How X Games League’s Park City team plans to make its mark in Utah

As many general managers know, there’s a lot that goes into building a team.

For Sharalee Hazen, general manager of both the X Games League’s XC Park City and Los Angeles teams, a lot of it starts with coffee. Preferably, an oat milk latte or an Americano.

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But building a team in the new X Games League involves more than just assembling a roster of elite athletes. For Hazen, it also will be an opportunity to introduce a new generation of fans to action sports while building a connection between some of the world’s best decorated athletes and the community they now represent here in Utah.

When XC Park City takes the stage in Aspen, Colorado, for the beginning of its inaugural winter season in 2027, its goal won’t simply be to win.

The XGL is taking the action sports giant’s legacy and expanding it into a structured, team-based competition — one that Hazen hopes will give athletes more financial support while creating new opportunities for fans to engage with the sports.

“We want people to cheer for their home team.”

—  Sharalee Hazen, X Games Leagues’ XC Park City general manager

“The X Games League is really, it’s both simple and complicated at the same time,” she said. “The easiest point of reference … is X Games is now kind of like the Russian doll. You have the X Games, and then you open it up, and then you have the X Games League, and then you open it up again, and you have the teams, and then you open it up one more time, and those are the fans. So to me, the league is this four-part series, if you will, where we have the ethos of the original X Games, which showcase the best of the best in action sports and the progression of human beings in general. … And now with the league, we go from having a once-a-season experience in both summer and winter to having three stops per season.”

The traditional X Games has put on competitions showcasing skateboarding, BMX, moto X, skiing and snowboarding worldwide from L.A. to Buttermilk Mountain to the slopes in Tignes in France.

Forty thousand Utahns got familiar with the brand during the X Games’ 30th anniversary season in 2025, when one of its three stops was held at the Utah State Fairpark. The three-day festival brought crazy action to the Salt Lake Valley, with fans selling out the ticketed bleacher events.

The new league, however, welcomes a different format.

What makes the XGL different?

For one, there are separate summer and winter seasons with four different teams in each. Among the summer teams is XC Los Angeles. The four winter teams are XC Golden State, XC New York, XC Park City and XC Whistler.

Each team consists of 10 athletes — five men and five women — who will compete across multiple disciplines. Athletes participate in qualifiers before the weekend finals at three major events, earning points towards a championship at the end of their respective season.

The big stops — starting at Buttermilk in Aspen, Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, and the season finale at Ruka in Finland — will feature live music and a full festival vibe.

Unlike traditional team sports, athletes will continue training and competing individually in their respective disciplines.

Hazen noted all that is part of what makes the league so unique.

The league will also provide something that has historically been less common in action sports: guaranteed financial support for its athletes.

Athletes receive salaries for participating, while the league also covers their travel fare. Hazen believes that could be particularly meaningful for younger athletes who may not yet have the sponsorship resources to consistently travel to competitions.

“Before, you had to get there and you only had money involved if you were able to win or to get a podium spot,” Hazen said. “The cool thing about the X Games League is that we’re responsible for covering an athlete’s salary. So that’s never happened before where athletes get paid to just show up.”

The league’s structure also gives athletes who were not drafted a chance to compete. Qualifying events at each stop will allow rostered athletes and free agents to compete for spots in the finals, with prize money available regardless of whether an athlete is on a team.

“It is cool to see that there’s more people being allowed to have the opportunity to compete,” Hazen said.

Building a roster for Park City

XC Park City was bought by private equity investor Allen Thorpe, who also owns XGL’s L.A. team.

“The MoonPay X Games League creates an entirely new category of sports ownership,” said Thorpe. “As a native Californian and 20-year Park City resident, I’m especially excited to build championship organizations in both Los Angeles and Park City.”

XC Park City had the No. 3 overall pick in the winter draft this past September and Hazen assembled a roster she hopes can compete across as many disciplines as possible.

That started with 22-year-old China snowboarder Yiming Su who has already won multiple Olympic, World Championship, and World Cup medals, along with a Winter X Games title in 2023.

Among the team’s most recognizable local connections for Utahns are Alex Hall and Troy Podmilsak, two Park City athletes who can serve as ambassadors for the region.

Hall, a seven-time X Games gold medalist, in particular, was a particularly important addition for Hazen.

“Alex, to me, is a pro’s pro,” Hazen said. “You never know what you’re going to get as far as — I call it life experience, more than just contest experience. So being able to have someone that can represent the region where you’re from, who is a professional not just on the course, but off the course, is really important.

Alex is essentially going to be that person that’s representing Park City.”

The Park City team will have a global identity, with athletes coming from different countries and backgrounds. But Hazen knows a local connection is important if the team is going to develop a following in the state.

“The X Games has always been a global event,” she said. “And for us, it was really important to have a global roster. However, you do need attachment for people and fans to associate with the region.”

That attachment, she believes, can come through the athletes themselves.

“They’re the ones that are representing Park City and they’re bringing their fan base with them,” Hazen said.

The challenge is creating a team identity among athletes who have spent their careers competing against one another.

Hazen saw that dynamic firsthand during the X Games League’s summer season this past year. She mentioned her summer team took a road trip before its first event, giving athletes an opportunity to spend time together away from competition.

The result was a group that began to feel more like teammates.

“It was awesome because most of these individuals know each other, they’ve competed with each other, they’ve traveled together depending on what their discipline is, but they haven’t necessarily interacted in the same sphere as what this provides now,” Hazen said. “And our goal was to try and get the athletes as bonded in a team dynamic as quickly as possible.”

She added, “You have a very short window of time. And the whole point is to support the athletes during their contest and their competition run.”

She recalled seeing athletes cheer for teammates who would normally be considered their competition.

“Mia (Kretzer) was competing, Lilly Erickson was cheering harder than anybody else for her,” Hazen said. “Cocona (Hiraki) and Lily compete against each other in women’s park. But you would never know that they were competing against one another based on how they were supporting one another.”

That, Hazen said, is one of the most important aspects of the league.

The athletes aren’t losing their individuality by becoming part of a team. Instead, they are gaining nine teammates who can support them while they continue to compete as individuals.

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“The biggest misconception is that the athletes are losing their individuality by being a part of a team, and that’s not true,” Hazen said. “They’re getting to have nine other people support their individuality every time they drop into the contest.”

Putting down roots in Utah

Hazen also sees the Park City team as something that should exist beyond competition weekends.

The team is exploring community projects in the Park City and greater Salt Lake areas, with conversations underway with local resorts about potential events. Specific plans had not yet been finalized.

The goal is to eventually give fans opportunities to interact with the athletes while introducing more people — particularly young people — to skiing, snowboarding and other action sports.

“Without community, we have nothing,” Hazen said. “And the whole point is to support the communities in which we are representing.”

Rather than immediately seeking a dedicated Park City team facility, Hazen noted she sees an opportunity to partner with the surrounding area’s local resorts and organizations that already have the infrastructure and resources necessary to host athletes and community events.

Park City, she mentioned, is uniquely positioned to provide those resources.

“The nicest thing about Park City, specifically for winter, it’s the mecca of availability for resources,” Hazen said. “There’s so many different variations and varieties of resorts, of facilities for training.”

Those partnerships could eventually lead to events where fans can meet their favorite athletes or where young people can get an introduction to skiing and snowboarding.

Hazen’s priority is simple: Make the sports more accessible.

“Not everyone is going to become a professional athlete, and that’s OK,” she said. “Not everything has to be so intense in that capacity.”

She recognizes that skiing and snowboarding can be expensive. Equipment, lessons and lift tickets can create barriers for families who might otherwise want to participate.

“If you loved ski or snowboard, you should have access to it,” Hazen said. “If you don’t know how to ski and snowboard, there should be access for you to be able to learn.”

That could mean discounted or free lift tickets, donated equipment or introductory events, she said.

“You just get more kids and more youth involved in sport in general,” Hazen said. “But in particular, the sports that we have access to. So that for our vision, youth engagement is huge. That would be the number one priority for sure.”

A small-town upbringing

That focus on community is not accidental.

Hazen grew up in Blackie, Alberta, Canada, a small town of roughly 180 people where sports were central to life there.

Because the community was so small, virtually everyone who could participate did.

“Sport was the glue in our community,” Hazen said. “We needed every single person that was able to play, play.”

That experience shaped the way she thinks about sports and community today.

“There wasn’t money behind it. It was really gritty. But what it did, it created an environment where sports were just a normal part of growing up.”

Her career eventually took her deeper into action sports. While living in Whistler, she worked for a production company and met snowboarder Jess Kimura, who was creating an all-women video series called “The Uninvited.”

The two eventually helped turn that concept into a live event, creating a space for women to showcase their talents.

For Hazen, the experience demonstrated what could happen when people intentionally create opportunities for athletes.

“It was so empowering and addictive of what happens when you put a ton of work and thought and strategy into creating a space for people to be able to showcase their talent,” she said.

Her career continued through athlete representation and marketing before eventually leading her to the X Games.

Now, she is helping build something that she believes can give more athletes opportunities while also creating a new relationship between action sports and fans.

“It wasn’t enough just to work for the athletes or work with the athletes,” Hazen said. ”It was supporting the community and the people that make things happen behind the scenes.”

Looking five years ahead, she mentioned one of the biggest challenges is simply helping people understand what the XGL is and how it works.

But beyond that, she wants Park City fans to feel the same attachment to their team that fans have toward traditional professional sports teams.

“We want people to cheer for their home team,” she said.

And she hopes that connection can extend well beyond the athletes who call Utah home.

“You can be from anywhere and have favorites,” Hazen said. “A lot of people didn’t cheer for the Lakers, but they cheered for Kobe and therefore became a Lakers fan.”

Ultimately, Hazen sees the XGL as an opportunity to build something that goes beyond a scoreboard.

She wants the Park City team to give fans athletes to follow, young people new ways to participate and the community a reason to feel connected to a team that is competing on a global stage.

And if that happens, she believes the impact of the league could extend far beyond its first season.

“I’m really looking forward to the continuation of the expansion,” Hazen said, “so that more athletes can be getting paid and for their lives to continue to grow because of this experience.”

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