April 18, 2008

MontanaFair Entertainment Line-Up Announced
It’s a Week of Country Singin’, Hard Rockin’, Dirt Flyin’, Pulse Poundin’ Fun and Entertainment!

Billings, MT—Hard rockers Puddle of Mudd and Theory of a Deadman; funnyman Bill Engvall; teen pop star, Corbin Bleu; and country music hitmakers, Sugarland as well as Western Underground are slated for the 2008 MontanaFair, August 8th—16th!   Add in a night of arenacross, extreme motor sports, rodeo, and bull riding, and you’ve got a week full of action and excitement!

MontanaFair will kick off August 8th; Sneak a Peek Night, with alt-metal rockers Puddle of Mudd.  Noted for their focus on unpretentious songcraft and accessible lyrical authenticity, Puddle of Mudd’s latest album ‘Famous’ features hits “Psycho” and “Famous”.  Theory of a Deadman will open the show.  Theory of a Deadman’s latest album, “Scars and Souvenirs,” features hits “So Happy” and “By the Way.”  Tickets are $34 for reserved seating or floor tickets and $29 for general admission. 

Corbin Bleu, of Disney’s “High School Musical” fame will perform on Saturday afternoon, August 9th. Despite his busy acting schedule, Corbin found time to record his first solo album last fall.  The album, Another Side, is an “R&B pop album,” he explains, and will “show another side of me, singing in many genres.”  Tickets are $25 for reserved seating and $20 for general admission.  Show time is 2pm.

Bill Engvall, "Blue Collar Comedy" show comedian and creator of the "Here's your sign!" punch line, will be performing his brand of country comedy at MontanaFair Saturday night, August 9th.  Since his debut album, "Here's Your Sign" in 1996, Engvall has been a staple on the country comedy scene.  Tickets are $34 for reserved seating and $29 for general admission.   Show time is 7pm.

Country music hitmakers, and recent CMT Music Award for Duo Video of the Year,  Sugarland will perform at MontanaFair on Sunday night, August 10th.  This fiery and dynamic duo quickly made a name for itself as one of the rockingest country acts on the road.   To date, Sugarland has released two studio albums, in addition to charting eight singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Song charts. Gwen Sebastian will open the show and can also be heard at the Coors Stage on the grounds throughout the week.   Tickets are $39 for reserved seating and $34 for general admission.  Show time is 7pm.

Arenacross will rumble and race through the Rimrock Auto Arena on Tuesday, August 12th  at MontanaFair.  Tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for kids (3-12).  Arenacross show time is 6pm; prelims at 4pm.

The Extreme Motor Sports Bash returns the week of MontanaFair on Wednesday, August 13th.  Independently promoted by Octane Addictions, this event is full of high flying action on ATVs, motorcycles and snowmobiles!  Ticket prices and show time are to be determined.  (This event is not included in the MontanaFair ValuPass).

See some of the toughest athletes take on some of the toughest animals during MontanaFair Bull Riding on Friday, August 15th.  Tickets are $17 Reserved, $15 General Admission, $12 Kids 3-12.

Show time is 7pm. Enjoy a special afternoon rodeo performance at 2 pm that afternoon, August 15 featuring NRA rodeo events, but highlight Junior events.  Admission to the rodeo is included in the evening Bull Riding ticket and also free with fair gate admission. 

Get ready for more action on Saturday, August 16th!  The MontanaFair Championship Rodeo is the best of the NRA in terms of points and purse winnings.  New to the rodeo this year, a bonus concert!  Chris Ledoux's band, Western Underground, will top off the weeklong celebration that is MontanaFair with music and dancing following the rodeo!  Tickets are $17 Reserved, $15 General Admission, $12 Kids 3-12.  Show time is 7pm.

Sixty-seven bucks ($67) gets you general admission to eight night shows with the MontanaFair ValuPass.  The ValuPass can be shared with family and friends and fair gate admission is free on the event days (every day except Monday, August 11th and Thursday, August 14th).  Tickets may also be upgraded to reserved seating.

Tickets are on sale April 26th at 10am at the MetraPark Box Office, Rimrock Mall Customer Service Counter, local Cellular Plus stores, online at: www.metrapark.com, and by phone at 800-366-8538 or 406-256-2422.  Your ticket purchase includes fair gate admission during the day of the event you are attending. 

March 12, 2008--It is a virtual Red Letter Day at MetraPark as the name of the MetraPark Arena formally changes to Rimrock Auto Arena.  The recently installed signage on the face of the building will be illuminated for the first time this evening and will identify the building from Interstate Highway 90 and the surrounding area as a local landmark and destination. It is part of a several year process to acquire naming partners for facilities at MetraPark and it brings new revenues and new partnerships to the region’s premiere entertainment, trade, and sports venue.  

Daktronics Corporation of Brookings, South Dakota was engaged by the Board of County Commissioners of Yellowstone County Board to pursue these partnerships and both parties are pleased to announce that all sponsor and signage inventory in the arena is now committed. New signage and amenities are slated for completion by the end of April.  Continuing marketing efforts now turn to securing a naming partner for the Expo Center, MetraPark’s work horse trade and consumer show facility.

In the arena, there are five levels of sponsor participation:  Naming, Anchor, Executive, Premiere, and Major. Categories were offered with variable benefits.  Rimrock Auto Group secured the Naming category for the arena and Yellowstone Banks opted for the Anchor category.  Jim Harris speaking for Yellowstone Banks says, “MetraPark is such a great thing for our area and compliments the market where we do business.  It seems like a great place for our banks to participate and a great way to support our community.” 

The RimRock Auto Arena moniker will also be installed on the north and south faces of the Arena in the next week.  In late March a large video display will be installed at the south end of the arena and a new scoreboard will be installed.  Four video monitors will be mounted near the front and middle concession stands on the concourses and two more are slated for installation near the box office.  During the month of April, the outdoor marquees at First Avenue North and at Sixth Avenue will be completed including a new video display at the Sixth Avenue entrance to MetraPark.  In total, MetraPark will receive 1.4 million dollars in new equipment and about $100,000 annually in advertising revenue under the Daktronics agreement.

MetraPark’s General Manager, Bill Dutcher remarks, “We are looking forward to the first time we light up that big video display in the arena and perhaps see the Montana Open Wrestling tournament or an Outlaws indoor football game live and large.  It will be a lot of fun!”

Tim Thelen of Epcon Sign Company adds, “Epcon is proud to be involved with this community project. The manufacturing, installation and successful completion of the equpment is a high priority for our company. It has been a great experience working with the MetraPark staff, the Commissioners, Daktronics and the advertisers.

Greg Schmidt, of Daktronics Corporation has worked with Yellowstone County to market the packages and says, “To secure this project for the community of Billings and Yellowstone County has been one of the most gratifying projects I’ve worked on behalf of Daktronics.  The local support from all different levels reflects back to MetraPark and its future success.  We look forward to the community enjoying the new technology made possible by these sponsors.  We will continue the effort; expanding now to the inside and outside of the Expo Center. 

• July 25 – 27, 2008 – 90th Annual $40,000 Great American Championship Motorcycle Hill Climb--BMC Hill Climb Grounds
• July 31 – August 2, 2008 – Road Rider Motorcycle Rally--MetraPark Fairgrounds
• Friday night August 1, 2008 – AMA Pro-Am Short Track for Motorcycles and Quads--BMC 1/8 mi short track
• Saturday night August 2, 2008 – AMA Flat Track Grand National GNC Singles--MetraPark Raceway ½ mile dirt track