Back in 2005, just as the annual Stunt Wars and Stuntfest events were at their peak in prize money, participation and attendance, a new attraction threatened their existence. The huge annual shows were endangered by the fledgling XDL series; there were conflicting dates that would force the riders to decide on one event versus the other.
The drama ran deep as riders flocked to the XDL series and left the one-off venues vacant. After all, this was the first "legitimate" series that offered a points chase and overall champion at the end of the season versus a few moments in the spotlight and some cash in hand.
There were high hopes all around for the success of XDL, but spectator attendance was (and still generally is) spotty at best, and prize money seems fairly small in comparison to the festival events of yesteryear. And for many riders it's difficult to justify the travel expenses involved in following the series across the country versus the potential payoff of winning. So what's the attraction?
SSB sat down with Randy Grube to get the inside story on why XDL is the only viable option for riders.
What was the plan when XDL kicked off? We've heard in the past it was to be in X Games?
To be honest there was no plan when XDL got started. I just wanted to give it a shot to see what we could do. The goal of being in the X Games came about during the 2008 season. I was interviewing athletes for video content and it turned out that "X Games" was the response from most of the riders about what their dream was. So I got to work on trying to make it happen. As of now, nothing is confirmed with ESPN for 2011. I consider the [X Games] demo a great success because we were able to show ESPN the current level of the sport and we were able to demonstrate our ability to execute. Attendance was never a consideration since it was out of our control. For me it was always about building the relationship with ESPN.
What would inclusion in the X Games mean for XDL?
Inclusion in the X Games as a full competition would help solidify our position as a top action sport. The X Games would help us make the transition from a motorcycle series to a top tier action sport. But there are other ways to accomplish that so I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket.
What are your thoughts on the huge semi-annual stunt shows of yesteryear? Before XDL, the riders looked forward to these events because of massive attendance and large cash payouts. XDL doesn't offer either in comparison.
XDL is the only pro series to stick around, but the sport itself is much bigger than that. We can only accommodate 40 riders at a competition due to our formats, so it's important that emerging riders have other competitions to attend. There was a time in 2008 when it looked like we would be competing against the semi-annual events and their new series, but that went away. In the time since we've had on and off discussions about possibly joining forces, though nothing ever became of that.
[Riders] are attracted to XDL because we have created a legitimate platform that they can use to build a career. Our series has allowed several riders to obtain factory backing and we create new opportunities such as the Sartso Women's Cup, which has been a huge success.
XDL is probably the single biggest payer of prize money in the sport. Since 2006 we've had 22 paying competitions where we've paid over $10,000 in prize money, and in some instances closer to $12,000. So the total cash payout is just under $250,000, and we've given seven bikes to athletes worth just under $60,000 and have paid a lot of contingency money. Add to that the fact that we didn't collect entry fees for the first four seasons and provide athletes with free food, water and Red Bull and do not charge them to have a booth or sell product, and we are by far the single biggest net payer of prize money. People tend to forget that.
We don't advertise our prize money-other events do. If you do a calculation on the net payout, you can figure out pretty quickly that many events are redistributing income and use entry fees to cover prize money.
For the first four seasons we took nothing. Even now our fees account for less than 15 percent of prize money. For me, this is part of the investment we are making into the sport. It flies in the face of common business practice but it has made the XDL brand much, much stronger.