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What the event is posed to look like.
theabortionatorDamn, was hoping it was moving from buttermilk. Not many places can really pull it off though. Anyone could host summer xgames.
Idk, buttermilk doesnt deserve xgames but aspen is chill.
Dr.ZorkoThis is sick. Looks like they're planning a scaffolding big air, but I guess COP will host most of the events?
Saga.I was hoping the same thing. But I disagree with your comment "not many places can really pull it off though". Why can't other places pull it off? If you were to look at the event what would be the major hurdles for a different area host the event with as good as or equal to what we've come accustomed to in Aspen?
There are innumerable amount of factors that go into a successful event. I think the 3(in order of importance) are:
- Weather
- Amount of snow to work with
- Accessibility
When I look at places like Aspen that hosts the X Games or Breckenridge with Dew Tour, how well do they do in those
- You can't really say much about the weather because it is what it is and is going to do what it's going to do. One year an event has the best weather ever, the next it's trash. It can change so much it's almost not worrying about in this discussion I think.
- All of the snow for the courses at this level are already artificially made for the most part(if not all). As long as the area is cold enough, the snow is going to be the same for the competitors.
- How easy is it for spectators or competitors to get to Aspen or Breckenridge? Both are multiple hours from an airport on roads that frequently close during the time the events are held.
I think moving the event(s) to places like Calgary is better for the growth of the sport. If you only hold the iconic events in these hard to reach places they lose their relatability.
I would really like to hear arguments against holding a major snow event at a small resort. If anyone says the logistics won't work I say show me proof. If SnowboarderMag can figure out how to build and house all of Super Park at Seven Springs I feel confident other places can accommodate such an event if they are motivated to do so.
snomasterMt Snow was the jam
FullSendBudCop yikes, i dunno how its going to support all of those people, but they should use the long jump building as a jump.
___ASP___COP/Winsport hosts a ton of events every year. There is alot of space there for a X games event. They had a massive Cirque de Soleil Tent there for a few weeks a couple of years back for shows that ~10,000 people would attend, while at the same time holding Canadian world JR hockey try outs in the arena for 5,000 fans all while the ski hill was running, no issues.
FullSendBudOh, how the parking though
theabortionatorI mean Aspen has pretty much no parking
Saga.what would be the major hurdles for a different area host the event with as good as or equal to what we've come accustomed to in Aspen?
artrud-Snow and weather fall under the same check box and it's basically a question of, "Does the resort gets enough snow to build out all the structures/features in time for the event?"
-Terrain and where events are held on the actual mountain is another important box to check. Length of the slope, angle, etc. are all factored in during planning (slope, big air, halfpipe, etc.). You can't just host certain events just anywhere. For an premium event like this it takes research and $$ to prove it out. For JOSS and JOI, Jon hired on a company to build out plans before a cat started even pushing any snow.
-Enough accommodations for influx of visitors. Does the resort and/or surrounding area account for this? Summit county is a tourist mecca for skiing and has the infrastructure to handle this. Check out the Jackson Hole press release about Ikon Pass and the influx of visitors it experienced this winter. A place like JH is not setup for things like this (yet). SLC, Vancouver, Calgary, and other former Winter Olympic host cities could probably pull it off.
-What is the proximity to a local city and/or population that will actually attend and fill hotels, buy lift tix, and dump tourist $ into the resort? Summit County and Aspen draw tourists from the Midwest, East coast, etc during this time and hosting the event helps keep a spotlight on the area which might otherwise see a dip in visits during this time (after winter break and before President's Day wkend).
-Winter X has long history in CO. I think Dew Tour occurs just before Winter X, so athletes are already in town..why make them $pend/travel more. There are now travel companies that advertise ski vacations based on attending Winter X. Same could be done in other areas but it takes time to build up this consistency.
-Probably most important, does the resort have a big enough budget to invest in an event like this. It's basically an event advertising product that Aspen is buying to host Winter X. Funding fuel and cat time to build snow features, is there enough equipment to build out the features, if not they need to upgrade, temporary structures (stages, tents, etc), event managers, advertising, extra staff, TV production, and a bunch of other things need to be considered and funded.
-Does the local population even want it and are they willing to dump a bunch of money into Winter X vs other things? Sleepy small ski resorts, probably not. SLC, Vancouver, or Tahoe...maybe.
