Photo: XGames.com
Minneapolis will be the next locale for Summer X games. This according to a press release sent out by the Mother Ship (ESPN) today. The contract runs for the next two years and the city’s new U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown–the home of the Minnesota Vikings– will host the action sports summer showcase for the next two years.
The X Games was previously in Austin, where it had been since 2014. ESPN X Games Vice President Tim Reed told The Inertia in January that Winter X is in Aspen through 2019 with no immediate plans to move.
“We are thrilled to bring the X Games to Minneapolis next July,” said Reed, while emphasizing that it was a competitive selection process. “We believe that teaming up with Minneapolis will provide an extraordinary opportunity to grow the X Games in a new region of the country and in a city that’s quickly becoming recognized as a premier sports and entertainment destination.”
Minneapolis is certainly a city on the rise, one that features a thriving, home-grown music scene with impressive history that includes modern artists like Atmosphere, Brother Ali and Mason Jennings (Prince was from the city and Bob Dylan grew up in Duluth). So from a youth-culture perspective, the city makes sense. Plus urban Minneapolis has developed a thriving street skate and snowboard scene in recent years.
“We’re hip and we know it, but not everyone does,” said Minneapolis City Councilmen Jacob Frey. “The X Games bring nearly unparalleled media attention to highlight (that).
The event runs July 13 – 16, 2017 and July 19 – 22, 2018.
