California Dreamin’ Presents, an official licensing partner of X Games, has announced the addition of Brad Florian and Valerie Ryan to its executive leadership team.

Florian and Ryan have a combined 33 years of experience at X Games. Florian, former head of X Games global business operations at ESPN, will serve as chief operating officer of CDP and managing director of X Games Sacramento. Ryan, former vice president of fan experience for X Games, has been named chief marketing officer of CDP and executive director of X Games Sacramento.

“We’re thrilled to have Brad and Valerie leading the charge as we innovate and elevate the X Games experience here in Sacramento,” said Steve Dooner, chief executive officer of California Dreamin’ Entertainment. “As we celebrate 30 years of X Games, their deep knowledge of X Games culture and passion for action sports align perfectly with our mission at CDP — to push the boundaries of what’s possible.”

The executive duo will lead the strategy behind the company’s action sports portfolio, which kicks off with the X Games Sacramento in August 2025. Florian and Ryan will also introduce a variety of concepts designed to engage year-round fan engagement opportunities at Sacramento’s Cal Expo.

“Our goal at CDP is to chart new territory, redefine fan engagement and create high-energy, culturally resonant experiences,” said Ryan. “X Games Sacramento is just the beginning — we’re focused on shaping the future of action sports and expanding CDP’s impact well beyond 2025.”

X Games Sacramento 2025 marks the 30-year anniversary of the X Games brand and celebrates the 25-year return of the event to Northern California, where it last took place on San Francisco’s Pier 30 and Pier 32 in 2000.

From August 22–24 at Cal Expo, the event will feature skateboarding, BMX and motocross, along with some old and new medaled events and will pay tribute to the X Games’ legacy.

Jackalope, a Montreal-based skateboarding and action sports events company, has announced it will take its Jackalope Block Party to Newcastle, New South Wales in Australia, in November.

Being held outside North America for the first time, the festival at South Newcastle Skate Park will feature athletes competing for prizes, skateboarding demonstrations and more. The Jackalope Block Party is one of 11 initiatives to share in the latest round of City Centre and Darby Street SBR funding, with almost $900,000 to be used for the promotion, beautification and development of the business precincts.

“We’re thrilled to bring our first international event to Newcastle, a community that embodies creativity and passion,” said Micah Desforges, founder and chief executive officer of Tribu Expérientiel. “This is more than just a competition — it’s a chance for local talent to stand out and win a coveted spot at the Jackalope festival in Virginia Beach, USA. We couldn’t think of a better place to launch this exciting new chapter of our journey beyond the USA and Canada.”

The Jackalope Block Party is one of 11 initiatives Newcastle will fund as it tries to increase tourism in the area.

“We’re also thrilled to be hosting the Jackalope Block Party at South Newcastle, which will bring international attention to this vibrant coastal facility,” said Jenny Barrie, chair of the Newcastle community and culture strategic advisory committee. “If it proves successful, we’ll look to secure the tremendous four-day version of the festival, which would include more sports such as bouldering, BMX and surfing.”

This is the first time Jackalope will hold an event in Australia, with 10,000 people expected to travel to South Newcastle during the two-day festival.

“Our block parties are run for the community, designed to find raw talent and give away Golden Tickets to the international arm of the Jackalope Festival,” said Sally Hill, festival organizer from Canvas Events. “This is the first time Jackalope will hold an event in Australia and we’re expecting up to 10,000 people to flock to the South Newcastle Beach Skate Park during the two-day festival.”

SALT LAKE CITY — The 30th anniversary summer of the X Games has expanded to a third event as the action sports festival will be in Salt Lake City at the Utah State Fairpark and Event Center.

X Games Salt Lake City will be held from June 27–29, the second of three X Games events this summer along with Osaka, Japan (June 20–22) and Sacramento (August 22–24).

“This is an iconic sports town,” said Jeremy Bloom, a two-time Olympic freestyle skier and former football player at the University of Colorado, who was named the chief executive officer in December. He said there were 35 worldwide bids for the event before settling on Salt Lake because of the government support on various levels as well as a partnership with Visit Salt Lake.

“They’ve done almost everything here starting with the Olympics in 2002 and the fans here are second to none, they show up and they love live sports and they love action sports,” said Bloom, who competed in the 2002 Winter Games.

X Games Salt Lake City will host more than 100 action sports athletes with three days of Moto X, BMX, and skateboarding competitions. Athletes will compete for over $1 million in prize money. Ryan Sheckler, a skateboard street legend with multiple X Games medals including a gold in 2003 at age 13, announced Thursday that he plans to compete this summer for the first time in five years.

“It’s really cool because it’s like everyone’s really outdoors people,” said skateboarder Keegan Palmer, a two-time X Games gold medalist who also has gold medals from the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Summer Games. “I have a bunch of friends that live here for snowboarding up in the mountains and then to skate this park again will be fun,” having done so five years ago at a different event in town.

Bloom during Thursday’s event teased the 30th anniversary will bring some big names back as well without giving away too much. Palmer’s hope for skateboarding: “it would be cool to go against Shaun (White) and Tony (Hawk).”

Hannah Roberts, a BMX freestyle gold medalist from 2024 X Games and silver medalist at the 2020 Olympic Summer Games, will have an added advantage; she said Thursday that she will soon be moving to Salt Lake as her home base.

“I’m actually really stoked on it,” Roberts said. “I get to go home, I get to sleep in my bed every night, get to cuddle with my dogs and then I get to drive a couple minutes and then I’m where I’m going to compete, so that’s super cool to me.”

Bloom said being at a new location for the X Games means making sure the venue map is set up for the fan experience in going from one event to another efficiently. The ticketing process has not been announced yet but that will also be a focal point, he added, predicting the three-day event will get over 100,000 fans.

Bloom is leading the event organizer as it transitions into a new team format beginning in 2026, in addition to individual awards and the team format including an athlete draft.

“We hope this is just a jumping off point for Salt Lake and a partnership here for many years to come, especially as we launch our league and we create new teams and we introduce new sports,” Bloom said. “We’re looking at sport expansion right now for X Games and then bring back some sports that used to be part of X Games with some sports that have never been part of X Games. We’re going to experiment quite a bit with that in 2026 and 2027 and we hope to be here at the State Fairpark doing that as well.”

USA Ultimate’s national championships will remain in San Diego as part of a three-year contract that will see the tournament remain in the destination through 2026 and marks the return of the most prestigious ultimate tournament in North America to Surf Cup Sports Park in Del Mar.

San Diego first hosted the National Championships in 2018 against the backdrop of the sport’s 50th anniversary celebration and the past four editions since then.

“We are excited to have Nationals back for the next three years after five successful years of the event at Surf Cup Sports Park,” said Mark Neville, chief executive officer of Sports San Diego.  “We recognize the positive impact that events like Nationals can have on our local economy, tourism industry and community spirit.”

The National Championships also serve as the third leg of USA Ultimate’s Triple Crown along with the U.S. Open from August 2–4 in Aurora, Colorado, and the Pro Championships from August 31 through September 2 in Rock Hll, South Carolina.

The national championships represent the culmination of the club season and crowns champions in three divisions – men’s, mixed and women’s. Each year, more than 600 club teams compete in the regular season before playing in a postseason championship series of sectional and regional qualifiers. Forty-eight teams qualify for nationals.

2024 Triple Crown Tour

July 13-14: Pro-Elite Challenge East, Publix Virginia Soccer Training Center, Fredricksburg, Virginia
July 13-14: Pro-Elite Challenge West, Crystal Lake Sports Fields, Corvallis, Oregon
July 27-28: Select Flight Invite East, Pacesetter Park, Toledo, Ohio
July 27-28: Select Flight Invite West, Skagit River Sports Complex, Burlington, Washington
August 2-4: U.S. Open Club Championships, Aurora Sports Park, Aurora, Colorado
August 17-18: Elite-Select Challenge, Grand Park Sports Campus, Indianapolis
August 31-September 2: Pro Championships, Manchester Meadows Park, Rock Hill, South Carolina
October 24-27: National Championships, Surf Cup Sports Park, San Diego

The Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau will be hosting Jackalope Fest, an action sports festival made famous in Montreal, from June 2–4, 2023.

The main venue for all competitions will be on the beach at Neptune’s Park at 31st Street. Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk will offer a demonstration on June 3, with several stars competing in a street skateboarding contest over the weekend. Competitors include Mitchie Brusko, Collin Graham, Reese Nelson, Tom Schaar, Elliot Sloan and Bucky Lasek.

“We’re thrilled about Jackalope making its U.S. debut in Virginia Beach and look forward to all the excitement it brings along with it,” said Nancy Helman, director of the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Our city not only has the best weather this time of year but has an amazing collection of hotels, restaurants and activities for visitors coming to be a part of the action.”

Jackalope kicks off March 24 in Venice Beach, California, as skateboarder Chad Caruso begins a cross-country skateboard ride bound for Virginia Beach. Caruso will be skateboarding 3,000 miles to raise money for addiction awareness among youth.

“Jackalope is the largest event of its kind in Canada. By bringing our concept to Virginia Beach, we become the only event of its kind to operate on both sides of the border,” said Micah Desforges, founder and president of TRIBU, which produces Jackalope. “We now offer action sports communities the opportunity to grow, meet in different settings, and have brand new experiences.”

This is the first time Jackalope festival will be held in the United States. It is free to the public and includes competitions and demonstrations by skateboarders and boulderers, plus BASE jumpers leaping from atop the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront hotel. Spectators also can check out additional skimboard, freestyle motocross and beach volleyball competitions featuring hundreds of athletes of all ages.

SX Global has announced six events for the 2023 FIM World Supercross Championship.

The 2023 schedule will expand the championship’s global footprint with FIM-sanctioned Championship rounds in France, Germany and Canada, while also returning to Australia and the United Kingdom. The championship will also expand into Southeast Asia.

“It’s incredibly gratifying to see our vision for a truly global supercross championship steadily coming to fruition,” said SX Global Chief Executive Officer Adam Bailey. “Our goals, while ambitious, are clear to elevate supercross to a global audience through a truly international calendar of events, visit diverse destinations that have well-established and passionate fan bases and visit new regions where supercross can grow and flourish.”

WSX will bring supercross action back to the UK at Villa Park, Birmingham, for the opening round on July 1. The Championship will then cross the channel to France for round two on July 22 at Groupama Stadium in Lyon-Décines. The series will make its way into South-East Asia on September 30, before heading to Dusseldorf, Germany, on October 14 at Merkur Spiel Arena. On October 28, WSX will be in Canada at BC Place in Vancouver and the series finale will take place in Melbourne, Australia, at Marvel Stadium on November 24–25.

“Our pilot season was designed to test what is possible and prove that the sport of supercross has strong demand from fans in previously underserved countries across the world,” said Bailey. “The incredible fan response and attendance for events in Cardiff and Melbourne reinforced that our instincts were indeed correct and we are now powered by strong momentum and interest from cities, promoters, broadcasters, and sponsors all wanting to be part of the new global championship. We are excited to continue to showcase this incredible sport to fans across the globe.”

The two WSX pilot events in 2022 saw more than 85,000 fans in attendance in Cardiff, Wales, and Melbourne, Australia.

The 22nd annual Xterra USA Championship off-road triathlon will return to Beaver Creek Resort in conjunction with a community festival at Harry A. Nottingham Park in Avon, Colorado, on August 25–27, 2023.

Xterra will host full-distance, sprint, relay and beginner-friendly off-road triathlons along with trail runs and demo events. Other activities include kids races, yard games, exhibitors, food trucks, beer gardens and live music at the Harry A. Nottingham Park and Performance Pavilion.

“It’s an amazing venue, for both its natural beauty and world-class facilities and the support we receive from the community is incredible,” said Steve Andrus, Xterra U.S. tour manager. “We’re looking forward to building on the partnerships we established last year, and excited about our new date in August which provides us with more opportunities to engage with local partners and deliver a truly exceptional experience for participants.”

The main event will award $25,000 in prize money to professionals, plus Xterra USA Championship crowns to age group division winners, along with 51 qualifying spots into the 2023 Xterra World Championship to be held in Trentino, Italy.

While this will be Xterra’s 14th year of racing at Beaver Creek Resort, it is the second time Xterra has hosted its national championship in Colorado, following 12 seasons at Snowbasin Resort in Utah (2009–2021) and eight years in Incline Village, Nevada (2001–2008). The 2022 Xterra USA Championship also took place in Avon on July 15–16.

The challenge starts with a one-mile swim in Nottingham Lake, which sits at an elevation of 7,400 feet, followed with a 16-mile mountain bike trek, and finished with a six-mile trail run through the aspens and into the village square.

The weekend of events is supported by partners from the town of Avon, Beaver Creek Resort, US Forest Service, The Cycle Effect, and Walking Mountains Science Center.

“We enjoyed collaborating with Xterra and their use of Nottingham Lake and Park, and the Performance Pavilion really showcased Avon,” said Danita Dempsey, the culture, arts and special event manager for the town of Avon. “We are thrilled to have them back.”

Nitro Circus is gearing up for its biggest event of the year — the Nitro World Games in Brisbane, Australia. The list of competitors has been revealed with more than 70 participants from five continents battling in Freestyle Motocross, FMX Best Trick, BMX Best Trick, BMX Triple Hit, Skate Vert and Scooter Best Trick.

The high-octane event is coming to Australia for the first time on October 22–23. Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium will host the two-day event.

“At last, Nitro World Games is back and primed to take the big air of action sports to another level,” said Travis Pastrana, action sports legend and co-creator of Nitro World Games. “After a two-year hold, I know that athletes can’t wait to debut the insane tricks that they will need in order to have a shot at the podium. It’s going to be a wild ride at Suncorp Stadium.”

Top contenders to hoist Nitro World Games championship hardware include Sunshine Coast’s own Ryan “R-Willy” Williams, a dual threat in both BMX Best Trick and Scooter Best Trick. Gold Coast Olympian Logan Martin is widely regarded as one of the most dominant Park riders today and is looking for his first Nitro World Games Triple Hit victory.

On the moto side, Jackson “Jacko” Strong is a favorite to add FMX and FMX Best Trick titles to his résumé. Donnybrook’s Josh Sheehan will square off against Strong in FMX Best Trick and FMX, while American veteran Adam Jones will look to better him in FMX.

In Skate Vert, Japan’s Moto Shibata — the 2018 champion — will face a formidable field including U.S. competitors Mitchie Brusco and Clay Kreiner and more.

“We are very excited to bring the biggest action sports event in the world to Brisbane, a marquee host city for premier sport,” said Joe Carr, chief executive officer of Thrill One Sports & Entertainment, Nitro World Games’ parent company. “To have this opportunity is possible thanks to the great support of our partners Tourism Events Queensland and the Brisbane Economic Development Agency, who have shown their vision and commitment every step of the way.”

Nitro Circus is producing the Nitro World Games in partnership with the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland alongside Brisbane City Council’s Brisbane Economic Development Agency.

Together, this collaboration will also stage a full calendar of exhibitions in the run-up to the Nitro World Games championship weekend, both in Brisbane as well as across Queensland and in Sydney. These will include athlete clinics, autograph signings, school visits and more.

“Securing the Nitro World Games for Brisbane this October is a massive win for fans and the city’s economy,” said Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner. “With tens of thousands of spectators anticipated over two days, and 70 competitors from five continents coming to Brisbane to compete, our local hotels, restaurants and retailers are set to benefit from a $20 million economic injection.”

Sports play a vital economic role for destinations looking to attracting visitors. They also, in their finest moments, provide inspiring examples of humanity at its best.

Over the weekend of July 29–30 in Ames and Des Moines, Iowa, two events — one amateur, one professional — spoke to each of those aspects. They also served as a reminder of the importance that sports play to help cities craft an identity, to inspire people of all ages to stay active, and to encourage others to explore new parts of the world they’ve never experienced.

That was the case for me on what was my first visit to both destinations despite years of traveling for sports events. The events that eventually brought me to the Hawkeye State were the State Games of America, a massive amateur and youth event held across 30 venues mostly in Ames, and the Dew Tour, a world-class skateboarding competition at what is now the largest skatepark in the country in Des Moines.

And in the end, witnessing an incredible act of sportsmanship was the perfect capper on the best attributes that the sports-events industry have to offer.

‘Big in a Number of Ways’

I was familiar with the State Games movement from our long partnership with the National Congress of State Games, which has organized its annual symposium in conjunction with our TEAMS Conference since 2016. The State Games of America, held mostly in Ames with some events including swimming and figure skating held in downtown Des Moines, were initially planned for 2021 but were pushed back a year because of COVID-19.

This was my first experience seeing the event, in which the Iowa Games — one of the leaders in the State Games movement — took a lead role in organizing competition for visitors from 46 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and even Canada.

The State Games of America are held biannually and are open to those who medal at their individual state games. But all participants from local states can automatically qualify, making the Iowa contingent the largest in the competition. Still, the amount of out-of-state visitation could literally be marked on the map, where participants were able to pin their hometowns for all to see at the athlete registration area inside Jack Trice Stadium on the campus of Iowa State University.

Here’s a quick look at the State Games of America by the numbers: 17,000 athletes, coaches and family members participated; 2,000 athletes came from 142 teams in soccer alone, mostly at the youth level; 600 athletes competed in track, including the oldest in the competition — an 88-year-old from Iowa — and the youngest, a boy and girl at just 4 years old. While traditional sports like soccer and track were on the schedule, so were considerably nontraditional sports like light saber and professional yoga, which allowed the Games to offer something for everyone.

The event was a coup for Ames from a destination marketing perspective, said Kevin Bourke, the president and CEO of the recently rebranded Discover Ames, whom I caught up with before the Opening Ceremony.

“It’s big in a number of ways,” Bourke said of the event. “Obviously, we want to put heads in beds, we want to bring in visitors. The thing about the State Games of America compared to the Iowa Games, is it’s not bringing in just Iowans. It’s bringing in out-of-staters. It is just so exciting to see them come here. We’re all about economic development. We’re also about trying to get people to move here ultimately. Are they? Who knows? The majority of them no. But we want them to leave with a good impression.”

The Cauldron is Lit

To that end, organizers staged a memorable Opening Ceremony at Hilton Coliseum on the campus of Iowa State with the feel of the Olympic Games, or at least as close to that experience as most competitors will ever get. It was a terrific event that featured a parade of states similar to the Olympic Games (as host state, Iowa got to march in last…), a cauldron lighting and fun and quirky facts of each state as they entered the arena. (Did you know the first traffic light in the United States was installed in Ohio? Now you know…)

The ceremony featured a keynote from Matt Stutzman, who won the World Para Archery Championships in February. Stutzman, whose hometown is Fairfield, Iowa, was born without arms and competes with his legs. His message of adapting to his circumstances and succeeding hit the perfect tone for the proceedings.

Similar to the Olympic Games, athletes, coaches and parents took an oath, pledging to compete fairly and encourage good sportsmanship. It seemed a quaint exercise but also a reminder that sometimes at the amateur and youth level, those involved need a refresher to play fair and be nice. It also seemed in line with the message of the State Games movement itself, which annually allows hundreds of thousands of everyday people the opportunity to compete in the sports they love with the best intentions.

“Kids are specializing younger and younger and the State Games movement has always been about grassroots level competition,” said Bourke, who spent over 20 years at the Iowa Games as chief operating officer before joining Discover Ames in 2019. “The first time my daughter ever competed in a golf tournament was an Iowa Games event. She was scared and she was nervous. For her to go do a Junior PGA event, she wouldn’t have done it. But the Iowa Games was less intimidating, it was more grassroots. Bringing in the State Games of America, it’s a higher level because we’re bringing in out-of-staters. But we’re raising awareness of what the Iowa Games stands for as well. Anybody can compete.”

Dew Tour Youth Movement

While anybody can compete in the State Games, professional skateboarding is another thing entirely. And on the other end of the sports spectrum over the same weekend was the Dew Tour at the sparkling new Lauridsen Skatepark in downtown Des Moines.

The Dew Tour may have been a professional event, but it could count as a youth sports event as well. That’s because the event’s final night of competition saw victories in women’s street by 14-year-old Momiji Nishiya from Japan (who at 13 won Olympic gold last year in Tokyo) and in men’s park by 15-year-old Gavin Bottger, an American and the youngest competitor in the discipline.

That the event was even in Des Moines is an incredible story of how investment in sports infrastructure can mean investment in destination marketing. After a 10-year effort, the Lauridsen Skatepark along the banks of the Des Moines River in downtown opened just last year. Its first event was last year’s Dew Tour, which also served as an Olympic qualifier for athletes headed to Tokyo, where skateboarding saw its Olympics debit.

The tour returned again this year after years of being in Long Beach, California, which on the surface would seem the better cultural fit. But the skatepark in Des Moines has proved that skateboarding can be a cultural fit anywhere. And the crowds that lined the course for the free-admission event (the Dew Tour reported about 24,000 attendees) were a testament to that fact, especially during a busy summer season in Des Moines.

“I’m from a small town myself and to be able to have this in the Midwest is cool. I think it’s a good blueprint for other cities to look at and see how it’s shaped the community.”
—Skater Sean Malto

I caught up with Greg Edwards, longtime president and CEO of Catch Des Moines, on the final day of competition, which saw thousands of visitors line the grassy banks of the river and participate in a robust vendor marketplace. Edwards said the park and the Dew Tour have changed the conversation about the sport locally.

“It boosts a lot of community pride,” he said. “Even folks who are not into skateboarding, they talk about it. There’s a big buzz around the community, it’s on the news channels. It’s pretty cool.”

Sports events make up 40 percent of Catch Des Moines’ group business, Edwards said, and the skatepark is now adding to that effort.

“It’s very meaningful,” he said of the event. “The leadership of the community had the vision to build this to help the community, to help the kids in the community. And with what we do bringing in events, we saw the light come on right away, and said it’s an opportunity for us to attract some new events. Skateboarding is a niche market. Not everyone’s into it. But it’s been wonderful for us, wonderful for our community, wonderful for people around the world who have finally seen Des Moines and said, ‘Wow, we had no idea corn country was this cool.’”

Athletes Notice Investment

Skateboarders have noticed as well.

“It’s definitely a random place for the biggest skatepark to be,” said Sean Malto. “But it’s a beautiful skatepark right on the river and the city is great. I’m from a small town myself and to be able to have this in the Midwest is cool. I think it’s a good blueprint for other cities to look at and see how it’s shaped the community.”

Chris Colbourn, another professional skater, noted that it’s great to have the Olympics to shoot for in addition to events like the Dew Tour. But he was astute enough to recognize that the sport’s Olympics inclusion has another potential benefit for host cities.

“It’s just cool that the Olympics now accepts skateboarding,” he said. “It paves the way for towns like Des Moines to build giant skateparks. lt’s giving the cities more reason to fund giant skateparks like this one here.”

An Act of Sportsmanship

And skateboarding itself is a wonderful reminder of how great sports can be.

The Dew Tour athletes didn’t need to take an oath to commit to good sportsmanship, although I’m sure they would have if they were asked. It is in their DNA. These are professional athletes who give their equipment out to adoring fans without any effort, as I witnessed when Steven Breeding offered his helmet to a fan after the incredible adaptive park skateboard event. (Breeding does not have a right arm.)

Following the women’s street event, when the medalists came to accept their hardware, the 14-year-old Nishiya and third place finisher — Chloe Covell, from Australia, age 12 — began playing around with each other, mocking a martial arts competition to see who could touch whom first. It was the type of behavior that just as easily could have happened with the kids on the soccer field at the State Games in Ames, and served as a reminder that these professionals are not just kids at heart, they are just kids — albeit kids who are the best in the world at what they do.

And in the men’s park competition later that night, the final run was set to determine the champion, with Olympic gold medalist Keegan Palmer (age 19) executing what to a novice fan appeared to be enough to take first place. As he stood by a monitor to see if his score would be enough to beat an earlier spectacular run by Bottger, I had my camera lens focused on Palmer to get his reaction. I was so focused on taking a shot of his winning reaction that I was pleased when he raised a triumphant fist, flashed a smile and began celebrating when the score posted.

It wasn’t until a minute later that I realized Palmer hadn’t won. He finished third despite his amazing run. His reaction was genuine — genuine excitement that his friend Bottger had beat him with a better run and won the competition.

That’s sportsmanship at its very best. And it was a perfect way to cap a weekend in Iowa that reminded me of the power that sports can have not just on the cities and venues that host them, but on the people who participate and experience them as well.

Jason Gewirtz is vice president of the Northstar Meetings Group Sports Division and executive editor and publisher of SportsTravel.

(SportsTravel will be profiling destinations throughout the summer as visitors bureaus and sports commissions are operating events without nearly any restrictions for the first real time since the pandemic started. Sure, there’s been moments that feel like it, but this summer feels different. If your destination has a compelling story to share, send it along to Associate Editor Justin Shaw at jshaw@ntmllc.com).

There’s a lot happening in Des Moines, Iowa, these days. As the city emerges from the pandemic with the rest of the world, the schedule for the summer of 2022 is full of big events.

Large competitions like the Red Bull Soapbox Race, USA Gymnastics Championships and Ironman North American Championships kicked things off in June for the city of about 215,000.

Greg Edwards, president and chief executive officer at Catch Des Moines, took some time to share his insights into the events that have already occurred, and the large gatherings to come this summer.

He estimates the Red Bull Soapbox Race drew 25,000 people to the area, while the gymnastics and Ironman competitions brought in several thousand athletes and fans.

“Des Moines has gone through a Renaissance period in the last 20 years — it used to be a sleepy Midwestern town, but the civic leaders and elected officials have really built this whole community up,” Edwards said. “We’re one of the insurance capitals in the United States — we have 63 insurance companies that are headquartered here and we’re a big financial base.

“A lot of young people have come back to Des Moines after finishing college and there are a lot of great jobs here, whether they be in tech, financial or insurance. A lot of the young people live downtown and that’s created a new vibe in that area. There are probably 50 restaurants downtown and most of them are locally owned.”

Des Moines has also grown into a big sports city. It is home to the Iowa Cubs, Triple-A baseball affiliate of the Chicago Cubs; the Iowa Wild, an AHL hockey team in the Minnesota Wild organization; and the Iowa Wolves, the G League affiliate for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Pro soccer is coming to Des Moines in 2025, and plans are underway to build a stadium downtown.

IndyCar Returns to Iowa in a Big Way

IndyCar has built a strong history in Iowa since it debuted in 2007. After 14 consecutive years at Iowa Speedway each summer, 2021 saw the Hawkeye State left off the schedule.

The series returns to Iowa Speedway — a 30-minute drive from Des Moines — July 23-24 thanks to funding from title sponsor Hy-Vee, a grocery mega-chain in the Midwest.

“IndyCar is a great event that draws around 30,000 fans both days, and a lot of the fans and race teams stay in Des Moines,” Edwards said. “Hy-Vee really were the ones behind this, and they wanted to bring another IndyCar race back here. Iowa Speedway is called ‘the fastest short track in America,’ so there’s a lot of action on the track and it’s just a great venue.”

Edwards points out that Hy-Vee sweetened the pot by doing a concert series in 2022 that features some of the biggest names in music. During the two race days — which will have an estimated economic impact of $10.8 million — fans will be able to see Tim McGraw, Florida-Georgia Line, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton.

“Hy-Vee got a lot of their partners involved and contributed a lot of sponsorship dollars to bring those concerts here. It’s going to be pretty exciting for the fans,” Edwards added.

Dew Tour Returns to Nation’s Largest Skatepark

Most people probably wouldn’t guess that the largest skatepark in America is in Des Moines, but the Lauridsen Skatepark boasts that distinction.

The 88,000-square foot facility opened in 2021, and last summer played host to the Dew Tour for the first time.

This year, with COVID restrictions lifted, the crowds are expected to be large July 29-30 for an event that had been held in California until recently. The estimated economic impact for the event is $6.8 million.

“We anticipate the best skateboarders from around the globe will be here because the Dew Tour is the crown jewel of skateboarding events,” Edwards said. “We want to make Des Moines the skateboard capital of at least the Midwest, if not the country. We’re reaching out to some other organizations that sanction skateboarding events to get them out here as well.”

Lauridsen Skatepark is located along the Des Moines River, which runs through downtown and is accessible to hotels and restaurants and all the downtown activity.

“There are a lot of local events that occur at the skatepark as well,” Edwards said. “There’s a local group called Skate DSM that puts a lot of youth programs together. You can drive by that skatepark at 7 a.m. or 10 p.m. and it’s practically filled with younger people. It’s been a huge, huge plus for our city.”

State Games of America Make Inaugural Trip

For the first time, Iowa will host the State Games of America July 27-31 in a joint venture between Des Moines and Ames.

There are expected to be more than 15,000 athletes coming into central Iowa that week, competing in more than 40 sports across the two cities and bringing an estimated economic impact of $3.1 million.

“Ames is the home of Iowa State University and is just a short 30 minutes north of Des Moines, so fans can easily get back and forth between the two venues,” Edwards said. “Iowa State has been very generous in partnering with us and loaning out a lot of their track and field and indoor athletic venues.”

Des Moines will host 400 figure skaters at a new complex called the MidAmerican Energy RecPlex. It also will host the baseball and swimming portions of the games.

“Both cities will benefit from hosting events with that amount of people coming and staying in the hotels and eating at the restaurants,” Edwards said. “And overall, the people of Iowa win.”