Adventure Seekers Taking Unusual Modes of Transportation to 45th Anniversary Celebration of Polaris.

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 1999--

Polaris Customers Travel Cross-Country on Pavement

Snowmobiles, an All-Terrain Vehicle and Victory Motorcycles

The tiny northern Minnesota town of Roseau, population 2,500, will expand to seven times its size June 18-19 as it hosts the 45th Anniversary Party of Polaris (NYSE/PSE:PII) -- the company that invented the snowmobile for use as a recreational vehicle.

More than 15,000 loyal owners, employees, dealers, and vendors from across North America will celebrate with the founders of Polaris in the town where it all started. But not all will arrive on a traditional mode of transportation -- in fact, some are quite unusual. Polaris customers are so passionate about their recreation and so loyal to the company, some are using Polaris vehicles to travel cross-country to the anniversary celebration.

Four men from Vancouver, British Columbia will ride 1,500 miles across Canada to the 45th Anniversary party on their special snowmobiles custom-made for pavement driving. Another two-man team from Edmonton, Alberta will travel more than 900 miles to Roseau on a premium off-road utility vehicle, the POLARIS RANGER. Victory Motorcycle owners will trek to Roseau on the first cross-state PRO Victory tour that starts at the company's corporate offices in Minneapolis, Minn., and takes them to the Polaris Engineering & Engine building plant Osceola, Wis. All the groups will finish the last leg of their tours by joining an anniversary parade Saturday morning, June 19, in downtown Roseau.

"We are excited about celebrating this anniversary," said Tom Tiller, CEO of Polaris. " It's a great opportunity to show the world how Polaris was born 45 years ago and how the company will continue to grow aggressively in the years to come."

The 45th Anniversary festivities in Roseau begin June 18 with a historical overview and discussion featuring the founders and developers of the snowmobile.

On June 19, activities include:

-- All-terrain vehicle Rodeo. Contestants participate in a barrel

run, a mud run, and an ATV pull where they compete to pull a

sledge the furthest distance

-- Anniversary Parade featuring over 100 floats o Vendor Village and

a full Polaris product display o Historical and exotic product

displays

-- Rides for the kids o A giant 5' X 5' birthday cake

-- Celebrity autograph signing by Polaris co-founders, Tom Tiller,

new CEO of Polaris, Hall Wendel, Jr., Chairman of the Board, and

legendary snowmobile racers such as Bob Eastman and Jim Bernat

-- Street dance

-- The party finishes with spectacular fireworks 

In 1954, co-founders Edgar Hetteen, Allan Hetteen and David Johnson built the company with their development of the snowmobile which was originally used to get around faster during the cold Minnesota winters. The company grew steadily until 1981 when several snowless winters put Polaris on the brink of bankruptcy. Today, Polaris is a $1.2 billion company with more than 3,500 employees and is the world's largest manufacturer of snowmobiles.

Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, Victory Motorcycles, personal watercraft and the POLARIS RANGER for recreational and utility use. Polaris is the world's largest snowmobile manufacturer and one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of personal watercraft and ATVs. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Pacific Stock Exchange under the symbol "PII," and the company is included in the S&P SmallCap 600 stock price index.