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ESPN and Mills Corporation latest
to enter
the action sports arena
Whether you call it action sports, extreme sports
or a public nuisance; skateboarding, in-line trick skating and BMX stunt bike
riding have become big business. Two major players in the retailing of the sport
are expanding their presence with commercial skate parks set to open at large
regional centers.
Vans Inc. has been a constant in the action sports market. The company operates
140 stores specializing in apparel and shoes specifically designed for
skateboarders and bikers. The company also operates seven commercial skate parks
with another to open at the Festival Bay Mall in December. The complex will
include a 50,000 sq.ft. skate area and an additional 10,000 sq.ft. outdoors and
will operate as Van’s Orlando.
ESPN and The Mills Corporation are entering the market in dramatic fashion
planning to open seven X Games Skateparks over the next three years. The skate
parks hope to capitalize on the networks Summer X Games series of competitions.
ESPN has been successful in branding on its sports programming with its chain of
sports-themed restaurants and entertainment complexes called ESPN Zone. Along
with the skating areas, each X Games Skateparks will include a 40,000 sq.ft.
gallery of X Games memorabilia, a retail element featuring X Games merchandise
and equipment as well as the leading lines from alternative sports companies, a
large-screen viewing area for X Games programming and an electronic games
showcase.
Four parks are scheduled to open by mid-2002. The first will debut this
November, opening along with the Mills-developed Discover Mills in Atlanta, GA.
A park at Arundel Mills in the Baltimore, MD-Washington, DC market is scheduled
to open early next year, followed by locations at Franklin Mills, outside
Philadelphia, PA and Grapevine Mills outside Dallas, TX. Other Mills projects in
the Phoenix, AZ; Fort Lauderdale, FL; St. Louis, MO and northern NJ markets are
being considered for parks.
The parks will offer ESPN a place to stage events and offer interactive events
for its annual X Games telecasts. The parks are being designed by Woodward Camp,
one of the leading design and training outfit in alternative sports. The
companies may also collaborate on a permanent camp facility at ESPN-parent
Disney Corporation-owned Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando,
FL. That facility would offer instruction for children seven to 17 years old in
skateboarding, in-line skating and BMX trick-riding.
Ron Semiao, ESPN’s managing director of Global X Games, believes the centers
will be profitable and a good proving ground for future alternative sports
heroes. “Skateparks are the ballfields of the 21st Century,” said Semiao.
“Working with industry leaders like Mills and Woodward, X Games Skateparks will
be an ultimate action sports haven within the popular Mills locations.”
Skateparks operate by charging an hourly fee for sessions open to a particular
discipline, i.e. skateboarders, in-line skaters or bikers. Memberships range
from $50 to $100 and admission prices range from $7 to $9 per hour.
For more information contact, VANS, Inc., 15700 Shoemaker Ave., Santa Fe
Springs, CA 90670; 800-826-7800, Fax 562-565-8407; Web site: www.vans.com. Or
contact The Mills Corporation, 1300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 400, Arlington, VA
22209; 703-526-5000, Fax 703- 526-5111.
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