EDINBURG — Adam Jones tightened the bolts of his motorcycle precisely and sipped on a Coors Light beer bottle outside of H-E-B Park on Friday as he prepared for Nitro Circus Live the next evening.
“There’s no room for error,” he said. Besides pushing through the jet lag induced by his flight from Australia, the 34-year-old was also working with a wrist he broke two weeks ago after landing wrong during a stunt.
Before the show began Saturday afternoon, a large screen played videos of similar stunts the Nitro Circus team has attempted and that have gone wrong, often resulting in some pretty bad injuries. Moments later, the athletes went on to repeat many of the same routines.
On sport bikes, the athletes raced toward a ramp (sometimes in comical vehicles or costumes) then soared through the field until they landed on an inflatable platform. The crowd cheered in the moments the athletes spent in air until the moment they hit the ground.
“It’s a good rush,” Jones said. “I just really enjoy what I do.”
This is the first show of its kind to visit the Rio Grande Valley. In previous years, events like these couldn’t be staged in the region due to there not being an adequate venue.
“It’s great to see how much the Valley has grown,” said Yajaira Flores, director of booking and marketing for H-E-B Park. Since the venue opened last year, more diverse events have been able to come to the area, Flores said.
“In the last 16 years entertainment has grown so much and the level of production and work that everybody’s doing has elevated to a completely different level to where you don’t have to go to San Antonio or Austin to be able to experience these big events,” she said.
Flores said in the future the park hopes to bring even more attractions that “you don’t really get the opportunity to see anywhere else (in the Valley).”
Jill and J.C. Canales often bring their two children to H-E-B Park to enjoy events ranging from the usual Toros game to events like Nitro Circus Live. The Harlingen family rarely spends a weekend at home now, they said.
Their son and daughter — Joaquin, 8, and Adona, 11 — both got the chance to get autographs from a few of the athletes. When asked what part of the show they most anticipated, they answered: “Everything.”
“We’ve never seen something like this before,” J.C. Canales said. “It’s great that stuff like this is coming to the Rio Grande Valley.”
