CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Over the course of just a few days, the F&M Bank Arena floor has undergone a transformation from its usual concrete surface to a full-scale dirt track ready for high-speed racing. The AMA Partzilla Regional Arenacross Series will make its Clarksville debut Friday and Saturday. Oct. 17-18, launching a nationwide tour.
Event organizer Bobby Snyder, owner of the TriStar MX Series and the Partzilla Arena Cross Series, explained the conversion. “From start to finish, it takes us about two days to build the entire thing,” Snyder said. “If we already have dirt on the floor, we can do it in about a day and a half.” The two days does not include preparation the arena does in advance.
(Video by Wesley Irvin)
About a dozen crew members handle the setup, using a combination of a dozer, skid steer, and wheel loader to shape the course. The process requires between 155 and 200 truckloads of dirt, which is roughly 2,500 to 3,500 cubic yards in total. To put that into perspective, that’s about the same volume as an Olympic-size swimming pool.
If all that dirt were spread just 1 inch thick, it would stretch along a 12-foot-wide road for nearly 18 miles, which is roughly the distance from downtown Clarksville to Port Royal State Park.
Where did they get the dirt?
Snyder said this year brought a new challenge, which was finding the right dirt. “This is the first year we’ve had to source dirt ourselves,” he said. “Usually in years past we’ve gone to arenas that either had dirt on-site or had a dirt contact. This year has been a little bit different. There’s quite a few arenas where we had to source the dirt ourselves.”
All the dirt used in F&M Bank Arena for the upcoming event was locally sourced from new housing construction off Wilma Rudolph.
Does dirt damage the arena?
Protecting the arena floor is an important part of the setup. Most arenas have high-PSI concrete, which can handle heavy equipment, but Snyder’s team still takes precautions. They first spread a base layer of dirt and use rubber-tracked machines to create a pad. Once that’s in place, the larger equipment can be brought in safely without risking damage to the floor.
Once the races wrap up, Snyder’s team begins cleanup right away. The entire teardown and removal process takes around 12 hours, as crews work from the front to the back of the arena, loading trucks with the dirt.
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Dust is part of the process, but even that gets managed. Snyder explained that the Montgomery County Fire Service watered down the dirt before it was shaped to help keep the dust down inside the arena.
Snyder explained that bringing the tour to his hometown is a proud moment. “We’re excited; it’s our hometown, and we’re excited we were able to come into the F&M Bank Arena.”
Tickets for the AMA Partzilla Regional Arenacross Series are available at the F&M Bank Arena website.
| MORE: For more Clarksville things to do, check out the Holiday Fun Guide and the Clarksville Events calendar.