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Bringing the X Games to Detroit isn't just about providing Michigan the opportunity to ogle at skateboarders as they risk their necks twisting and tumbling through the air— though Kevin Krease and Garret Koehler are certainly hoping that's exactly what will happen. And impressing ESPN execs and city power brokers is not the goal— though the pair have most assuredly done that with their grassroots efforts, aggressive social media marketing, and relentless work toward delivering the annual ESPN action sport showcase for a three-year contract that would start in 2014.

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It's more of an execution of philosophy, of the notion that

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ideas grand in scale are possible on a street level. The pair champion action, the idea that it never hurts to ask and that no idea is too big. In fact, the bigger the better. Make it so big that people can't say no. Well, that, and Kevin's also trying to convince his friends to move to Detroit. "I moved back to Detroit with no friends here," he says.

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X Games Detroit Bid

X GAMES DETROIT BID By MJ Galbraith July 10, 2013

Kevin Krease and Garret Koehler

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"All my friends lived in other cities; had moved away.

None of my high school friends were living here. So for me the big switch was, if I'm going to live in Detroit, I'd love to move my friends here and start making the city what I would want it to be, [the kind of place I would want] to live in and enjoy being in." So he developed the hobby of selling the city to his friends. "I sort of became the most known salesman of Detroit to my own network of people: the Resident Detroiter." Over time, Kevin amassed a folder with different ideas of how to make an impact on the city. After a conversation with a friend last July, he decided that bringing the X Games to Detroit was the first step. As he began to knock on the doors of city leaders, both public and private sector, Kevin soon developed a very serious and effective bid for the event. His work paid off, drawing friend and fellow Miami University of Ohio alum Garret Koehler from Chicago to Detroit this past January to help him pull off this seemingly impossible feat. The pair stress that it's not just about the X Games. "Kevin and I are both passionate about this idea of bridging a gap," said Garret. "One of the things that we've talked a lot about is how do we use the X Games to create access – bi-directional access. How do you give someone like Dan Gilbert access to the people who are making change, building things in Detroit on a very grassroots level within the communities, and how do you give those people access to the kind of capital and institutional support you need to make those things have the impact that they could potentially have?" The two have been working intensely on their bid over these past six months, pushing Detroit into the top four finalists for the event. ESPN is reportedly just days away from announcing their final decision. As they attended pitch meeting after pitch meeting, they began to see those in the conference rooms realize that what Kevin and Garret were proposing appealed to exactly the types of people that those companies covet, and that Detroit's gritty DIY style is exactly the story the X Games want to tell (even X Games superstar Tony Hawk has voiced his support of hosting the event in Detroit). Getting the city's help and support was even easier, jumping bureaucratic hurdles that normally take six months in just three weeks. Closing down Campus Martius to pedestrian and automobile traffic to film a promotional video produced by the Work (that has since gone viral) featuring a rally car tooling around the public square was promptly approved by the city and found local businesses like the Fountain Bistro more than willing to alter their business hours for the stunt. If that Chrysler/Eminem commercial gave you chills, you really

need to watch this. "That's what's exciting about Detroit; you get to enlist everyone to feel like they're part of it," says Kevin. "People donate pizza and coffee and whatever to your shoot or your fundraiser because everyone feels like they're a part of moving things forward. And that's special; you don't ﬁnd that anywhere else in America." While that kind of sweeping statement is perhaps a bit presumptuous, it takes a bold and daring kind of person to say it; the same kind of bold and daring person who would put together this totally grassroots Detroit-styleDIY effort. "I moved here for it," said Garret. "That's why I moved to Detroit. Period. You just don't feel the same sense of intentionality [anywhere else] as you do here – people doing things, living very intentionally. And there's an awareness that everyone else is doing that, too. That intentionality is connected to a sense of place and when you can use those two things for these big visions—I mean, that's just so powerful. The potential is endless." Photos by Doug Coombe. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, OUTDOOR RECREATION DETROIT

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Patty Dixon Kozlowski · Works at Livonia Public Schools My son wrote this. These two guys are an inspiration! Reply ·

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August 23, 2013

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X Games In Detroit: 9 Things To Know About Bid For ESPN Summer Action Sports Event (PHOTOS) Posted: 04/01/2013 9:36 am EDT | Updated: 04/04/2013 4:58 pm EDT

Picture this: thousands of thrill-seekers flooding Detroit for a summer festival of alternative sports, music and film. It's not a sure thing yet, but it could be reality in less than two years. Working with a host of city stakeholders, Detroiter Kevin Krease, 27, and new resident Garret Koehler, 26, are hoping to bring the ESPN Summer X Games to Detroit in July or August of 2014 through 2016. Earlier this year, their pipe dream became an official possibility when the sports network announced Detroit had qualified as a potential location. On Tuesday, the pair submits an official bid. You don't need a skateboard to get excited -- or even to get involved. Here are nine things to know: What are the X Games? The X Games, first organized by broadcaster ESPN in 1995, are global extreme sports competitions -- kind of like alternative Olympics for daredevils held every winter and summer. The Summer X Games include skateboarding, car racing, motocross and BMX events. "They're individual sports. They're sports for self-expression," explained Deane Swanson, senior director of content strategy for the Global X Games. "It skews young in terms of the demographic that not only follows this, but the athletes themselves. They have really unique personalities … it's really a lifestyle of self-expression, [whether] they do it on a board or a bike or a motorcycle or a car." But I don't do (or watch) any of those sports. If Detroit wins the bid, you won't need to be a BMX fanatic to enjoy the X Games. Krease envisions the event becoming the city's version of the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas with music, film, art, beer gardens, events that highlight urban gardening and technology work in the city and more. "Our vision for this is to turn it into a cultural event," Krease said, "use an event platform to enable the people who are doing really neat things here." "That's been my passion, trying to find the place to bridge all the corporate investment in the city with the grassroots things happening on the ground," he said. "This is the perfect event to be able to do that." Where would the games be held? Krease and Koehler are working to figure that out, and things could change if ESPN became a partner. The idea is to concentrate most events downtown, with possible locations including Ford Field, Hart Plaza, the Joe Louis arena, Campus Martius and a potential permanent skate park on the riverfront. What kind of impact would X Games have on the city? Using ESPN's formula, Krease and his partners believe the event could fill up to 129,000 hotel rooms each year. In an early estimate, they think the event might attract up to 200,000 attendees to the city, with about half of them purchasing tickets. ESPN broadcasts the four-day event to over 260 million homes in 200 nations, so Detroit itself would be in the spotlight, showing viewers a perspective of the Motor City they may have never seen. Does Detroit have a shot? Because of the nature of the sports and the kinds of stadiums and arenas that already exist in cities, Swanson said there's no perfect venue for the X Games. In many ways, many bidders begin on an equal playing field. Walkability for visitors is also an important consideration. "[The X Games Detroit organizers] have come up with an intriguing combination of venues for us to consider," Swanson said. "The thing that's very refreshing is they are open to any idea. We need options, we need flexibility. The sports we're offering today, I guarantee you by the time this event comes around they're going to change. We have to adjust and the city needs to adjust."

He said Krease and Koehler have suggested possibilities that other cities might not entertain, like shutting down city streets and reserving city parks. "The thing you notice right away with the Detroit group is the enthusiasm and passion they have for this event. For us, that's great," said Swanson, who paid a visit to the city. "I was so impressed with the amount of enthusiasm, from the grassroots level all the way up to the corporate level." Both Krease and Swanson pointed out that Detroit might value the X Games more than another city. Truth be told, the competition may create more buzz in Detroit than a city with more events, like Chicago or Austin. "The thing with LA is there's so much going on," said Swanson. "Where did we fit in the variety of options that people have when the weather is beautiful." And the city's character might appeal to the athletes. "Skaters love skating in Detroit because it has nothing professional or corporate in it," Krease said. "It's sort of free and raw and gritty." So, when do we actually find out if they'll be in Detroit? ESPN will announce several finalist cities by the end of April and will pick a winner by August. Detroit is up against Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Detroit, Fort Worth, Texas, Houston, Long Beach, Calif., Minneapolis, Montreal, New Orleans, Pasadena, Calif. and Philadelphia. What have working on?

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Krease began planning for the X Games bid with Ian Studders last year, quitting his job in February to concentrate on the bid. Koehler moved to Detroit from Chicago to do the same. The pair's first challenge was convincing stakeholders in Detroit, that they aren't just two young guys with an idea. Krease and Koehler are confident they can execute this massive event. They've sold themselves to Detroit, and now they have to sell Detroit to ESPN. Teaming up with Quicken Loans, they've waded through ESPN's myriad requirements to find out what the event would look like and cost, providing estimates for everything from forklifts to athletes' medals. The pair have received help from the likes of Susan Sherer, who engineered the bid to bring Super Bowl XL to Detroit, Paxahau (organizers of the Movement electronic music festival), and the Detroit Metro Convention & Tourism Bureau. What's next? Now comes the fun part, Krease said. ESPN representatives will visit Detroit personally to get a feeling for the city. They will also begin working with others in the city to plan the arts and culture events that will make the extreme sports competition a full-fledged festival. And in the coming weeks, Krease and Koehler will release a video that will give a taste of what it could look like to hold the X Games in Detroit. Earlier this month, they brought rally car drivers in and shut down some streets to film the drivers tearing around Detroit, from Belle Isle to the Cobo roof. It's being produced by The Work, a creative advertising agency based out of Detroit.

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Culture Files Blog > The Last Summer: ESPN’s X Games Won’t Return To L.A. Next Year

The Last Summer: ESPN’s X Games Won’t Return To L.A. Next Year Fifteen cities bid on hosting the next X Games, and now only Detroit, Charlotte, Austin, and Chicago remain. But which city should L.A. endorse? Posted on 6/25/2013 3:03:00 PM by Marielle Wakim

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ESPN’s Summer X Games is soon to be L.A.’s Ex Games: After one final run this August, the event will head to one of four cities—Detroit, Austin, Chicago, or Charlotte—all of which are entangled in a bidding war of Olympic proportions that will be settled by the end of this month.

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X Games has been a part of L.A.’s fabric since 2003, when ESPN partnered with L.A.-based AEG Sports (the company that owns Staples Center, among other things). The network had hoped to extend their contract with AEG beyond 2013, but an agreement couldn’t be reached in time; Last October, ESPN began to accept formal bids from cities around the country for a new three-year contract that will begin in 2014. Which brings me to the following question: If Los Angeles can’t have the X Games, then who should we endorse as its new host? The choice is a simple one, though perhaps not immediately obvious: We should be rooting for Detroit.

I should warn you that this opinion of mine is slightly biased. One of my closest friends, Garret Koehler, moved from Chicago to Detroit in order to spearhead their X Games bid alongside Kevin Krease, a mutual friend of ours from college. But that’s not why I think we Angelenos should support Detroit’s endeavor. Rather, it’s because Los Angeles and Detroit are, in so many ways, kindred spirits. The tenor of the cities is nearly identical, moreso than L.A. and any of the other locales that are up for the honor.

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If you look closely, the pulse of Detroit—what drives its inhabitants—is perfectly in sync with L.A.’s: Both places exude an aura of promise, of self-made success achieved through indefatigable tenacity. Both are home to a very

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undo them. But what sets Angelenos and Detroiters apart from the rest is this: should ruin triumph over prosperity, they pick themselves up by their bootstraps and do it all over again until the scales tip in their favor. At the simplest level, aren’t these the very same principles that drive the X Games and its athletes?

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The main contention most people have with the Games going to a city like Detroit—a city that was once home to 2.5 million people (though now it only boasts just over 700,000)—is that they perceive the place to be dying. A ghost town. Dilapidated. But Koehler would argue that such misconceptions couldn’t be further from the truth. “Something is happening in this city,” he says. “This place that was once the epitome of American greatness is being rebuilt by an influx of artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs. We want the X Games to be an expression of what’s happening on a broader scale in Detroit; EPSN could occupy and activate this city in a huge way, meaning it could create tangible, transformative outcomes in our communities.” Koehler isn’t the only one who thinks so. A slew of X Games athletes would also like to see the Games in Detroit. Joining the supportive ranks of Motocross rider Brian Deegan, rallycross driver Tanner Foust, and BMXer Brandon Dosch is legendary vertical skateboarder Tony Hawk (who recently donated his very first skateboard to the Smithsonian). “Detroit would be a great host,” he says. “Skating has strong roots in the area, and X Games would be an ideal venue to show how innovative and sport-centric Detroit is. It could also highlight the artistic movement--including a DIY skatepark--that is happening near downtown.” As for whether he endorses Detroit over the other three contenders? “Yes,

yes, yes.” Hawk's sentiment is shared by skateboarding prodigy Nyjah Huston, who started skating when he was only four years old and has since become a two time 2013 X Games gold medalist (and the winner of the largest amount of prize money ever awarded to a skateboarder). "I would be really excited if Street League went to Detroit," he says. "It’s a really good city for skating and some big name skaters have come out of there—and Big Sean is from there, so it’d be cool if we could get him to come out and watch." What it comes down to is this: if the X Games has to leave Los Angeles, then we should get behind a city that will do justice to something we’ve loved for so long. And that city is Detroit. “Theres no city that’s more urban, more gritty than Detroit,” Koehler says. “This city just exudes the X Games.” Join the movement, L.A. #XG2D

Tags: L.A. Culture , X Games , ESPN , X Games Detroit Bid

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