Travis Pastrana and Erik Roner BASE-jumped off The Signature towers at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas early Wednesday morning to promote the live Nitro Circus show taking place in Vegas on Saturday.
Roner and Pastrana jumped at 7 a.m., 30 minutes earlier than planned due to high winds. "It was getting windy and the forecast was supposed to get even more windy," Roner said after the jump. "We decided to do it earlier rather than risk it and wait. It was a higher wind that we normally jump in, but it was blowing in a direction that made it still safe for us to jump."
The MGM towers are 390-feet tall and Pastrana and Roner jumped off the south corner of the building, landing near the hotel's valet stand. "It was a really rad setup," Roner said.
Pastrana didn't hear about the planned jump until just days before it was scheduled to go off -- while practicing for the Nitro Circus show in Pala, Calif. Saturday. "Well, I'm just hearing about it now, but I saw my BASE rig, and I'm sure it will be fun!" he said.
The MGM towers have been BASE-jumped legally only once before, by Shane McConkey and Miles Daisher in May 2008 as part of a promotion for Red Bull Cola. "Most of the buildings in Vegas have been jumped, but not necessarily legally," Roner said. "Any time we get permission and we're not sneaking around doing it in the dark, it's more fun. You're not worried about those aspects. It's more putting on a show for everybody."
The Nitro Circus crew will spend the next two days in St. George, Utah, filming the Nitro Circus 3D movie and they'll return to Vegas for Saturday night's live show. Says Roner, "Saturday's live show is going to be a wild circus show of action sports."
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