Red Bull Honda's Ivan Tedesco, of Tallahassee, Fla., spoke to the
Jacksonville media today about the first-ever Monster Energy Supercross,
an FIM World Championship, race that will be held at Jacksonville
Municipal Stadium April 4, 2009.
Tedesco, a two-time AMA Supercross Lites champion, was joined by Bob
Downey, General Manager of SMG-Jacksonville, Mike Bouda, Director of
Jacksonville Sports and Entertainment Board, and Dr. Steve Augustine, of
the Asterisk Mobile Medical Unit.
"I am really excited to have a race here because I live here in
Florida now and this is the closest race I have to my hometown,"
said Tedesco. "The Southeast is not only home for me, it is home
for many of the top riders. It has become the new hot bed for supercross
racers. This is the place to be if you want to succeed, and we will
bring supercross to the fans of Jacksonville for the first-time ever in
April. It's always neat to come to a new venue and give new fans an
opportunity to watch supercross."
Downey, who has been instrumental in making the annual Monster Jam
event in February successful, looks forward to the inaugural Monster
Energy Supercross race at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.
"We have worked with Feld Motor Sports on the Monster Jam for
years, and it has grown from a 20,000-ticket event to selling out at
70,000 fans," said Downey. "If we can that have that success
with supercross, we will be very happy. It is an extra attraction for
the people of Jacksonville as well as those traveling to the event from
out of town."
The popularity of Monster Energy Supercross in the Southeast is at an
all time high. The strong following of supercross fans and top
riders from the southeast makes Jacksonville the perfect addition to the
2009 Monster Energy Supercross schedule. The neighboring tour stop at
Atlanta's Georgia Dome has surpassed the 70,000 mark for attendance.
Atlanta has become the "Anaheim of the East" (Anaheim, CA is
the site of the first race on the Monster Energy Supercross tour, and
hosts three races annually), and Jacksonville has the opportunity to
match or surpass that standing.
"An event like Monster Energy Supercross does a lot for the city
of Jacksonville," said Bouda. "You will see the transformation
of this stadium into a real supercross track on April 4, so it won't
look anything like it is today. The race should attract a lot of
families and the younger crowd. That is great for us because it suits
the family needs. This is an excellent fit and hopefully the race will
be coming back for many years to come."
In a sport that features the best riders from all around the world,
supercross stars Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Chad Reed, Tim Ferry,
Davi Millsaps, Ivan Tedesco, and Grant Langston, just to name a few,
call Florida home.
Located on the St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville, the stadium
plays host to some of the country's premier entertainment events
including Super Bowl XXXIX and Monster Jam, which recorded a record
70,611 fans earlier this year. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium is home to
the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.