Assertion certainty 4/5 debate potential 2/5

The X Games historically generated zero game-day ticketing or hospitality revenue

David Abrams · David Abrams – Sports Ecosystem Investing at Velocity (Capital Allocators, EP. 303) · Mar 23, 2023 · at 45:44

David Abrams of Velocity Capital Management outlines monetization opportunities in the carved-out X Games turnaround.

0:00 / 0:19exact quote · 19.1s
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“Historically just given the size of it for the game day events, whether it's the winter games in Aspen or summer games elsewhere, there were no game day revenues. So think of going to a baseball game where all the tickets are free and there's no hospitality and there's no parking revenues and there's no premium.”

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