Editorial: In Ventura, X Games mark the spot
There are several metrics that organizers of the Summer X Games and Ventura city and tourism officials have cited to proclaim last weekend’s event a robust success. Attendance was high, event merchandise sold out, and good transportation planning averted traffic gridlock on the roads leading to the Ventura County Fairgrounds. To all that, one intangible attribute should be added: to a worldwide audience watching on TV, the event just looked like a lot of fun.
What it looked like, thanks to some expert ESPN production, was a beach party that happened to also feature top-ranked skateboarders and cyclists performing their maneuvers and stunts. It evoked a vibe that suggested the essence of these extreme sports — a fearless, devil-may-care spirit combined with a feel-good, laid-back ethos.
What it all added up to be was a win for ESPN, a win for the private-equity firm that owns the X Games, and a win for Ventura tourism officials who reaped both the short-term gain of booked hotel rooms and bustling restaurants for the week and the long-term benefit of favorable television exposure that showcased Ventura as a beachside destination.
The question now is, should they all get back together and do it again next year?
It is difficult to make a good argument against it. While there may be good reasons for the event not to commit to a single venue permanently, a return engagement in Ventura in 2024 seems sensible.
It would give the promoters a chance to build upon what they now know to be a winning formula. It would appeal to the athletes, who surely enjoyed the opportunity to compete in a locale with an ideal climate at a time of year when much of the nation was enduring extreme heat. It would appeal to the TV producers, who didn’t have to fret about their live programming being delayed or canceled by summer thunderstorms.
A repeat performance would be consistent with the vision of Marlyss Auster, president and CEO of the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau, who first began pitching the idea to X Games officials back in 2019.
“One and done was never on my radar as the ultimate goal,” she told The Star. “I’m still keeping my focus on being able to continue this partnership in one way or another.”
One thing that should not change going forward is the city’s clear-headed approach to partnering with a sports entity. The too-familiar story of cities excessively subsidizing sports ventures did not play out with the 2023 X Games. The City Council agreed to spend up to $250,000 on police staffing, traffic mitigation and other basic services to accommodate the event — a modest amount that likely was more than recouped in in additional hotel bed taxes and sales taxes paid by visitors and participants.
That same sort of just-the-basics approach should guide any negotiations for a potential encore.
One thing that city officials might negotiate for if the event returns is the inclusion of a large thermometer (a digital display would do) that TV viewers could note from time to time. There were few places in the country last week that weren’t baking in heat.
As Rose Parade promoters in Pasadena learned long ago, when distant TV viewers enduring unpleasant weather see that there’s a more appealing place in California, it tends to pique their interest in visiting.
Even more so when the event they’re watching seems like a lot of fun.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Editorial: In Ventura, X Games mark the spot
