{"id":296695,"date":"2026-07-15T16:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/296695\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T16:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:01:09","slug":"return-of-the-espys-to-nyc-marks-a-full-circle-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/296695\/","title":{"rendered":"Return of ‘The ESPYS’ to NYC marks a full-circle moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 30 years after its debut,\u00a0The ESPYS is heading back to where it all began.<\/p>\n

On July 15 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming on the ESPN App, ESPN\u2019s flagship celebration of sports will once again take center stage in New York City \u2014 this time at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center \u2014 marking the first full-scale New York production of the show since 1999.<\/p>\n

The ESPYS will be hosted by comedian, actor, writer and producer Marcello Hern\u00e1ndez, who will bring his signature humor and vibrant personality to the stage as he joins a star-studded roster of athletes and celebrities honoring the greatest achievements in the world of sports.<\/p>\n

Why now? A city at the center of the sports world<\/p>\n

The week of The ESPYS, \u201cthere\u2019s so much going on in New York,\u201d said Craig Lazarus (ESPN VP, EP, Original Content & Business Operations). \u201cAt the end of the week is the World Cup finals, the Dodgers are playing the Yankees. There\u2019s a National Women\u2019s Soccer League game, Fanatics Fest is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Lazarus, all of this meant, \u201cwe felt like the eyes of the sports world were on New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added with a wink: \u201cAnd of course, we knew [NFL star] Travis Kelce was going to get married [to Taylor Swift in Madison Square Garden] and the [NBA\u2019s New York]\u00a0Knicks were going to win. So, we just wanted to be around the New York energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

A storied past, reimagined for today<\/p>\n

The ESPYS began in 1993 at Madison Square Garden, establishing New York as the show\u2019s original home. The ceremony returned to the Garden in 1994 before moving to Radio City Music Hall from 1995 through 1999.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s ceremony introduces new categories, including Best Single Game Performance, spotlighting standout moments across professional and collegiate sports. The addition reflects a growing appreciation for singular, defining performances \u2014 the type that dominate highlight reels and shape narratives across seasons.<\/p>\n

The show will also bring college athlete honors into the main broadcast for the first time, broadening its recognition of excellence across all levels of competition and reflecting the increasing visibility and impact of collegiate athletics.<\/p>\n

A legacy that extends beyond the stage<\/p>\n

Since its inception, The ESPYS has served a purpose beyond recognition \u2014 supporting the V Foundation for Cancer Research<\/a>, which was founded alongside the awards show by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano.<\/p>\n

Over more than three decades, the event has helped raise more than $292 million to advance cancer research, making philanthropy a defining pillar of The ESPYS\u2019 identity.<\/p>\n

This year, what\u2019s changed is something foundational \u2014 bringing it back to the city that gave\u00a0The ESPYS its start.<\/p>\n

Notes: This is an abridged version of this article. For more, click here<\/a>. Jon McLeod produced the video.<\/p>\n

\"\"Here’s a glimpse at the David H. Koch Theater prior to the 2026 ESPYS .
\n(Phil Ellsworth\/ESPN Images)\"\"Here’s a broad view of the home of 2026 ESPYS inside Lincoln Center. (Phil Ellsworth\/ESPN Images)\"\"JW Essex House: Signage at the Athlete Lounge for the 2026 ESPYS.
\n(Mpu Dinani\/ESPN Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 30 years after its debut,\u00a0The ESPYS is heading back to where it all began. On July…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[112982,99063,112983,222,60633,9,56,63,65,64,1473,112984],"class_list":["post-296695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-craig-lazarus","tag-espys","tag-featured-post","tag-madison-square-garden","tag-marcello-hernandez","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-taylor-swift","tag-top-5"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}