While the Los Angeles market is large enough to snag virtually any sporting event it wants, the area consistently scores big with action sports.
This year, L.A. will be home to the king of action sports events, ESPN's X Games. Los Angeles has the rights to hold both the 2003 edition, slated for Aug. 14-17, and the 2004 X Games.
The market also will be home to the inaugural LG Action Sports Championships Nov. 15-23. In fact, organizer ASA Events examined 12 venues in the Los Angeles market alone before selecting a host site.
Organizers of action sports events say the L.A. market has the ideal mix for such events, from adequate venues and promotional support, to a population that strongly supports such events.
"We need the host city to embrace the X Games, to believe in it, to have the vision to grow it and the wherewithal to stage an event of this magnitude," said Josh Krulewitz, director of media relations for ESPN. "The [host] market has to be a partner with us."
Specifically, Los Angeles offers the X Games world-class facilities, including the Staples Center — the event's primary venue — and the L.A. Coliseum.
Krulewitz said Southern California is "the centerpiece, the epicenter of the action sports world — for its athletes and businesses." He added, "Southern California embraces the action sports culture."
Staging the X Games in Los Angeles continues a trend of holding the event in large-market cities. Both San Francisco and Philadelphia — the host cities for the 1999/2000 and the 2001/2002 X Games, respectively — are top-five markets.
In recent years, the X Games have worked closely with the host city's ABC owned-and-operated station. That will be the case again this go-round; KABC in Los Angeles will provide significant promotional support for the event.
As for the LG Action Sports Championship, ASA Events selected Fairplex, a 487-acre complex in Los Angeles County that's home to the L.A. County Fair, as the site of the new event.
The search for a home for the event, which will feature competition in skateboarding, BMX, in-line skating and freestyle motocross, started about four months ago, said Rick Bratman, president of ASA Events, a leading action sports event organizer and operator based in Marina del Rey, Calif. ASA narrowed its search to four cities — L.A., Miami, Phoenix and Las Vegas — before deciding on Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is a key market for the event's title sponsor, LG Mobile Phones. The company, based in Seoul, South Korea, with a U.S. headquarters in San Diego, is part of consumer electronics giant LG Electronics.
Action sports events tend to cater to a younger crowd — teens and young adults. And Los Angeles is a city that passes the hip-factor test. But Bratman says it's a misconception that an action sports crowd is "just young teenagers." Such events draw lots of families. And Fairplex, he said, is "a place where families feel comfortable going."
The infield of Fairplex Park, a horse-racing track that has a 10,000-seat grandstand, will be home to the freestyle motocross competition. Fairplex features parking for 40,000 vehicles, the Sheraton Suites Fairplex Hotel and a recreational vehicle park.
Terms of the deal between ASA Events and Fairplex have not been disclosed. According to Bratman, the two parties will share in the revenue generated from ticket sales, concessions and parking. A marketing/promotional campaign, aimed primarily at Southern California, Northern California, Arizona and Las Vegas, is expected to kick off in mid-September.
As with the X Games, ASA Events wants to build long-term relationships with its markets and venues.
"We don't want to partner with someone who's just looking for a way to make a quick hit," Bratman said. "We don't want to simply be a guest tenant for a couple of weeks."
