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March, 2025

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XGames is looking to leave Aspen and LA.

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BWalmer
Posts: 9141 - Karma: 12,886
According to the article the contract for hosting XGames in LA is up in 2013 and the contract for Aspen is up in 2014:
http://espn.go.com/action/xgames/story/_/id/8517155/espn-x-games-accepting-north-american-host-city-bids

So where would you like to see XGames (both summer and winter) held after the contracts are up? It's kinda hard to think of them being somewhere else since they've been in the same place for so long. Personally, I'd love to see an east coast location, but I doubt it'll happen. I feel like Philly or San Diego might be interested for the summer. And either PC or Tahoe for the winter.
12 years ago
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,102
tahoe would be so unbelievably sick, but i don't think they have the infrastructure do handle something like that. pc might be able to handle it. i don't really see the winter x leaving aspen though.
12 years ago
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ForeverYung
Posts: 8385 - Karma: 2,060
I could see winter x going to breck
12 years ago
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Lucas
Posts: 4882 - Karma: 1,597
its gonna be at the scummit for sure
12 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31077 - Karma: 29,653
Aspen doesn't seem to have the vibe of action sports apart from hosting Xgames, so I don't see them extending the contract. Breck/keystone area maybe? Closer than Apsen is to Boulder/Denver areas. I could see PC too, Tahoe not as much but would be amazing
12 years ago
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BWalmer
Posts: 9141 - Karma: 12,886
Doubt it, unless Dew Tour left.
12 years ago
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roddy116
Posts: 10653 - Karma: 7,720
im kinda feeling like mammoth would be winter, or mountain high or somewhere in that general area.
12 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31077 - Karma: 29,653
forgot about that, and forgot Dew is now a one stop event
12 years ago
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E-fry
Posts: 601 - Karma: 2,171
winter X should go to whistler!!!!
12 years ago
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,102
as much as i appreciate what you're saying, it's never been about the vibe. it's about $$$.
12 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61880 - Karma: 125,854
They'll probably just re-sign...
12 years ago
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seward
Posts: 5233 - Karma: 2,174
^ bingo
12 years ago
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Dwarftosser1
Posts: 2602 - Karma: 951
Would never happen, unless they kept a winter event in America as well, they'll probably just resign, LA and Snowmass are perfect
12 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31077 - Karma: 29,653
Oh I'm well aware, I like the point you made about infrastructure being able to handle it and was trying to think of places close to big cities/airports where they could get more traffic in from.

Mammouth?
12 years ago
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,102
mammoth would be the sickest, but there again, i don't think they have the capabilities of handling that influx of people.
12 years ago
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50Kal
Posts: 2836 - Karma: 5,541
I've worked the last two winter x games and I dont see them going else where. And like said above, it's not about where would be the best mountain its about money and Logistics. Buttermilk is kinda cramped for space and Im sure there are better mountains to host it at.
But what Aspen has is a large public bus system, very large parking lot (intercept lot), many hotels, A mile and half airport that's right next to the mountain (many of the big name sponsors use this).
The only group I could see that get the x games would be one of the Vail mnts. The Aspen ski Co will fight to the death before giving it up. The amount of money they make off it is mind blowing to begin with.
I also dont think they will host it in Whistler cause then every ESPN employee would need a Visa/passport.
12 years ago
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ski0
Posts: 2321 - Karma: 5,370
Aspen just makes sense. You need a resort with HUGE snowmaking capacity, a HUGE amount of cash, and a mountain that has a good village and lower mountain set up.

Whistler would be shitty because they dont have a good runs at the base for slope, big air and pipe. I dont even know if they would be able to make enough snow at the lower elevation. And it would be a huge bitch to lift everyone up to blackpark to watch.

Summit county would work, but they already have dew tour on lock and might just want to stick with that.

Mammoth could definitely build the park , but they dont have the budget to outbid aspen and too small a fan base and accommodations to hold a large scale event.
12 years ago
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Holte
Posts: 10750 - Karma: 7,995
I'd put my money on it. They've re-signed 4 times in the past decade. The infrastructure is already there, the weather is predictable, and people are used to it.
12 years ago
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mammspowskrHMD
Posts: 148 - Karma: 18
Mammoth yes, mountain high.....ehhhhhh no. Mammoth could definitely support it when it comes to infrastructure. The airport is there with daily flights. Obviously these flights are coming from bigger hubs such as LAX, SFO, etc but the same could be said for Aspen as well, either way they are both seasonal. If all else fails, people would drive from Reno or LA much like they would from Denver in Aspen. I couldn't give you an exact bed count number in Mammoth but I would think they could find a way to make something like this happen so long as it isn't during the busiest time of the year between Christmas and New Years. And hey, since june is closed this year, i'm sure they would have some extra bed space over there as well for overflow. Maybe it's wishful thinking but Mammoth would be amazing for X and I think the mountain, as well as the bankrupt town, would bend over backwards in order to make it happen.
12 years ago
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steezerampage
Posts: 2171 - Karma: 214
Thank you sir for saying many of the points I felt people were overlooking.  Sure a Mountain like Keystone has probably the best park riding vibe of any mountain in Colorado, but the entire park is not on the upper mountain, and they don't have a comp worthy pipe. 

Resorts that have been hosting large scale events are some of the few currently capable of doing so because they built up there venues as the contests grew.  That is why Breck and Aspen have some of the best large features and pipes around.  As the contests grew, in order to keep their mountains capable to host top level events that must build 22 ft pipes. 

If a mountain that has good infrastructure wanted to get in the contest game, but doesn't have a park built up and set up for contests, they would have to invest big money to make it happen.
12 years ago
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ski0
Posts: 2321 - Karma: 5,370
It would actually be amazing if they also had SPRING X games, held in may in Whistler where there could be ski , snowboard, mountain biking, skateboarding, basically everything held together.
12 years ago
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R.Fahey
Posts: 8602 - Karma: 539
Park City would work well. The base area is laid out perfectly for an event of that magnitude.

And, unlike Aspen, it's 35 minutes from and international airport. And infrastructure is there, on an Olympic scale.
12 years ago
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BWalmer
Posts: 9141 - Karma: 12,886
This was my thought, if it worked for the Olympics, I'm sure it would work for X.
12 years ago
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will_powder
Posts: 3194 - Karma: 5,445
But isn't PCMR having enough troubles with leases and such. They seemed pretty cash strapped to me.
12 years ago
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CrotchKiller
Posts: 9037 - Karma: 6,943
It's not gonna leave Aspen
12 years ago
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DUKES
Posts: 5150 - Karma: 691
Is X games strictly for the US? Could they go to Whistler?
12 years ago
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accualyisdolan
Posts: 3295 - Karma: -192
This
12 years ago
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Keith_M
Posts: 796 - Karma: 772
Well, PC did have the OLYMPICS, so it seems like it would be a good X games option.
12 years ago
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localonvolkls
Posts: 448 - Karma: 90
Mammoth would be ideal with the weather being pretty good most of the time but then again so would park city. The air port would definitely have to acomodate a lot more flights and bigger aircrafts which may or may not be possible. If you haven't been here you might not know that it is pretty much the middle of nowwhere. Tahoe would be easier access with th Reno airport being so close and Sacramento and SF being just a short drive away.
12 years ago
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casual
Posts: 6712 - Karma: 6,753
I really can't see the XGames going to Whistler, or anywhere outside the US for that matter.

Honestly, I'd be shocked to see it leave Aspen, I'm almost certain they'll renew. There's a very short list of resorts that could actually pull this off (I know the XGames have been held all over, but not since they've risen to such prominence....for exampe, no way they'd go back to say Crested Butte), and they've already been mentioned.

I can't see it being a EC event, so that writes off places like Mt Snow.

Other than Aspen, it seems like PC, Mammoth, or Breck would be the best candidates...maybe a Tahoe resort would sneak in there, but I would think Vail Resorts would be very interested. It seems like Breck would be the obvious choice, but I can't imagine they'd host both Dew and X. It'll be interesting to see if Dew Tour will raise its prestige level and ultimately eclipse XGames. I don't know that it will, but if it did it would shake up things up a lot.

I could see Breck working it out where they held Dew Tour through 2014, and then signed a 5 year deal with XGames or something. Breck is pretty well suited to this sort of thing, and obviously their handling of Dew Tour would give ESPN confidence in their ability to execute. If it happened, hopefully Breck makes some moves that make it a bit more spectator friendly.

As for the summer games....man, leaving LA? Why? I feel like maybe Miami, another CA city, or possibly NYC or Philly could pull it off, but otherwise...I don't know. Philly held it a handful of years ago and it was dope, I know a lot of athletes loved it there, and with the new sports complex, LOVE, FDR, etc., I'd like to see it back in the PHI.
12 years ago
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Byron_tha_gr8
Posts: 4573 - Karma: 14,302
I really think whistler is a more real option than it seems. they almost got an additional x-games stop, and they pulled off the olympics, so they have the infrastructure and could handle the pressure
12 years ago
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skihonduras
Posts: 4 - Karma: 10
My vote would be Park city or Whistler for winter and New York or Seattle for summer. Even Chicago or Miami would be pretty cool city's for summer.
12 years ago
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RubberSoul
Posts: 11249 - Karma: 14,642
think how amazing it could be if it switched to mammoth or something and they made a huge great park. but yeah i doubt it
12 years ago
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suup
Posts: 1485 - Karma: 4,370
Exactly PC Or Snowbasin they hosted Olympic racing (the biggest event)
12 years ago
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Charlie_Kelly
Posts: 11955 - Karma: 12,308
Iowa and north dakota.
12 years ago
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iSmokeweed
Posts: 4793 - Karma: 1,370
alyeska. that way bobby brown can triple at the x games.
12 years ago
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Aiden-P
Posts: 1310 - Karma: 38
actually?
12 years ago
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Byron_tha_gr8
Posts: 4573 - Karma: 14,302
this
12 years ago
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dayinthelifepc
Posts: 242 - Karma: 88
Park City!
12 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61880 - Karma: 125,854
live under a rock?
12 years ago
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tcurle
Posts: 1264 - Karma: 5,336
tahoe sounds fun
12 years ago
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concept311
Posts: 1937 - Karma: 78
Buttermilk works so good. Huge Base area at the bottom of the mountain for all the events. With them brining Snowcross back its a must to have that room at the bottom.
12 years ago
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Funnel
Posts: 7818 - Karma: 1,559
Mammoth would be the best! Although the infrastructure is not in Mammoth's favor, the town could certainly handle the capacity, the airport probably could handle it, and the highways could easily handle it. The drive to Mammoth is long but 395 is an awesome highway. The CHP would have a fucking field day, just like they do every holiday season.
12 years ago
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last_tango
Posts: 2635 - Karma: 2,665
Would love to see xgames hit east coast again but there is no infrastructure at all anywhere
12 years ago
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SkiBum.
Posts: 3606 - Karma: 3,975
PC won't host it.


It will stay at Aspen.
12 years ago
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freeski1620
Posts: 5670 - Karma: 1,718
BRECK. I would be stoked!
12 years ago
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LoathesRaisins
Posts: 3612 - Karma: 4,735
I vote Bear Mountain.
12 years ago
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skier_boy26
Posts: 11295 - Karma: 502
I strongly disagree. The weather in the Pacific Northwest, first and foremost, can be so shitty in the winter that it is way too big of a gamble (see 2010 Olympics). Scale, infrastructure, access... sure, that's all there, but the conditions can suck. And it has already been mentioned: most, if not all, of the events would have to be hosted further up Blackcomb. That also nixes it for sure.

Whistler hosted the brief existence of the Global X Games years ago. It kind of worked, but even that is a cold reminder of why it will NOT happen.
12 years ago
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deet
Posts: 246 - Karma: 665
I don't know about the winter X-games but the new summer X-games in Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain) and Foz do Iguacu (Brazil) in 2013 may be new locations for the next few years.
12 years ago
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Barmski
Posts: 4342 - Karma: 811
the town of breckenridge will not approve an event of xgames magnitude. it would not be able to handle it. dew tour is already blowing up the town enough. aspen is so much bigger than breckenridge.
12 years ago
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GnarNinja
Posts: 660 - Karma: 884
Baker.
12 years ago
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