Providence Journal

AI-assisted summary The first X Games, originally called the Extreme Games, debuted in Rhode Island in 1995 and featured unconventional sports such as street luge and skysurfing.

ESPN created the X Games to attract a younger audience interested in alternative sports, and the event quickly became an annual spectacle.

Rhode Island was chosen as the inaugural location due to its summer tourism appeal and suitable venues.

The Extreme Games — now called the X Games — made their debut in 1995, and this revolutionary brand of alternative sports enjoyed a two-year stand in Rhode Island before taking on the world.

These were a long way from the standard sports that dominated the American mainstream for most of the 20th century. Street luge, skysurfing and bungee jumping might as well have originated on a different planet compared to baseball, basketball and football.

But their “extreme” nature certainly caught the attention of both spectators here in Rhode Island, and of ESPN viewers.

“One thing that interests people about the games is that they’re dangerous. … The sports are so radical and people can really get hurt. It’s similar to the Olympics but you don’t see people crashing and getting hurt in the Olympics. That’s the thing people want to see.

“Excitement and danger,” the father of one of the skaters told The Journal back in 1995.

How, and why, did the X Games start?

In the mid-1990s, the folks at ESPN realized they were missing a part of their target market, according to a Time magazine article. Author Kate Pickert explained: “There came a moment when a good chunk of young people were getting a little bored with football and baseball, while even more were on skateboards practicing their Ollies in mall parking lots across the country.”

The games were first held June 24 to July 1, 1995. Venues in Providence, Newport and Middletown hosted events that included skateboarding, bungee jumping and street luge.

ESPN budgeted a reported $10 million for the first event. The cable giant’s ESPN2 and ESPN International outlets were in their infancy and needed programming. According to X Games organizers, the first event drew 198,000 spectators and seven sponsors, including Nike, Mountain Dew, Chevy Trucks and Advil.

Advertising slots sold out and what was supposed to be a biannual event quickly mushroomed into annual summer, winter and international versions.

And ESPN’s ratings figures showed a 20% increase.

Why did ESPN choose Rhode Island for the inaugural X Games?

“Just the natural fit for the brand in Rhode Island, it really was a pretty spot-on choice,” Tim Reed, a vice president at ESPN, told The Journal a few years ago. “It’s the summertime. People are out. Newport is a great tourism town. A lot of people are coming through.”

Second Beach and Roger Williams Park are familiar summer destinations for state residents. The first games hoped to highlight the coastline and reconfigured downtown in the capital. Wheeled sleds fired down College Hill at upward of 70 mph and barefoot jumpers scaled waterskiing ramps in coastal waters.

What did it involve?

A giant rock-climbing wall had to be built (and stored at Quonset). Inline skaters flew down College Hill while bumping tunes blared from huge speakers. Bungee jumpers plunged toward the Waterplace Park basin — thanks to the Fox Point hurricane barrier, which kept it full of water. Visitors from all across the country came to see the wild action, which did indeed include athletes crashing and flipping over each other.

The undertaking required the efforts of 2,000 volunteers.

Anything of note happen at the RI X Games?

Tony Hawk won gold in Skateboard Vert (skateboarding and “getting air” on vertical surfaces such as half-pipes) and Mat Hoffman took gold in BMX Vert (same thing but on BMX bikes).

The economic impact of the X Games on RI

The 1995 games brought $14.2 million to the state, according to an economic impact study done by the University of Rhode Island. Unofficial estimates show roughly $5 million of that being spent in Newport County, where ESPN said approximately 50,000 people showed up during the games’ 10-day run.

How have the X Games changed in the last 30 years?

After the first two X Games, the popularity exploded, leading to a Winter X Games, musical performances, year-round content and fan experiences.

Events now take place in venues across the world. And organizers now offer what they say is a full content series across television, live event, digital and social media platforms.

The passage of time has seen athletes continue to push the envelope in their respective sports. The X Games were the place where Tony Hawk landed skateboarding’s first 900 and Travis Pastrana touched down on the first successful double backflip in freestyle motocross.

Are there X Games this summer?

Plans were announced for X Games to take place in Sacramento, California, this August, but in April, organizers said the event would be postponed and they would instead be focusing on the launch of a new “X Games League,” according to the Sacramento Bee newspaper.

This summer’s event was planned to be a celebration of the Games’ 30th anniversary and bring an estimated 100,000 patrons to Cal Expo, the Bee reported.

The new X Games League is an extreme sports competition with a team format that is planned to take place year-round at international locations.