Visit Sacramento’s Mike Testa jokes that the postcard-perfect
weather the weekend of June 26-28 for the MoonPay X Games at Cal
Expo was planned all along.

“Whatever you did to call the weather down from the anticipated
98 degrees to 82; thank you, Mike Testa,” Jeremy Bloom, the CEO
of the X Games, said at the press conference kicking off the
event’s first day on June 26. 

Olympic medalist Sky Brown with XC São Paulo takes to the sky
during the Women’s Skateboard Park finals during the X Games on
Friday, June 26.

Indeed, the weather cooperated in a big way with three straight
80-ish degree days as the Capital Region enjoyed its first X
Games experience, with possibly more to come. In partnership with
Visit Sacramento, nearly 100 of the world’s top action sport
athletes representing 17 countries, featuring some of the biggest
names in BMX, skateboarding and motocross, descended on the state
capital for the first stop of the international X Games League’s
first season.

Australian Olympic gold medalist Arisa Trew, 16, with XC Tokyo
took the Gold in the Women’s Skateboard Park finals on Friday,
June 26.

“This community will be center stage this weekend because of the
things that these incredible athletes are embarking on and going
to attempt to try to do,” Bloom said at the opening press
conference. “Sacramento now becomes the epicenter of action
sports, certainly for this weekend, but the conversation will
continue beyond that.”

With a backdrop of trees, XC New York’s Daniel Sandoval rides
during the Men’s BMX Park finals on Friday, June 26.

Originally planned for August 2025 but delayed as organizers
ironed out details of the new league concept, attendance at Cal
Expo was around 20,000 fans per day, producing another big boost
to the area’s economy, Testa noted. There were 18 events spread
out over five outdoor facilities built specifically for the
games, with two ramps painted to look like the Tower Bridge. All
three days featured live broadcasts on ESPN and ABC and were
expected to draw more than 15 million television viewers in 120
countries with 100 million more views coming through streaming
services like Roku (based on viewership for the Aspen X Games
last January).

Belgium’s Julien Vanstippen lifts off during the Moto X Best Whip
Finals on Friday, June 26.

Sounds of the varied events echoed across Cal Expo, from the roar
of motocross engines and the loud pop of bike tires blowing out.
The grounds outside the playing venues took on a State Fair feel,
with Cal Expo hosting an “X-Fest” festival village, which
included food vendors and interactive entertainment. At night at
Heart Health Park, concerts by electronic artists Kaskade on
Friday and Mustard and Subtronics on Saturday drew big crowds.

DJ, record producer and remixer Kaskade — real name Ryan Gary
Raddon — performs Friday night at Heart Health Park after the X
Games events.

“It was packed,” Testa said two days after it ended. “The weather
was perfect, and that was my fear going into this. The events
were exciting, and I think for the diehard X Games skateboard
people it was life changing, from what I heard. For the people
who weren’t as into that, I think it was a great experience. I
was there, and my 86-year-old-father was there, and he’s not a
skateboarder, but he was definitely entertained.”

Oakland’s Tobias Butler and Sasha Nochimow were along the railing
during the Women’s Skateboard Park Finals Friday, June 26, saying
they were staying in a hotel and going to all three days.

Testa said he heard the criticism that there wasn’t any seating
for spectators and that seeing some of the events could be
challenging because there was no official spectator seating and
being able to see the course from the standing crowd was
difficult.

“But overall, far more positive than the negative throughout the
weekend,” Testa says.

XC Los Angeles’ Tom Schaar earns a bronze medal during his Men’s
Vertical Best Trick Finals run on Saturday, June 27.

The new X Games League
will feature athletes competing for summer and winter city-based
clubs (modeled after Formula One racing) with both athletes and
teams leading up to the first-ever championship in New Orleans,
July 24-26. The summer league teams in Sacramento were XC Los
Angeles, XC New York, XC São Paulo and XC Tokyo. After
Sacramento, the show moved on to Chiba, Japan, July 4-5.

Davis’ Nyjah Huston, one of the best skateboarders in the world,
beams after his run on Saturday, June 27 in the Men’s Skateboard
Street Finals, earning him a silver medal.

Capital Region athletes also competed, including Davis’ Nyjah
Huston, one of the best skateboarders in the world, and BMX star
Brady Baker of Auburn.

Oakland’s Sasha Nochimow and Tobias Butler were along the railing
during the women’s skateboard park finals Friday night, saying
they were staying in a hotel and going to all three days.

Moto X Best Whip medalists with their hardware on Friday, June
26: gold, Julien Vanstippen; silver: Tom Parsons; and bronze:
Wyatt Fontanot.

“I grew up skating and I got her into it during the Tokyo
Olympics,” Butler says. “We don’t have a lot of skating events in
NorCal, so we’ve been waiting to go to something like this.”

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