SACRAMENTO, Calif. –

Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the X Games, a series of extreme sports competitions, officials announced Thursday that the Summer Games will be held in Sacramento for the next three years.

Joining X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom at Thursday’s press conference were newly sworn-in Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty, Cal Expo CEO and General Manager Tom Martinez, Visit Sacramento CEO and President Mike Testa, and Steven Dooner, CEO from California Dreamin’ Entertainment, and former X-Games competitors.

“We couldn’t be more excited to bring the X Games back to California, where it all began,” Bloom said of the first X Games competition dedicated to winter sports at Big Bear Lake in 1997.

The Summer Games include competitions in skateboarding, motocross and BMX. With 2025 marking the 30th anniversary of the first-ever Games, held in Rhode Island in 1995, officials promised to bring back “all the legends” to celebrate the milestone.

X Games also expects more than 100 top action sports athletes to compete for more than $1 million in prize money, and also promises a “full schedule of amazing musical performances.”

“This is a big deal,” McCarty said. “Sacramento is a city where we want to have fun and excitement – ​​with sports, art and culture. And what could be better than the X Games?”

McCarty talked about growing up as a skateboarder and referenced a skateboarding competition between Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero near what was then known as Tower Records.

Hawk once posted on his Instagram about a 1988 Capitol Burnout event in Sacramento that included other skateboarders, including Caballero.

“So I watched the X Games before the X Games,” McCarty said.

California Dreamin’ Entertainment will partner with X Games to host the three-day sports and music festival at Cal Expo from August 22-24. According to the X Games website, this will also include “the redesign of the former Raging Waters website.”

Martinez said he plans to use the entire 768-acre property to accommodate the space needed for the competitions and musical performances.

“Together we want to bring international athletes, great entertainment and great competitions to the state capital,” said Martinez.

Dooner, who runs California Dreamin’, said no permanent facilities will be built this year, but they plan to build some in the coming years.

Dooner has previously touted a water park he wanted to develop as a replacement for Raging Waters, although he said in May it would not open in 2024.

Dooner said plans for the water park are still in the works.

“We will begin demolition after the first of the year and build an entirely new water park at Cal Expo,” he said, adding that reconstruction will continue during the Games. The planned opening date for Raging Waters is 2027.

The most recent summer X-Games were also held in California at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Southern California, but previous games have taken place around the world.

When asked about the economic impact, Testa, who heads the city’s tourism office, estimated it could bring in “over $7 million.”

The games are held twice a year, with the summer competitions being separate from the winter competitions.

Many famous athletes have competed in the X Games, including Tony Hawk, Shaun White, Nyjah Huston of Davis and Chloe Kim of Southern California. Bloom himself is a two-time Olympic ski champion and a former NFL player with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Ticket information is not yet available as of December 12, 2024.

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