AROUND TOWN For the latest events, go to list.co.uk/ aroundtown
ARENACROSS TOUR Freestyle Motocross extravaganza comes to Glasgow
‘It’s a very unusual event,’ says Arenacross organiser Matt Bates of a sporting phenomenon that was founded three years ago and which has rapidly built to the scale that it can fill indoor arenas like the Hydro, around the country. He describes it as a cross between sport and a rock concert, although he knows that’s a very reductive way of putting it. ‘It uses motorbikes in much the same way as a Motocross event,’ he says. ‘We create what can best be described as a BMX track on steroids using 3,000-4,000 tons of dirt, then we put in the lighting rig you would see in a concert to create a very choreographed show.’
‘There are three elements,’ he adds. ‘The first sees some of the best youth riders in the country competing, then 24 of the fastest and
best riders in the world will compete against one another, and finally we have the show part. This is freestyle Motocross involving trick riding, it’s pretty spectacular.’ Bates, a former Motocross rider himself, says
that ‘like a lot of good ideas, it’s already been done in America and it’s very successful out there.’ He started out with four venues around the UK and now has eight. ‘We’ve had to work hard at getting big crowds, but we’ve made it,’ he says. ‘The atmosphere is edge-of-your- seat, very noisy, very lively. A comment we frequently hear is that our customers can’t believe what they’re seeing – often I can’t either, and I’ve been doing this for 30-odd years.’ (David Pollock) ■ SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Sat 7 Feb.
48 THE LIST 5 Feb–2 Apr 2015