Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

By SCOTT CONDON, THE ASPEN TIMES

ASPEN — The Aspen Skiing Co. hasn't reached an agreement yet to keep the Winter X Games at Buttermilk beyond this winter, but the company's second in command said there is good reason to believe a deal will be in place by spring.

“We're in close dialogue with ESPN and we're comfortable in our discussions with them,” David Perry, Skico senior vice president, mountain division, told Pitkin County commissioners Tuesday in an annual briefing.

Aspen will host its 11th X Games Jan. 26-29. A two-year extension for the event expires after the next games, but Perry said that doesn't mean that Aspen's at risk of losing them. ESPN is focusing on finding the right fit for additional summer and winter X Games overseas.

“ESPN is going through a process where they are expanding the X brand globally,” Perry said. “Their intention is to have six X Games — four summer, two winter, in the future.”

ESPN put out a request for proposals for international sites after last winter. It's narrowed the list to 43 cities, according to Perry. That process was “not open to domestic bids,” Perry said. So while other resorts would like to steal the games from Buttermilk, there is no indication that ESPN wants to move them.

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