Maloof Money Cup grinds on for world’s top skateboarders despite $1M loss last year

Maloof Money Cup grinds on for top skateboarders

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Sacramento Kings co-owner Joe Maloof estimates he lost $1 million staging last summer’s inaugural Maloof Money Cup, the self-described “world’s greatest skateboarding contest.”

“Maybe a little more,” Maloof mused. “That’s OK.”

Maloof and his brother, Gavin, had such a good time watching the world’s top skateboarders in the street and vert competitions that they’re staging the second Maloof Money Cup at the Orange County Fairgrounds from Friday through Sunday.

“We’ve been involved with all kinds of sports throughout the years, football, basketball — and I tell you, I don’t know that I’ve ever had more fun than last year at this event,” Joe Maloof said. “I just loved it. I didn’t want to leave.”

Most of the world’s top skateboarders will be back to try to get their share of sport’s biggest payday, about $450,000 in cash and prizes.

Paul Rodriguez will defend his title in the street competition against a field that’s expected to include Ryan Sheckler, Andrew Reynolds, Chris Cole and Nyjah Huston.

Rodriguez, the star of Rob Dyrdek’s skateboarding movie, “Street Dreams,” won $100,000 last year.

Pierre-Luc Gagnon will defend his vert title. He won $75,000 and an SUV last year, beating Olympic snowboard gold medalist and X Games star Shaun White.

The first-place money in street and vert remain the same this year. The winner in each division also gets a $10,000 watch and two guitars worth a total of $2,790.

“It’s beautiful for skateboarding,” Rodriguez said. “It takes just as much athleticism and skill as it does for any sport out there. I believe that we are worth the money.”

The street skaters will compete on a course that resembles a city plaza. The vert competition will take place on a mini mega ramp that includes a 30-foot drop-in ramp and a 25-foot gap with a handrail that skaters will grind across as they sail toward a half pipe.

Gagnon, Bob Burnquist and Jake Brown helped design the setup. The drop-in ramp and rail are similar to what Burnquist used to ride a skateboard into the Grand Canyon three years ago. He parachuted the rest of the way down.

Gagnon swept the vert titles last year at the Maloof Money Cup, X Games and Dew Tour.

Brown became an instant celebrity two summers ago after he survived a 40-foot fall at the X Games that was so jarring it knocked his sneakers off. He bruised a lung and his liver, and broke a wrist and a vertebra.

Others scheduled to compete in vert are Bucky Lasek, Andy MacDonald and Danny Way, who jumped the Great Wall of China on a skateboard in 2005.

White is injured and won’t compete, but is expected to attend.

“It should be a great show,” Gagnon said. “We’re always trying to be really creative and innovative with the designs and keep it interesting. It gets boring if it’s always the same ramps and stuff. I think the audience always wants to see something new. I think we definitely achieved that.”

That’s why the Maloofs are back for more, even though last year’s show ended up in the red.

“It was a first-time event and we had to prove ourselves right of the gate,” Joe Maloof said. “There were a lot of people who said, ‘What are the Maloofs going to be doing in skateboarding? They don’t know anything about skateboarding.’ And so I thought that to do it right and to establish ourselves, we had to do it first-class all the way.

“This year, regardless of the economy, we’re going to make money,” said Maloof, who’s signed a stable group of sponsors. “The money, though, I’m going to kick it right back into the event next year.”

The pairing of the Maloofs and skateboarders might seem odd, but it certainly fits the brothers’ personalities. Besides the NBA’s Kings, they also own the Palms in Las Vegas.

“There’s a brotherhood with this skateboarding that I’ve never seen in any other athletic endeavors that we’ve been involved with,” Joe Maloof said. “They get along together, they support each other, they stick up for each other, defend each other. They’re kind of rebels that do something that’s spectacular.

“It’s fun to watch these guys,” he added. “The demographics of a pro skateboarder is just like the NBA, 19 to 34. They’re fabulous athletes. They’re graceful, they’ve got great skill and I think it’s time mainstream America jumps on board. It’s not just for rebels anymore, it’s for everybody.”

Maloof plans to hold a Maloof Money Cup in Las Vegas in October.