Where does Aspen fit into scheduled changes to Winter X games?

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Jeremy Bloom, about 40 days into his new concert as leader of the X Games, is at his desk. Behind him is his 2002 and 2006 Team USA Olympic Parkas from Winter Games in Salt Lake City and Turin.

The Loveland-raised Olympic Mogul skier, pro footballer, entrepreneur and philanthropist have taken the reins at the X Games as the 30-year-old action sports franchise launches a new chapter. In the middle of next year, the new X Games League contains sponsored teams with drafts, paid athletes.

“It’s a fun vision we are doing,” he says.

Winter X Games returns to Aspen’s flesh milk ski area for the 24th year of January 23, with a three-night competition with men and female skiers and snowboarders competing in Halfpipe, Slopestyle, Big Air, Knuckle Huck And street style competitions, all under the lights. The new owner of the X Games, MSP Sports Capital – which owns a Formula One racing team and four European football clubs – has sold out 5,000 tickets every night.

Next year’s 25th operation of Winter X Games in Aspen marks the end of ERA, with the event’s future in Aspen uncertain as the new owners map expansion plans with hosting bids from 35 of “the best cities in the world,” Bloom said.

Aspen X Games has evolved over the years. The festival with free of everyone once drew tens of thousands of meat milk with dozens of overlapping competitions to turn snowmobiles and motorcycles next to high -flying snowboarders and skiers. Now it’s a ticket event with big names concerts and competitions for Olympic caliber.

Next year, after Milan Cortino Winter -ol in Italy, the X Games League will be launched with four winter teams and four summer teams, each owned by a private company. These teams host an athlete draft at the end of this year, with each team’s five men and five women earning wages with paid trips and benefits marking a first pay model for action sports athletes. In addition to the 40 drafts of athletes, there will be 60 free-agent athletes competing in the league. When the model is proven and flowering, there will be 10 winter teams and 10 summer teams, Bloom said.

The league roams to eight locations each year and hosts four winter and four sums X matches in cities in Europe, Asia and North America.

The sun caught Bloom before X games landed in Aspen. The conversation was edited for concise and clarity.

Colorado Sun: Will we see signs of the new league model at Buttermilk this weekend? And next year is the last version of the traditional model of x games?

Bloom: Not yet. There will be some format changes. We want to create a more compelling final … We want to increase the anxiety a little, you know, so maybe not three chances of winning, maybe two. Some people may not notice that. And yes, next year will be the last cheers of the old model. But I would say, even in the league model we assign individual gold medals. So, as if you win the Superpipe, you still become an X Games master.

Sun: What do you hear from athletes? This is a unique option for them. Action Sports Athletes are basically struggling to make ends meet, except for a lucky few. Much of your Winter X superstars complain the cost of a five-night stay in Aspen.

Bloom: The large, vast majority of our athletes work two jobs and they knock on doors (looking for sponsors). I get that. I was in these shoes. I knocked on these doors. So that is a big goal and the goal for us to bring more commercial opportunities to them. This means more events because more events make more money. It means better media. You know, major media partners and distribution agreements. (X Games announced recently An appointment with roku To stream competitions for 90 million worldwide subscribers.)

I remember when I was drafted by the NFL (in 2006). I got the first paperwork and I like, “What will you pay me a salary? Let’s go! “It won’t be at the NFL level that you can imagine, but it’s something to strive for.

Sun: You know a little about it, right? You stayed across with NCAA as a CU buff as you would recruit sponsors to help you train for your Olympic skiing. As a person who fought for better support for college athletes, what do you think of new school athletes could use their name, image and equality?

Bloom: I’m just happy for the athletes. These men and women who have worked their entire lives to get these opportunities. And if someone wants to approve them because they can be translated, they need to have the right to do so. It’s just sponsorship, you know, as we call it at the Olympic or X Games level, they are sponsored. The more commercial partners that we can bring into the league, they will not only support the league, they support the athletes. And then we think it’s the tide that lifts all boats. We have these conversations with the big brands, not only the endemics, the big brands to bet on our league for the next five, 10 years.

Sun: You have chops on athletic and business page after working in both worlds. What do you bring to X games from these backgrounds when working with both the athletes and these new sponsors?

Bloom: I spent most of my business career – the last 13 years – which raised capital from venture capitalists who are used to, used to see 90% of their investments go to zero. What you learn as a start -founder is that you are only as good as your capital structure. This means that if you can’t make payroll next week, I don’t care how good your idea is. We want to build a very valuable league and it starts with a good capital structure and construction of growth. The sports side that comes naturally to me. I grew up in this world, I know the challenges. I know what athletes want and I know how we can work to get it. It is important for us as staff to never lose sight of the reason we are here: It is for the athletes. It’s our North Star.

Sun: Back to Aspen really fast. ESPN, the previous majority owner of X Games, has traded Winter X games around to various potential venues over the years, but they always returned to Aspen, where Aspen Skiing Co. pretty much hands over the keys to a whole ski area for a month or so. As in guys, new hosts have, where does Aspen fit into this new chapter for x games?

Bloom: I hope it fits in. I can tell you that there is work to do if it comes to fit. Look, change is tough. I get that. But there is a new model for X Games and we never go back to the old one. We have 35 real bids all over the world right now in winter and summer, much from the best cities in the world. They don’t just invite us to bring X games to their city. They pay for it. I mean big deals, not. So our new model is where we should not sign the whole cost of our event. We will find strategic partnerships. I really hope we can find an appointment with Aspen because I love it. There are no Winter X games without aspen. When people really understand our vision where we need, our capital providers, our new owners, the private equity structure, the new sponsors, the new league, our founder athletes … When people hear the whole story of where to go, to go, And understand and wrap your head around it, it’s not hard to sell this, and it’s not hard to find really good partners.

Sidenote: A Bloom spokesman a few days after this interview said “There’s a genuine interest in keeping Aspen in the family.” Aspen Skiing Co.’s John Rigney said the operator and x games soon “joins together to discuss a way forward to build on our 24 -year partnership.”

“We value initiatives that shine a brighter focus on snowports. As a society, we are trailblazers when it comes to events, ”Rigney said in an E -mail declaration with a nod to his company’s hosting of World Cups Ski and later this season, the Debut of Snowboarding -Elegen Shaun White’s Snow League. “We know what we bring to the table – it’s hard to imagine a richer cultural landscape than what Aspen has to offer. Celebrating athletic performance is a priority for us, built on the dedication, innovation and commitment of our team members, a group that is widely recognized around the world as best in class. “Now back to questions and questions.

Sun: What are “founder athletes?”

Bloom: After Aspen we will announce our eight founder athletes, all tied to equity. These are the biggest action sports athletes in the world.

Sun: When MSP Sports Capital acquired majority control of the X Games in December 2022, business leaders talked about improving accessibility, perhaps with X Games events in cities and center. Are some of these 35 bids from metro areas that could host something similar to what we saw in Beijing Winter Games, with Big Air Contest next to these industrial smoking stacks? Like could we have an X game in Denver Centrum?

Bloom: 100% Yes. But we will not be in a conference center. We will be outside. Part of our bidding process is looking for amazing backgrounds. Bali, for example, we want the Ubud forest in the background with amazing temples. It is part of our strategy. It won’t happen overnight because we have to find the right partners and cities that block the streets and all that. And for these host cities we do not make a year’s offer. As a minimum, they are three and in some cases they are 10 years. We will go really deeply into these communities. We will collaborate with schools and collaboration with cities to build skateboard parks and BMX trails and motocross courses. We want children to see our incredible athletes and then tell their parents, “I will do it.” And then they have a place to train and be the next generation of the X Games Champions. We see it as a responsibility on x games to make sure we spend our time, energy and resources to make sure it is not only inspiring but giving the next generation of athletes the places that can design their skills .

Sun: Then one last question. When can we expect to see moguls in X games?

Bloom: Keep an eye on. As you can imagine it is on my radar. You know by winter -ol in Italy we get to see Debut of Double Miller. These guys are so close together … There’s a lot we could play with. We clearly explore that, among other sports, sports to expand to. Imagine building a Mogul’s course and there are only two lanes, not four, so you are really close. And all of these athletes can do double rooms (twice inverted tricks), but doubles are prohibited by FIS (sanctioned events). But they can do doubles on x games.

Type of History: Questions and Answers

An interview to provide a relevant perspective, edited for clarity and not fully controlled.