Visit Sacramento’s Mike Testa jokes that the postcard-perfect weather the weekend of June 26-28 for the MoonPay X Games at Cal Expo was planned all along.

“Whatever you did to call the weather down from the anticipated 98 degrees to 82; thank you, Mike Testa,” Jeremy Bloom, the CEO of the X Games, said at the press conference kicking off the event’s first day on June 26. 

Indeed, the weather cooperated in a big way with three straight 80-ish degree days as the Capital Region enjoyed its first X Games experience, with possibly more to come. In partnership with Visit Sacramento, nearly 100 of the world’s top action sport athletes representing 17 countries, featuring some of the biggest names in BMX, skateboarding and motocross, descended on the state capital for the first stop of the international X Games League’s first season.

“This community will be center stage this weekend because of the things that these incredible athletes are embarking on and going to attempt to try to do,” Bloom said at the opening press conference. “Sacramento now becomes the epicenter of action sports, certainly for this weekend, but the conversation will continue beyond that.”

Originally planned for August 2025 but delayed as organizers ironed out details of the new league concept, attendance at Cal Expo was around 20,000 fans per day, producing another big boost to the area’s economy, Testa noted. There were 18 events spread out over five outdoor facilities built specifically for the games, with two ramps painted to look like the Tower Bridge. All three days featured live broadcasts on ESPN and ABC and were expected to draw more than 15 million television viewers in 120 countries with 100 million more views coming through streaming services like Roku (based on viewership for the Aspen X Games last January).

Sounds of the varied events echoed across Cal Expo, from the roar of motocross engines and the loud pop of bike tires blowing out. The grounds outside the playing venues took on a State Fair feel, with Cal Expo hosting an “X-Fest” festival village, which included food vendors and interactive entertainment. At night at Heart Health Park, concerts by electronic artists Kaskade on Friday and Mustard and Subtronics on Saturday drew big crowds.

“It was packed,” Testa said two days after it ended. “The weather was perfect, and that was my fear going into this. The events were exciting, and I think for the diehard X Games skateboard people it was life changing, from what I heard. For the people who weren’t as into that, I think it was a great experience. I was there, and my 86-year-old-father was there, and he’s not a skateboarder, but he was definitely entertained.”

Testa said he heard the criticism that there wasn’t any seating for spectators and that seeing some of the events could be challenging because there was no official spectator seating and being able to see the course from the standing crowd was difficult.

“But overall, far more positive than the negative throughout the weekend,” Testa says.

The new X Games League will feature athletes competing for summer and winter city-based clubs (modeled after Formula One racing) with both athletes and teams leading up to the first-ever championship in New Orleans, July 24-26. The summer league teams in Sacramento were XC Los Angeles, XC New York, XC São Paulo and XC Tokyo. After Sacramento, the show moved on to Chiba, Japan, July 4-5.

Capital Region athletes also competed, including Davis’ Nyjah Huston, one of the best skateboarders in the world, and BMX star Brady Baker of Auburn.

Oakland’s Sasha Nochimow and Tobias Butler were along the railing during the women’s skateboard park finals Friday night, saying they were staying in a hotel and going to all three days.

“I grew up skating and I got her into it during the Tokyo Olympics,” Butler says. “We don’t have a lot of skating events in NorCal, so we’ve been waiting to go to something like this.”

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