After two years of talking about Utah, NBC Universal and Live Nation have became unswerving believers. Monday afternoon, in the boardroom of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr, it was announced that their Dew Action Sports Tour would be coming to Salt Lake City in the fall.
Upwards of 450 athletes and more than 100,000 spectators are expected to be in Salt Lake City from Sept. 20-23 to compete in and view six extreme-type events spread between skateboarders, bikers and motocross riders.
Standing near his own super motocross bike, brought into the Capitol boardroom of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. for the announcement, the governor told the gathered group of media that he was looking forward to the event.
"The State of Utah has identified sports development as a key component to its economic-development and promotional strategy, and an event of this magnitude allows us to continue to help position the state as a leader in the sports community," the governor said.
Projections are that the four-day event will bring in between $12 and $15 million into the state's economy and be worth between $2 and $3 million in promotional dollars.
"This is another of the Olympic-type events that have or are coming to Utah. It will showcase Utah. This is the largest of the action-sport events in the country," said Jeff Robbins, president/CEO of the Utah Sports Commission. "It shows that Utah does have a lot to offer."
The six events include a freestyle motocross, BMX vert (competition in a half-pipe structure), BMX park, which is competition in a skatepark with curved mounds and obstacles such as tabletops and rails, BMX dirt, which involves bike racing on a dirt track, skateboard vert and skateboard park.
Most of the events will take place in the Energy Solutions Arena. Tons of dirt will be hauled in and sculptured into a track for the motocross in Block 85, which is the old site of the Olympic awards plaza.
The Dew Tour is the most watched and attended action sports event in the world. It is also the richest of its kind, offering upwards of $3.5 million in prize money.
The tour, owned by NBC Universal and Live Nation, debuted in 2005.
NBC officials plan to air six hours of live coverage around the world. There will be five stops on this year's tour.
Dew Action Sports Tour in Utah
What: Toyota Challenge
When: Sept. 20-23
Where: Energy Solutions Arena
Events: Skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross
Quotable: "Salt Lake City and Utah showed a strong commitment to bring the Tour to their community. Their rich history in hosting events along with a great passion for outdoor lifestyle sports made this a natural selection for the 2007 Dew Action Sports Tour Toyota Challenge." — Wade Martin, Dew Action Sports Tour president
E-mail: grass@desnews.com