The X Games are the Olympics of action sports and that is why they get together with the best specialists to build world-first class facilities. The event, created 18 years ago in the United States by the ESPN television network, occupies a position within the top 5 most important world events of the globe. To remain at the top, they have met with California Rampworks, the most important international company in building Skateboard ramps that travels around the world leaving its mark in big cities. After more than 11 years of existence and with Brian Harper in charge, they have managed to be a reference in their sector with innovative designs adapted for all tastes and taking Skateboarding to a higher level. It may seem that building a Skatepark (where skaters skate) is an easy task – ramps, handrails and a jump – but it is really an architectural work of big difficulty to adapt the system to all levels and to have unity. “We have built over 300 Skateparks all over the five continents and none of them has the same design” stated the American.
“In October I was informed that the X Games were traveling to Europe and the first stop was the city of Barcelona. I’ve never been in this city before, and after several visits to analyze the facilities, I could see the great scenario chosen for this event.” Since then, Harper and his team have started to design the tracks and look for local suppliers to find supplies. In total, more than 60,000 square feet between Park, Street, MegaRamp and Half Pipe. To do so, they have used 150 cubic meters of concrete and a team of 35 people has worked from dawn to dusk to get ready the tracks that will host the competition with the best athletes in the world. It may seem a waste of resources but actually the 80% of that material will be recycled or reused for future facilities such as the X Games in Munich that will take place next July. That is the new purpose of California Skateparks. “When we build facilities like the Barcelona one that are destroyed once the event finishes, we chop all the cement up, collect the wood and send it to another city to reuse”.
Passionate about X Games, the California Rampwork’s team wanted to transmit the essence of Barcelona. For that reason, and after multiple visits, they got an idea of the characteristic elements of the city. “Here we saw lots of tiles and mosaics and tried to represent them. The facade of the Street will look like the typical city center street. We did not want to miss the opportunity to move the famous “Trencadís” from Gaudí to the facilities either”. After traveling around the world, Brian Harper has admitted he is excited to work in this city. “Here everyone enjoys the food, the culture; we are privileged to build Skateparks here. It is by far our favorite place. For example, the place where the half pipe ramp is (Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc) is by far the nicest with this spectacular view”. A unique opportunity to watch live a global event that will be broadcasted in more than 180 countries with the best athletes of the world fighting to win a medal in the Olympics of action sports.
Story courtesy of X Games Barcelona Website
