ESPN will walk away from the Circuit of the Americas in Austin three years into its four-year contract to host the summer X Games, hoping to find a less competitive time of year for the action sports festival. The venue in '13 won X Games hosting rights from ‘14-’17, but this year will be its last, ESPN VP/X Games Tim Reed said. The network is eager to return the event to its traditional timing of mid-to-late July or early August, when it faces less competition from other, bigger sports properties. Since coming to Austin, the games have been held in early June to avoid the stifling central Texas heat of the summer. That has forced the X Games to compete for attention with the late rounds of the NBA and NHL playoffs, Memorial Day weekend auto races and other events. Reed noted early June is a "bustling sports landscape, and I think getting back to the traditional mid-to-late July window is going to be optimal for us from a scheduling perspective.” ESPN would be able to devote more programming and marketing attention to X Games later in the year, too. Reed said the decision was mutual. A spokesperson for COTA did not return a message seeking comment. Bidding is now open for hosting rights in '17-18. Reed said several areas have expressed an interest, including Ft. Lauderdale; K.C.; Minneapolis; Nassau County, New York; Portland and Seattle. The change should not be read as a “deep southern locales need not apply” edict, Reed said. Cities could potentially host X Games events in air conditioning, he said. In addition to possible cash contributions and value-in-kind offers, the bids will be evaluated on venue and facilities capabilities, a “brand fit” with a city and the demographics of a given market, Reed said. An RFP is open to any municipality or commercial entity that believes it can host. Tickets will go on sale for the final X Games Austin on Thursday. The event will run from June 2-5.
HOPED TO FIND A LONG-TERM HOME: When the deal was done with COTA in '13, ESPN Senior VP/Programming & X Games Scott Guglielmino said there was a good chance the event could find a long-term home in Austin. “The master plan is not to pick this event up every few years and move it to another city,” he said. While sponsor interest and TV ratings for action sports have declined in recent years, the X Games stop and its accompanying concerts remain popular in-person events, typically drawing more than 100,000 fans over an extended weekend. “There was strong interest before Austin, and there continues to be strong interest from sports commissions around the country in action sports,” said Issa Sawabini, a partner at Fuse, a marketing agency that focuses on millennials and action sports.
SUBSIDY CUT NOT AN ISSUE: The state of Texas last year announced it would cut COTA’s annual economic-development subsidy from $25M to $19.5M in '16, jeopardizing the track’s ability to host its annual F1 race. The Austin American-Statesman today reported that those cuts led to the X Games-COTA breakup. However, an ESPN spokesperson disputed that, saying the net’s reasons for leaving were entirely based on schedule. The newspaper reported X Games received $1.1M in state incentives in '14.
