Image from xgamesaustin.com.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the X Games. People doing “mad” tricks on skateboards, snowboards, skis, bikes, etc. ESPN controls the event and X is for eXtreme (or alternative, action sports…but I like eXtreme better). As of the 2013 season, there are six X Games held internationally: two X Games in the United States, one in Tignes, France, one in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, one in Barcelona, Spain, and one in Munich, Germany. The first and last X Games held each season are the winter and summer X Games, both held in the United States. The winter X Games are currently held in Aspen, Colorado in January or February and the summer X Games are currently held in Los Angeles, California and are [usually] in August.
But that’s about to change.
Last week, X Games officials announced that Austin will play host to the summer X Games for the next four years, starting in 2014. Oh, and due to the sweltering heat in August, the summer X Games will occur in May in Austin, rather than in August. Summer X Games feature events such as Motorcross freestyle, Street League Skateboarding, BMX Freestyle, and Mountain Bike Slopestyle. Many of these events will take place at the Circuit of The Americas complex (home to Austin’s Formula 1 racetrack) in South Austin.
That’s all well and good, but what does that mean for us Austinites?
1. Economic Growth: South by Southwest, Formula 1, Austin City Limits Music Festival, and many other music festivals all generate millions of dollars for Austin’s economy. The X Games is expected to follow suit. Though the Circuit of The Americas and the Austin Chamber of Commerce have not yet estimated exactly how much money the X Games will generate for Austin’s economy, the X Games have reportedly brought over $50 million each year to Los Angeles’s economy. So that’s pretty cool.
Takeaway: if you work in a store on commission, make sure you’re working during the X Games.
2. International Prestige: Austin is already known as the live music capital of the world. And a go-to place for Formula 1. And now home to extreme sports.
Takeaway: Next time you’re traveling, don’t be surprised if people know Austin not for its music, but for its BMX.
3. More People: I know, I know. Austin’s already overcrowded as it is. The X Games alone are expected to bring in over 100,000 visitors to Austin. Not only does that mean more traffic, but that also means higher property values. But it’s not all bad – more tourists also means more jobs, more infrastructure, better shops, and better restaurants.
Takeaway: buy your house now
4. More alternative sports: Since the X Games are all about the alternative sports, it shouldn’t surprise anybody that these will become more popular in Austin. The skate and BMX scenes in Austin are currently fairly small and they’re very close-knit. One can expect that these groups will begin to grow in popularity and also attract people outside of Austin (aka more people might move here for the alternative sports scene).
Takeaway: learn how to skate…? Or at least know how to differentiate between a skateboard and a BMX bike (shouldn’t be too hard).
5. Local Sports Might Enter the X Games: if you live in Austin, then you probably know that wakeboarding is prettyyyy big here. Though nothing is certain yet, X Games officials appear open to discussing the possibility of including certain local sports (and making use of all of our lakes). But, again, nothing is certain yet.
Takeaway: don’t get your knickers in a twist about wakeboarding quite yet.
Are you excited for the X Games to come to Austin?
By
Bobby Epstein of the Circuit of the Americas | Sweet Lemon Magazine
[…] For the background story of what the X Games coming to Austin means for us Austinites, please visit my article - Austin: The X Games Are Coming. […]