Inaugural Moto X Championships Opens To Little Fanfare
The two-day attendance total of 21,700 for last weekend's inaugural Navy Moto X World Championships at Qualcomm Stadium was "less than a single-day sellout that FMX events drew during last summer's X Games" at The Home Depot Center, according to Mirjam Swanson of the Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE. X Games GM Chris Stiepock said that ESPN chose to Qualcomm to host the event because the stadium "featured enough space to accommodate three freestyle motocross events, two motocross events and one event that blended both disciplines." ESPN also chose the venue because San Diego is a "proven motorsports haven." Swanson noted start times in the early afternoons, made to accommodate ESPN's live TV coverage, could have caused the light attendance. Stiepock: "We believe in live television, so we just have to find the right production window for both coasts." Rider Jeremy Stenberg said, "Next time, maybe they'll advertise. None of my friends in Southern California knew about it, and they follow everything motocross." Swanson noted fans have "more opportunities than ever to watch FMX live," as numerous events, including the X Games and Dew Tour, feature the discipline. Stiepock said that "these days he has to carefully coordinate with other event organizers to avoid conflicts that never used to arise" (Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE, 4/16).
REAP WHAT YOU SOW: In San Diego, Bill Center wrote, "What did they expect for attendance? The event was neither promoted nor advertised. Stage it on Saturday night with fireworks and stand back" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 4/17). None of ESPN and ESPN2's combined four two-hour telecasts of the event earned a San Diego-area local TV rating higher than 0.5 HH (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 4/18).
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