Andy Macdonald considers himself lucky. And starting Thursday, action sports fans in Denver can, too.
Macdonald, a professional skateboarder, is among the all-star action sports cast rolling into the Pepsi Center from Thursday through Sunday for the second stop of the 2005 Dew Action Tour, a five-event circuit building on the success of the X Games to establish the first pro tour of action sports. He will be joined by top skaters such as Bucky Lasek, Shaun White and Ryan Sheckler, as well as freestyle BMX riders Dave Mirra and Ryan Nyquist and motocross acrobats including Travis Pastrana, Jeremy Stenberg and Kenny Bartram all vying for a slice of the $3.5 million total purse.
“When I started skating, I didn’t even think I’d be able to make money doing it,” Macdonald said. “It’s amazing to see the popularity of skateboarding in the past 10 years growing by leaps and bounds.”
And grow it has. According to a study performed by American Sports Data, skateboarding participation increased 66 percent between 1999 and 2002, becoming the second most-popular participation sport in the nation in 2003. Consequently, it’s also the No. 2 choice of spectator sports among teenagers, just behind the NFL, according to researchers at the University of Florida-Gainesville. In terms of growth, BMX and motocross are close behind.
So it only makes sense NBC Sports would pump a reported $40 million into establishing the new tour. NBC Sports is banking on the notion the biggest competitive purse in action sports, a million-dollar year-end bonus pool and the largest television broadcast commitment allotted to the genre would draw the biggest names in action sports, and crowds to match.
“It’s been a cultural phenomenon, the growth of these sports,” said Wade Martin, general manager of the Dew Tour. “With all the growth in participation and viewership and sponsorship and fan interest, the one thing that was sort of missing out there was the consistency and pro tour/league that’s found in any other professional sport. That’s what the Dew Action Sports Tour is here to do: to fill that void and have a consistent, cohesive tour for action sports.”
With $1 million going to the top performers over the course of five events, fans are sure to see the best show imaginable at every stop, beginning with Thursday’s skateboard park competition where Sheckler, 15, is in good position to claim his second victory of the season and increase his lead in the point standings.
BMX park competition takes center stage Friday, followed by freestyle motocross and BMX vert events Saturday. Sunday’s grand finale includes vert skateboarding, where pro snowboarder Shaun White won his first professional skating competition at the Dew Tour’s Louisville, Ky., stop last month.
Tickets for Denver’s Right Guard Open Dew Tour are available at the Pepsi Center box office for $12 a day or $35 for the four-day package, including interactive expos and concerts Friday and Saturday featuring Unwritten Law and Story of the Year. For more information, check the Web at www.dewactionsportstour.com.
Dew Action Sports Tour
What: Right Guard Open, the second stop of the five-event Dew Tour, featuring top professional skateboarders, BMX riders and freestyle motocross.
Who: Shaun White, Bucky Lasek, Ryan Sheckler, Dave Mirra, Ryan Nyquist, Travis Pastrana and Kenny Bartram headline a field of more than 100 action sports athletes.
When: Thursday-Sunday
Where: Pepsi Center
More: Interactive expo and park; concerts Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m.
Tickets: $12 a day or $35 for four-day package. Available at the Pepsi Center box office or through Ticketmaster.
Web: www.dewactionsportstour.com
SCHEDULE
Thursday
3-5 p.m.: Skateboard park prelims
5-7 p.m.: Freestyle motocross qualifying
7-8:30 p.m.: Skateboard park finals
Friday
3-5 p.m.: BMX park prelims
5:30-7:30 p.m.: Freestyle motocross prelims
6:30-7 p.m.: BMX women’s park demo
8-9 p.m.: BMX park finals
9-11 p.m.: Concert, Unwritten Law/Smile Empty Soul
Saturday
2-4 p.m.: Freestyle motocross finals
4:30-6:30 p.m.: BMX vert prelims
7:30-9 p.m.: BMX vert finals
9-11 p.m.: Concert, Story of the Year/Stutterfly
Sunday
1:30-4 p.m.: BMX dirt prelims
1:30-4 p.m.: Skateboard vert prelims
4:30-5:30 p.m.: Skateboard vert finals
6-7:30 p.m.: BMX dirt finals
Scott Willoughby can be reached at 303-820-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com.
