The Summer X Games kicks off in Sacramento, California, after a multimillion-dollar, private equity-backed revamp that includes new team-based competition. Scroll for the schedule here.
The sporting event credited with popularizing action sports like skateboarding and BMX biking is shifting from stand-alone, individual competitions to a three-event season featuring mixed teams with five men and five women. Private equity firm MSP Sports Capital envisioned the new format after purchasing X Games from ESPN in 2022. Several of the teams, which represent cities like New York and São Paulo, are also owned by private equity firms. Investors see parallelsbetween the fragmented action sports market and the WNBA five years ago, which has seen a 345% surge in average franchise values since 2024.
The first X Games were held in Rhode Island in 1995, under the name Extreme Games. There, world-renowned skateboarder Tony Hawk completed a near-perfect run in the skateboard vert; watch here.
… and learn what’s fueling the growth of private equity firms here. (w/audio)
