2021 Supercross Round Table | Coles Notes

By Billy Rainford

I had the opportunity to sit in on a media roundtable discussion on Zoom after the announcement of the 2021 Monster Energy AMA Supercross schedule came out earlier this week. Many of the industry’s top media personalities were there and we were all able to ask questions of Dave Prater – Senior Director of Operations, Two Wheel, Feld Ent. Inc.. and Sean Brennen – Public Relations Manager – Monster Energy Supercross.

Here’s the ‘Coles Notes’ version of what was discussed:

Dave Prater – Senior Director of Operations, Two Wheel, Feld Ent. Inc.
  • this schedule has been a 7 month process, including meetings with health departments etc..
  • Monster Jam (a Feld property) took place in Arlington, TX last weekend and they had around 16,000 spectators Saturday and around 14,000 Sunday
  • right now, the plan is for the pits to be open to spectators
  • right now, the plan is to allow 20-25% capacity of spectators to allow for safe social distancing
  • the hope is that by April there may be some loosening of restrictions giving Feld the ability to add more rounds
  • there will be testing at the events (temperature check for spectators and swabs for riders)
  • they had a complete 2021 schedule built but were forced to make these changes due to ongoing restrictions
  • this current schedule came down to which stadiums (NFL) were allowing fans first
  • baseball stadiums were late due to not opening up to fans
  • SX Futures – protocol forced cancelation for the year, but they are looking at different ways for riders to get their SX points through events like Loretta Lynn’s etc..
  • East/West Showdowns and Triple Crown events – they will need to announce these soon. After Easter they will “lock into place.”
  • TV Schedule – coming later in the year. No time locked right now
  • What if the US administration changes next week? Plan stays as is and they will cross that bridge when/if they come to it
  • expressed desire for “TBA” events to be held in California and they don’t anticipate going back to facilities that already hosted events in the 2021 schedule
  • latest SX series could go? Since MX starts the 3rd week in May, May 8 is last chance for a SX date
  • finalized schedule announcement by mid-February
  • the SX series is not for sale, to squash any rumours that may have been circulating
  • face masks will be required in the stadiums
  • they are working hard to get a date in Atlanta (always one of the best received locations)
  • since there is limited spectators, has Feld received a discount for booking the stadiums? Although the stadiums are only allowing 20-25% capacity, it still means the entire stadium must be open to accommodate the social distancing regulations, so it would be difficult to get any sort of discount

These were some of the issues discussed during our one-hour Zoom call. Hopefully, this answers a few of your questions/concerns regarding the upcoming 2021 Supercross season. More announcements to come…