X Games, the leading action sports competition and lifestyle brand, returns to Japan for the third consecutive year hosting competitions indoors for the first time at Makuhari Messe stadium on September 20 - 22. X Games Chiba will host 11 disciplines across Skateboard, BMX and Moto X. All competitions will be streamed live internationally on X Games’ YouTube page.
Move Represents Transformation of X Games Platform Following MSP Sports Capital Acquisition
June 13, 2024 – New York, NY – X Games, the leading action sports competition for 30 years, will introduce a bold, new global, team-based format in 2026. Backed by MSP Sports Capital (MSP), a Najafi Cos. portfolio company, the X Games League (XGL) will provide a year-round international competition calendar for X Games that will enable athletes to earn compensation beyond the $2.4 million already awarded through existing prize purses.
“In essence, we’ve used Formula One as a model for this new X Games League,” said Jeff Moorad, Executive Chairman of X Games and Principal of MSP Sports Capital. “To that end, we are creating a year-round calendar and introducing new commercial opportunities to accelerate the overall growth of X Games. These opportunities will provide a secure and sustainable future for our most important stakeholders – the athletes. By leveraging the incredibly valuable X Games brand, we will create a durable, global business that will be good for athletes, fans, investors and sponsors.”
Teams will be a vital component of the new XGL and will be composed of athletes from multiple disciplines who will compete for individual and team points to earn both individual and team prize purses.
MSP and X Games will secure investors for these new teams. Team investors and XGL athletes will have a platform from which to build and generate additional revenue streams via sponsorships and team-specific merchandise. In an industry first, XGL athletes will be provided with a level of stability that includes guaranteed compensation as well as new commercial opportunities.
X Games will continue to embrace the seasonal nature of action sports, introducing both a Summer XGL and a Winter XGL – each initially composed of four global events and a minimum of four teams, with plans to grow from there. The competition schedules will include X Games signature events as well as strategic collaborations with existing competitions.
“The athletes have always been at the heart of X Games,” said Scott Guglielmino, President & COO of X Games. “This new consistent league and team structure will provide more opportunities for athletes to compete and thrive commercially, and their fans will have more opportunities to see and support their favorite athletes and teams year-round. We’ve been developing this since MSP invested in the property and key stakeholders throughout the industry, including athletes, have been very supportive.”
Added Scotty James, X Games strategic advisor and nine-time medalist, “As both an active athlete and an advisor for X Games, I’m excited about the opportunities this new format presents. The long-term vision not only aims to grow action sports on a global level, but also provide athletes with greater security than ever before. For the first time, we will be able to focus on performance while benefiting from a stable and sustainable career path in action sports.”
In addition to James, X Games current investors include two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and seven-time X-Games Gold Medalist Chloe Kim, Grammy Award-winning producer and DJ Diplo, and gaming superstar Ninja. X Games has already seen significant audience growth under MSP leadership in the past 12 months, including 113% growth in streaming audiences and 1.6 million new social followers.
Advising X Games in the league formation is international law firm Proskauer Rose LLP – the leader in representing both well-established and emerging sports leagues, teams and investors worldwide. MSP Sports Capital assumed ownership of X Games in October 2022, with ESPN retaining a minority share.
About X Games
Since its inception in 1995, X Games has been the leading action sports competition and lifestyle brand, spotlighting the world’s best action sports athletes against the backdrop of each individual host city. Over the past 29 years, X Games has organized the world’s premier action sports events around the globe, complemented by top musical performances, year-round content and fan experiences.
About MSP Sports Capital
MSP Sports Capital is a global private equity firm that invests in teams, leagues, and other businesses in the sports ecosystem. The firm pursues influential positions in mature sports companies and focuses on creating value and driving differentiated returns. MSP Sports Capital was founded by veteran investor-operators, Jeff Moorad and Jahm Najafi, whose expertise span the world's largest sports leagues, including MLB, NBA, NFL, F1, and European football. MSP Sports Capital is headquartered in New York. For more information, visit www.MSPsportscapital.com.
About The Najafi Companies
The Najafi Companies, based in Phoenix is an entrepreneurially driven private investment firm founded by Jahm Najafi in 2002. The firm makes investments across industries, with significant holdings in consumer brands, ecommerce, media, technology and sports. For more information, visit www.najafi.com.
Contacts:
X Games/MSP Amy Phillips amy.c.phillips@icloud.com
Grace Coryell grace.coryell@xgames.com
Najafi Companies Megan Wahl najafi@lavidge.com
X Games Forum will be a full-day conference targeted at uniting the action sports and youth culture communities to explore the state and future of the industry. Panels and speakers will dive into topics driven by progression, authenticity, expression, community, culture and content. The panelists will include top athletes, industry professionals and thought leaders. Agenda and speakers will be announced soon.
X Games, the leading action sports competition and lifestyle brand, returns to the beaches of Ventura, California for an enhanced festival experience from June 28 - 30. General admission tickets and VIP passes for the summer event, as well as new one-of-a-kind experiences, are officially on-sale today at XGames.com/ticketing.
X Games today announced that the Summer 2024 games will officially return to Ventura for a three-day event June 28-30.
“Southern California is the birthplace of action sports and a culture that is now global,” long-time host and recently appointed X Games Chief of Sports Culture Selema Masekela said. “Last year was legendary, so we are excited to return to Ventura and turn things up a notch.”
Last year’s X Games California, which culminated in Ventura, was a huge success - selling out of tickets and merchandise in record time. X Games California 2023 drew a crowd of more than 50,000 people to Ventura alone. Officials from both X Games and Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau are committed to making X Games Ventura 2024 bigger and better than ever, with more sports, more music and more space for spectators.
"To say we’re stoked is an understatement," said Marlyss Auster, President and CEO of Visit Ventura. "We’re still beaming with hometown pride with what took place in our Ventura last year. We’re excited to make this summer even better, all led by the newly appointed Selema Masekela, Director of Sports Culture. We're ready to see athletes break more records and do it all by the beach with our coastline as the perfect backdrop. We’re stoked — let’s do this!"
Sign up at xgames.com for exclusive access, first-to-know on tickets, discounts and more for X Games Ventura 2024.
When: June 28-30, 2024
Where: Ventura, Calif.
Aspen, Colo., Jan. 22, 2024 – X Games proudly announced an expanded partnership roster featuring new and returning brands indicative of X Games momentum leading up to the highly anticipated winter games in Aspen this week. This dynamic lineup is poised to craft bespoke content, activations, and events, offering fans an immersive experience, whether they choose to witness the action live in Aspen or from the comfort of their couches.
The full lineup of 14 official and proud partners for X Games Aspen 2024, features returning leaders Monster, Pacifico, Chipotle, GoPro and Thayers Natural Remedies, as well as 11 brands embarking on new partnerships or expanding their existing collaborations with X Games, including first-time partner Samsung presenting Men’s and Women’s Ski Slopestyle events.
“X Games’ comprehensive and integrated approach has really resonated with brands looking to do more than simply throw their logo on a course,” said Eric Johnson, chief revenue officer at X Games. “X Games provides partners a way to authentically showcase their brand by connecting them deeply to the athletes, competitions and fans.”
After success at X Games California 2023, Thayers will expand their official partnership to include the presentation of the first women’s ski and snowboard Knuckle Huck events. Similarly, after a smaller onsite partnership, premium wine brand St Huberts The Stag will become an official sponsor - presenting the XIP lounge at the base of SuperPipe. After an X Games Aspen 2023 partnership, Chipotle will return as an official partner as well as GoPro, who has not been an official X Games partner since 2017.
They are joined by first-time X Games official partners Samsung, OKX Web3, and MobileX and proud partners Shady Rays and Taiga Motors.
Examples of first-time integrative partnerships include using Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 phone, which uses AI to create the perfect shot, to deliver special angles and low light video for the ESPN broadcast, OKX Web3 presenting X Games’ first Snowboard Street competition since 2013 and GoPro presenting Ski Game of SLVSH which will highlight the GoPro angles within the broadcast.
X Fest will feature sponsor activations with Vive/Suja Life, Blackbriar and Justin’s Peanut Butter, athlete autograph signings, concessions, and Jumbotrons for fans to watch all of the live X Games Aspen competitions. Tickets and VIP packages are available now at XGames.com.
Under new ownership and following the success of a triumphant Summer event in Ventura, X Games is set to deliver an extraordinary experience at X Games Aspen 2024, which will broadcast live ESPN, ABC, YouTube, and Twitch from Jan 26 to 28.
Ahead of the much-anticipated winter games in Aspen this week — the first winter event under full creative control of new ownership group MSP Sports Capital — X Games today announced Selema Masekela as the first 'Chief of Sports Culture,' a move that supports the brand’s ambitious vision of an innovative, athlete-driven strategy.
The ESPN/ABC broadcast will be hosted by Selema Masekela, Jason Ellis and Torah Bright, who makes her X Games talent debut. The digital broadcast will be hosted by Jack Mitrani and Gabby Maiden, who also makes her X Games talent debut. Brandon Graham, Craig McMorris and Torah will handle calling all snowboard competitions while Jimmy Coleman, Tom Wallisch and Maggie Voisin will handle the Ski events.
Today, Governor Polis and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) announced a first-of-its-kind partnership between X Games and the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Bustang to provide a sustainable and low-cost travel option for fans traveling to the X Games in Aspen from Friday, January 26 to Sunday, January 28.
In an effort to give athletes a platform to do what they love on the world stage, X Games has stripped back the complicated layers of contest production, and gone back to basics — celebrating what makes freestyle snowboarding and skiing unique, and making Aspen 2024 about creativity, originality, and entertainment. Working with an athlete counsel, X Games has revamped course designs, formats and judging to create a better event for athletes and fans.
For nearly 30 years, X Games has lived at the forefront of progression through its events, athletes and partnerships. This revolutionary partnership with Taiga Motors reinvents the athlete transportation onsite at X Games. The use of Taiga’s next generation Nomad sleds at X Games Aspen will reduce the emissions of its snowmobile fleet by up to 86%, lowering the event’s carbon footprint.
X Games will return to Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen Snowmass with more than 100 of the world’s best action sports athletes competing in Ski and Snowboard events January 26 – 28. X Games Aspen 2024 will feature Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard competitions in the disciplines of SuperPipe, Slopestyle, Big Air and Knuckle Huck.
Los Angeles - October 17, 2023 – Cara Williamson will join the growing X Games organization today as vice president of marketing and brand strategy for the brand. Cara will oversee all marketing and brand efforts for X Games, including setting a vision for the company which was acquired by MSP Sports Capital from ESPN just a year ago.
With 15 years of brand marketing experience establishing and promoting consumer-facing brands, Cara most recently served as director, global brand marketing at The North Face. Leading some of their biggest consumer moments, Cara played a critical role in establishing The North Face as one of the most well-known and admired brands around the globe. Throughout her career with The North Face and Burton Snowboards, Cara excelled at executing large-scale, omnichannel global marketing campaigns – making her the perfect candidate to lead the X Games marketing and brand strategy into the future.
About X Games
Since its inception in 1995, X Games became the leading action sports competition and lifestyle brand, spotlighting the world’s best action sports athletes against the backdrop of each individual host city. Over the past 29 years, X Games has organized the world’s premiere action sports events around the globe, complemented by top musical performances, year-round content and fan experiences.
###
Media Contacts:
Grace Coryell, 818-585-3696, grace.coryell@xgames.com
Coming October 21 - 22, X Games will host a star-studded Vert Jam at the festival grounds of When We Were Young, the sold out pop-punk music festival in Las Vegas. The X Games Vert Jam will feature daily skateboard Vert demos, where fans can watch the world’s best skaters ride between musical performances.
With skate and music culture being intertwined since the beginning, many When We Were Young performers have a long history with X Games – including headliners Green Day and blink-182 who both recently performed at X Games events. Some skaters confirmed to attend include 10-year old superstar Reese Nelson, 20-time X Games medalist Bucky Lasek, seven-time X Games Vert gold medalist Jimmy Wilkins and more.
WHERE: Vert ramp at When We Were Young
Las Vegas Festival Grounds
WHEN: October 21 – 22
Demos Saturday 1:30p & 5p / Sunday at 1:30p
WHO: Jimmy Wilkins, Bucky Lasek, Reese Nelson, Tate Carew, Paul-Luc Ronchetti, Ruby
Lilley, Sandro Dias and Shea Donovan.
TUNE IN: Check out coverage of Vert Jam at When We Were Young on @XGames Instagram
About X Games
Since its inception in 1995, X Games became the leading action sports competition and lifestyle brand, spotlighting the world’s best action sports athletes against the backdrop of each individual host city. Over the past 29 years, X Games has organized the world’s premiere action sports events around the globe, complemented by top musical performances, year-round content and fan experiences.
About When We Were Young
When We Were Young is an emo, screamo and pop-punk festival that will bring over 50 artists to Las Vegas Festival Grounds on Saturday, October 21 and Sunday, October 22, 2023. This year’s lineup includes Green Day, Blink-182, Thirty Seconds to Mars, The Offspring, Good Charlotte, 5 Seconds of Summer, All Time Low, Pierce the Veil, Something Corporate and many more. For additional information, visit WhenWeWereYoungFestival.com.
###
Media Contacts:
Grace Coryell, 818-585-3696, grace.coryell@xgames.com
