross Series weekend race information is as follows:

DATE:                                    November 3 - 5, 2005

VENUE:                     Wells Fargo Arena – Des Moines, Iowa

EVENT TIME:            Friday, Nov. 3rd – 7:30 PM

Saturday, Nov. 4th – 7:30 PM

Doors open on Fri/Sat at 6:30 PM.

Sunday, Nov. 5th – 12:00 PM

Doors open on Sunday at 11:00 AM

FORMAT:                   Fri / Sat – AMA Arenacross Series Pro Racing Series

Indoor Motocross Racing

                                    Sun – Amateur Racing / qualifying for the Amateur Arenacross World Finals.

TICKETS:                   Friday and Saturday – Reserved

                                    Gold Circle - $20

                                    Midlevel - $16 Adults

                                    $8 Children (Ages 2 – 12)

Sunday - General Admission

$16 Adults /  $8 Children

ALL SEATS $2 MORE DAY OF SHOW

TICKET OUTLETS: Wells Fargo Arena Box Office, 12-Des Moines area Dahl’s Food Store locations, www.dahlstickets.com or charge by phone at 1-866-55-DAHLS.          

REGISTRATION: Riders interested in registering, can call 800-216-7482 or log onto arenacross.com for more information. 

Tickets are available online at www.arenacross.com, www.ticketmaster.com, www.tickets.com. For more information on the Toyota AMA National Arenacross Series log on to www.arenacross.com.