They are 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide, custom designed and a minimum of 10,000 pounds. They boast 1,500 horsepower, cruise 100 miles per hour and sit regally atop tires 66 inches tall. They wear names like Grave Digger, Maximum Destruction, Captain’s Curse and Madusa. They are, in every sense of the word, monstrous. And on Saturday, they will roar through the Carrier Dome.

The Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam, a touring monster truck show, is coming to Syracuse on Saturday night. Dome and Monster Jam officials said hosting the first monster truck show at Syracuse University will open the floor to a wide range of events.

Since becoming the Dome’s managing director last January, Pete Sala hoped to host a Monster Jam-like event. He said he is excited to see it finally happening and to receive such an enthusiastic response. As of now, an attendance of 20,000 to 25,000 people is expected.

‘Tickets have been flying,’ said Sala, senior associate director for facility operations. ‘The lines at the box office have been great.’

Monster Jam and the Dome have been eyeing each other for the past few years. Sala’s goal was — and still is — to make the Dome home to a wider spectrum of events. In the past year, he has reached out to several organizations.

‘The phone started ringing off the wall,’ Sala said.

Blake Tatroe, Monster Jam’s promoter, was ecstatic when Sala showed an interest in a monster truck event. Tatroe said Sala has hit on monster truck shows while they’re growing in popularity.

Despite its ‘redneck’ stereotype, Monster Jam is a predominantly family-oriented event. In fact, Tatroe said families make up half the demographic.

‘Obviously men love trucks,’ Tatroe said. ‘But kids also love trucks. It’s an exciting event for anybody.’

Matt Cowie, Monster Jam’s show operations director, said the setup will take five days. Sala plans to have the stadium in ‘football mode’ before that.

For this to happen, though, a quick and efficient transition must occur, turning the Dome into a stage for destruction.

‘We have quite a bit of work to do,’ Sala said.

When Monster Jam arrived Tuesday morning, the Dome was ready to get dirty. To prep the Dome for the show, the turf was covered with a layer of plastic and 4,000 sheets of plywood, Cowie said, and they will be sheltered with 2,500 yards of dirt.

Monster Jam rents dirt locally and will transport it in dump trucks to and from the Dome. This is an all-day process. By Thursday, the event staff will begin decorating, setting up banners and creating an authentic monster truck feel.

While the transportation, dumping and pickup of such massive amounts of dirt may seem overwhelmingly messy, the entire process runs smooth. Cowie’s staff is remarkably small with only 25 to 30 people, but he said it’s efficient.

‘We’ve developed a good, solid system that works,’ Cowie said. ‘We’re very comfortable with it.’

Even after setup, Cowie’s staff monitors the dirt, keeping its moisture levels consistent by periodically spraying it with water. They also watch the air quality. The Dome’s airflow, which keeps its roof pressure up, naturally assists this process.

‘The Dome’s logistics are perfect, but we still monitor closely,’ Cowie said. ‘We won’t let it turn into a big dustbowl.’

Sala has confidence in the process. He has seen success in similar events in arenas like Minneapolis’ Metrodome, a building almost identical in structure to the Dome.

‘It’s nothing they haven’t done before,’ Sala said of Monster Jam.

Monster Jam breaks down into three parts: a pit party, monster truck racing and monster truck freestyle. QUAD WARS and motocross events give the trucks a chance to cool down between the race and the freestyle. Mayhem occurs at all times.

‘The entire experience is, in a word, insane,’ Tatroe said.

The procedures involving its setup and cleanup, luckily, are not. Cowie said the turf will be visible again as early as Sunday morning. With prime monster truck season in December, his staff is more than prepared for a swift and easy exit.

‘Our crew is in midseason form, so to speak,’ Cowie said. ‘We move in, move the event along and move right out.’

Sala believes the entire show will run smoothly and be wildly successful. He sees Monster Jam as the first of many to come through the Dome.

‘I’d like to reintroduce and open up opportunities to the Dome that people didn’t have before,’ Sala said. ‘I want to put Syracuse University back on the map.’ 

 

mjgriffo@syr.edu            

Published on March 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm