By Taylor Stevens

West Jordan - The City of   West Jordan and the Western Stampede hosted two major events in the West Jordan arena in September. West Jordan’s annual Demolition Derby holds long ties to tradition, and its brand-new Endurocross event brought a fresh twist to the city, but both brought the same energetic crowds.

The city has been working for several months to bring new events to the arena. “We’ve been trying for quite some time to find ways to better use the rodeo arena, because so frequently it just sits there empty,” Councilmember Chris McConnehey said. 

The city hosted its annual Demolition Derby on Sept. 12. This year, the derby solely featured trucks—a major draw to the event for many spectators—whose drivers competed for $14,000 in prize money.

“It’s really all strategy,” West Jordan resident and Demolition Derby fan Gage Pomikala said, “which is so much fun because all the cars are set with rules of what they can or can’t have with their car—like a weight limit—but it still has to be safe for the drivers. I like to see who made their car to last; also, which driver can deal the biggest hit.” 

The city also held its first-ever Endurocross event on Sept. 23. 

Endurocross is a relatively new competition in the United States that incorporates aspects of the off-road racing sport supercross and endurance racing to create a hybrid motorcycle competition. The competition is hosted in an indoor arena and features motorcyclists showcasing their skills with big jumps over obstacles such as logs, rocks and bodies of water. 

  “We tried to do this event either two or three years ago, and we just didn’t have enough time to get it pulled together, so this will be the first time we’ll be able to do the Endurocross,” Councilmember Chris McConnehey said. “I’m excited to see how it plays out. It’s a fantastic venue for a lot of different potential uses, but so often it sits there empty.”