ADVANSTAR LAUNCHES BREAKTHROUGH ARENACROSS SERIES Mike Kidd & Team Take Dirt Bike Racing to Next Level Santa Ana, CA May 5, 2005 Advanstar Communications, Inc. a leading publisher of print, event and online media for the powersports, off-road and automotive aftermarket industries today announced the launch of the Arenacross Championship Series, a new racing series beginning in November 2005 with stops in twelve major cities across the US. Advanstar’s leadership, expertise, and business plan will deliver a hugely challenging and entertaining race series. Or as Mike Kidd, founder of Arenacross and Race Director for Advanstar says, “our team is ready to elevate this great sport.” Advanstar will capture the hearts and minds of America’s race fans through a host of new and improved features, including: world-caliber racers, unyielding new tracks, show enhancements, the largest purse and point fund in the sport, contingency, extensive media coverage and branding opportunities for sponsors, special twists to Amateur Day, built-in access to 600,000 motorcycle enthusiasts and the dedication of a veteran leadership team with a sincere passion for racing. In conjunction with the launch of the Arenacross Championship series, Advanstar will run its world-famous 25th annual Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows® presented by Toyota Trucks in conjunction with the races in select markets. In pairing the two events, Advanstar will offer enthusiasts the unique opportunity to watch world-class racers battle to the Arenacross finish-line on the latest factory machines and experience those vehicles and aftermarket products first-hand at the motorcycle show. Skip Johnson head of Advanstar’s Powersports Consumer Group and former Executive Producer of Primedia’s Motor Trend Auto Shows affirms that in combining the two events, and adding industry legends Mike Kidd, Gary Kidd and Lance Bryson to the mix, Advanstar has successfully unified an experience that enthusiasts can’t get anywhere else. “We are very excited about the launch of the Arenacross Championship Series,” said Johnson. “Advanstar is wholly committed to putting the full force of our 40 years of motorcycle event experience into this launch. We’re delivering a bigger, better, faster Arenacross encounter than ever before. Arenacross has never seen anything like it.” The addition of Mike Kidd, Gary Kidd and Lance Bryson to the Arenacross team the trio responsible for the birth of Arenacross is a strong complement to Advanstar’s existing resources and experience in event production. According to Kidd, “We are thrilled to be a part of such a growth-oriented and customer-focused initiative. We have the tools necessary to reinvent the sport, which will benefit the racers, sponsors, and fans.” Advanstar’s Arenacross Championship Series will run from November 2005 through February 2006, with 12 races along the way. For more information, please contact Mike Kidd directly at: (817) 887-8062 or [email protected]. About Advanstar Communications Inc. Based in New York, NY, Advanstar Communications Inc. (www.advanstar.com) is a worldwide business information company serving specialized markets with high quality information resources and integrated marketing solutions. Advanstar has 77 business magazines, 19 directories, 7 electronic publications, 54 tradeshows and 40 conferences, numerous web sites, and a wide range of print and electronic direct marketing, database and reference products and services. Advanstar serves targeted market sectors including the automotive, beauty, e-learning, call center, digital media, entertainment/ marketing, healthcare, fashion & apparel, pharmaceuticals, powersports, science, telecommunications and travel/hospitality industries. The Company has roughly 1,500 employees and currently operates from multiple offices in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.