On Tuesday afternoon, FELD Motor Sports officially dropped the 2022 17-round Supercross schedule. Next year’s tilt will officially return to Anaheim, CA to start things out on January 8. Salt Lake City, UT will once again be the closer for the third year in a row on May 7. Additionally, all rounds will be on Saturdays, as the residencies of this year will not make a return for 2022.
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Return to Anaheim
After being absent from the 2021 tilt, the biggest venue in the sport (Angel Stadium) is back on the schedule. Not just once, not even twice, but three times. This will also be the first time since 2015 that Anaheim will get three rounds of Supercross. Without question, this is the biggest addition to the 2022 calendar. Angel Stadium is a marque venue for both Supercross and Monster Jam under the FELD Banner.
Cities Off the Schedule
The big omissions from the last two years start with Orlando. Despite being relatively close to FELD HQ, non-Daytona Supercross events in Florida have never seemed to do well. This includes Tampa in recent years, as well as Jacksonville when it was on the schedule in years past.
Last year’s season opener Houston will also be out for 2022. Like Anaheim, NRG Stadium is another big venue for FELD and a return in the future is likely. Houston has had rounds in three of the last four years.
Finally, it appears that Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is no longer working with FELD on dirt contracts for the foreseeable future. With Atlanta Motor Speedway having three rounds of Supercross and a pair of Monster Truck shows, FELD and the speedway were eager to continue their new partnership.
Returning West Cities
A half-dozen West Coast cities are now back after a year off, including Petco Park in San Diego, which is almost always paired after or before an Anaheim round. 2022 being no different, as it is slotted in before Anaheim 2. San Diego also follows the lone round in Nor-Cal in Oakland at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. With the stadium seemingly in its twilight hours, it is worth asking if this could be the final round of Supercross at the Coliseum.
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ (and Phoenix before it) has been a staple on the Supercross schedule and its return is a big one in more ways than one. Largely (no pun intended) due to the floor size of the stadium. The single longest floor that FELD has access to provides the opportunity for some super long track layouts. 2022 should be no different.
Ryan Villopoto‘s old stomping grounds of Lumien Field in Seattle is also back. Seattle was set to be the week after the Indianapolis cancelation in 2020. Finally, Empower Field at Mile High in Denver returns to Supercross. A home game for Eli Tomac, who won there in 2019 in convincing fashion. Not even mentioning that there was snow during qualifying/practice that day.
Returning East Cities
On the other half of the country, Detroit leads things off. Including the old Pontiac Silverdome, Detroit has held rounds of Supercross on and off dating back to 1976. The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis is also back for 2022. St. Louis had hosted rounds in all but two years this last quarter-century, being 2019 and 2021.
Next up is Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. A relatively new venue in Supercross which first hosted a round in 2016, it now gets its third event. For those in New York/New Jersey, MetLife Stadium will almost certainly be back on the schedule in 2023. East Rutherford and Foxborough had alternated between years from 2015-2019.
The final returning venue in the east is US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN. Like Detroit, an older venue. In this case, the Metrodome holds most of the Supercross history in the city. Unlike Detroit, US Bank Stadium is still a relatively new venue in Supercross, only getting its first round in 2017 during home-state hero Ryan Dungey‘s curtain call season.
Still No Las Vegas
The shocker with this release is that Las Vegas, NV is still not back. Sam Boyd Stadium had been the season finale dating from 1993-1995, and then 1997-2019. With its demolition seemingly imminent, and with Allegiant Stadium up and running, a return felt likely. For whatever reason, that is not the case. One would have to imagine that FELD was pushing to get in for this year, as Vegas has been a huge city for them.
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Main Image Credit: Racer X Online
