Austin, Jan. 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ESPN will present the inaugural X Games Austin June 5-8, 2014, at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. This year's event will host more than 200 athletes at COTA and in downtown Austin. Action sports fans visiting COTA will enjoy many staple X Games disciplines at two different locations along the track's 3.4 miles, including the newly added discipline of Stadium SUPER Trucks and the homecoming of BMX Dirt to U.S. soil after making its return last year at X Games Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil. Building on last year's debut of the X Games Music Presents series, X Games Austin will also showcase a world-class music lineup to complement the world's premier action sports competition, including internationally acclaimed and Grammy Award-winning artist Kanye West, Flaming Lips and Pretty Lights.
Utilizing the large footprint of the COTA venue, the X Games on-site experience will grow significantly in 2014, bringing fans a full festival atmosphere surrounding the sports competition, complete with live music, athlete autograph sessions, pit access, Austin's world-renowned food and drinks, interactive villages for fans of all ages and more - all included with the purchase of a ticket.
"X Games Austin 2014, will be a four day sports, music and lifestyle festival," said Scott Guglielmino, sr. vice president, programming and X Games, ESPN. "The best athletes, competing at the highest levels remain the core of X Games. But we're incredibly excited about being able to create a full-scale festival around that, which celebrates some of the other elements of the X Games lifestyle - music, friends, family, food and fun."
"We look forward to hosting the X Games this June and introducing tens of thousands of brand new customers to the world-class venues we have at Circuit of The Americas," said Paul Thornton, president of TAG Presents LLC, the events management company for COTA and the Austin360 Amphitheater. "Austin is an ideal location for this international event as this city represents the bold and independent mindset embodied by the X Games. We're ready to give action sports fans a Texas-sized festival experience with sports, music, rides and activities above and beyond what has ever been attempted before."
WORLD-RENOWNED MUSICAL PERFORMERS
In addition to the world's greatest display of competition in action sports, X Games Austin will highlight the artistic and cultural elements inherent in the action sports lifestyle. X Games Music in Austin will present a lineup of top musical performers, including: Kanye West, Flaming Lips, Pretty Lights, Gary Clark Jr., Mac Miller, Slightly Stoopid, Bad Religion, Dillon Francis, Mayer Hawthorne, Wavves, Cash Cash, FMLYBND and Candyland. Headlining performances will take place at the acclaimed Austin360 Amphitheater, while other performances will take place at one of the multiple other stages or EDM tent, located at Circuit of The Americas. In addition to these featured shows, X Games Austin will showcase a local artist stage and dance hall offering some of today's top DJs and EDM artists.
X GAMES AUSTIN 2014 SPORT DISCIPLINES
| SKATEBOARD | BMX | MOTO X | RALLY & OFF-ROAD TRUCK |
| Big Air | Big Air | Best Whip | RallyCross |
| Park | Dirt | Enduro X (M & W) | Stadium SUPER Trucks |
| Street (M & W) | Park | Freestyle | |
| Vert | Street | Speed & Style | |
| Vert | Step Up |
A full schedule of events is available at www.xgamesaustin.com. PLEASE NOTE: This information is subject to change.
TICKET SALES
Tickets for X Games Austin will be available for purchase beginning Friday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. EST at www.ticketmaster.com/xgames. A special presale will take place that day at 9 a.m. ET before tickets are made available to the public. To register in advance for the X Games Austin ticket presale, visit www.xgamesaustin.com. Three-day tickets start at $89.
Events taking place at COTA will occur in four different locations within the venue; the main straight, the Turn 1 hill, Turn 19 and the stadium section located at Turns 12-16. Premium seat upgrades for those wanting the best views of specific disciplines will be available at www.xgamesaustin.com.
ESPN and ABC will televise a combined 20 hours of live X Games Austin competition in high definition, which will also be accessible via WatchESPN and WatchABC to viewers who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. An additional seven hours of competition will be carried on ESPN3 as well as the latest coverage across ESPN digital platforms, including XGames.com, X Games app, X Games pages across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more.
Additional information on all X Games Austin 2014 events will be forthcoming on www.xgames.com for fans or on www.espnmediazone.com for media only.
About Circuit of The Americas
Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, is the home of world championships and a world-class destination for premium sports and entertainment. COTA hosts the annual FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX, which was named 2012 "Sports Event of the Year" by SportsBusiness Journal/Daily, and is the new North American home for the summer edition of ESPN's X Games. More than one million visitors come to COTA each year for events such as MotoGP™, United Sportscar Racing, the FIA World Endurance Championships, COTA Track Days, business and social functions, and more than 20 performances at the venue's acclaimed Austin360 Amphitheater, nominated for Pollstar's "Best New Major Concert Venue" award for 2013. COTA's 1,500-acre campus includes a variety of permanent structures, including a 44,000-square foot Event Center, an impressive Main Grandstand with hospitality suites and the Velocity Lounge, a 270,000-square foot Paddock Building with 34 garages, and an iconic 25-story Observation Tower at the heart of the facility. For more information and downloadable video and photos, visit: www.CircuitofTheAmericas.com, www.Austin360Amphitheater.com or the COTA's dedicated FTP site, media.circuitoftheamericas.com. Follow COTA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CircuitofTheAmericas and Twitter @circuitamericas.
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