Contracts, competitions, and a million bucks

First off, it’s better off that a skateboard competition circuit be owned and operated by skateboarders. However, this whole business of signing contracts to compete exclusively in one circuit and not another, although it may make sense from a business standpoint, reeks of, of something, well, something very stinky, like say, GVK’s knee pads. Which is appropriate because it is a “street league” to the exclusion of any sort of vert or bowl riding. (You know Grover never washes his pads. he says that would dilute the trick juice.) I’m not a big fan of the logo either. Aside from scrimping on the graphic designer’s fee, It looks vaguely like something NBA or MLB related. If skaters are going to claim skateboarding from the media for themselves, it would be smarter not to emulate the worst aspects of organized sports. Still, I wish Rob Dyrdek luck with Street League Skateboarding, despite the bad name choice. The million dollar purse would seemingly best the Maloof Money Cup (even worse name), but then again Maloof isn’t spread over three events. Why not wrestle all the skaters away from the X-Games and the like? Was it lack of interest in vert/bowl by Dyrdek, or fear of abandoning the golden goose on behalf of the the current crop of X-games competitors. I suspect the former. Check out the press release after the jump. There is essentially nothing up at the web site except the press release. Meanwhile, the Maloof Money Cup still prominently features Ryan Sheckler, who has supposedly signed a multi-year exclusive contract with Street League. Look for some fresh HTML soon!

– Thanks to Mike Ballard for the tip.

Announcing Street League Skateboarding™; the Future of Competitive Professional Skateboarding

The world’s best street skateboarders sign to the first million dollar professional tour with three stops in 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA (March 24, 2010) – Street League Skateboarding™ announced today that for the first time in history, street skateboarding competition has been organized into its very own professional league, with the best skateboarders in the world competing head-to-head in a series of individual tour stops in the summer of 2010. Founded by twenty-year professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek, Street League™ is truly the future of competitive street skateboarding.

Signed to multi-year contracts, a total of twenty-four of the world’s biggest skateboarding stars will compete in Street League™ exclusively. The first pros that have signed are arguably the top skateboarders in the world and include Chris Cole, Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka, Torey Pudwill, PJ Ladd, Sean Malto, Mike Mo Capaldi, Mikey Taylor, Billy Marks, Tommy Sandoval, and Paul Rodriguez. The Street League™ pros will be battling it out for more than $1MM in prize money on a 3-stop arena tour this summer.

Dyrdek, in discussing the origins of the league says, “It has been a dream of mine to create a professional tour that bridges the gap between true street skateboarding and contest skating, which to date has been fragmented and misguided. Street League™ is more than just a new contest series; it will redefine the way skateboarding competitions are done.”

Chris Cole, 2009’s Dew Tour Champion, Maloof Money Cup Winner, two-times X Games gold medalist and Thrasher’s Skater of the Year, in regards to his exclusive commitment to Street League™ adds, “It’s what we have always wanted – it’s a contest circuit that is actually created, owned, and operated by skaters.”

To maximize the talents of these street skateboarding stars, Street League™ has designed authentic concrete skate plazas to be built on the floors of world-class sports arenas. In addition, Street League™ brings with it the exclusive use of the instant scoring technology, ISX (Instant Scoring Experience™), to the world of skateboarding. Using real time scoring and an exciting proprietary format, Street League™ will tell a compelling story about each skateboarder’s performance and will have fans on the edge of their seats from the first trick to the very last.

The inaugural year of Street League™ features a 3-stop arena tour beginning at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona on August 28th, Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California on September 11th, and the final stop in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center on September 25th. The skaters will be competing at each event for the largest prize pool in skateboarding history.

Street League™ is the culmination of more than five years of development, which began with a professional contest Dyrdek held at the opening of the world’s first skate plaza he built in Kettering, Ohio in 2005. Building on the knowledge gained from this event, Dyrdek and his team began planning for the launch of the league, consulting for and developing several major skateboarding events to serve as additional case studies.

IMG Action Sports, the go-to event production company in the industry, is producing and executing Street League™ in 2010. The worldwide leader in skate park design and construction, California Skateparks™, will provide skate plaza construction. Instant Scoring Experience™ is a partnership between MXi, Dialsmith, and Street League™.

For more information go to www.streetleague.com.

About Street League Skateboarding™

Street League Skateboarding™ is the first sports entertainment property that gives professional street skateboarding its very own league for individual competition. Street League™ features the exclusive participation of the world’s best professionals, over $1MM in prize money, and real skate plaza course design inside world-class arenas. Driven by the need to enhance the experience of live professional street skateboarding, Street League™ utilizes real-time scoring and a proprietary format that makes every trick count. Street League™ is the brainchild of twenty-year professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek. More information is available at www.streetleague.com.