Let the waves begin

Mike Sciacca

A towering mass of steel and wood turned a blank canvas of sand into

a monstrous festival site on the south side of the Huntington Beach

Pier.

A crew of about 100 was busy constructing grandstands and arenas

to house the Bank of the West Beach Games featuring the Honda U.S.

Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill.

Although empty now with a ghost-town-like quality, the site will

host more than 600 athletes from across the globe and attract an

estimated 300,000 spectators to an event combining surfing, action

sports, music, exhibits and vendor booths beginning Saturday and

running through Aug. 1.

Construction on the site began more than a week ago.

“We’re back and bigger than ever,” said James Leitz, vice

president for International Management Group X Sports, which took

over the event in 2001. “There are so many great things that this

city has to offer for an event like this. It’s the atmosphere, the

waves, the world-famous pier, the history, the surf industry -- it’s

all here. I don’t know where else you can find all those assets in

one place.”

The transformation of the south side of the pier created an area

that will house 85 vendor booths -- which is up from last year’s

total -- and an interactive lifestyle festival featuring the

TransWorld Surf Village, the Honda Base Camp, the Philips Vortex, the

PlayStation Gaming Lounge and the Paul Mitchell “Cut-a-Thon.”

Other activities include daily athlete autographing sessions,

dance contests, DJs, guest emcees and prize giveaways.

Teen Vogue “Fashion Live,” a show displaying the latest in beach

attire, returns on July 29.

Live regional and national musical acts will perform on the Bank

of the West concert stage, set up at the north side of the pier from

4 to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 30 and Saturday, July 31.

Nearly 13 acres of beach is being used to accommodate the event

site.

“We started planning this the day last year’s event ended,” said

Mario Bonaventura, production manager for International Management

Group X Sports, who said building permits were secured seven months

in advance. “This city has been really great and works well with us.

It’s one of the most involved and helpful cities we work with, and we

work with anywhere between 15 and 20 cities in the U.S. every year.”

The U.S. Open of Surfing is North America’s highest-rated

qualifying event and the world’s largest surfing competition.

The contest draws 500 of the sport’s elite surfers, who will

compete for a $175,000 purse.

Other division competitions include the O’Neill U.S. Open of

Longboarding and Lost Pro Junior.

The grandstands, situated along the shoreline for the surf

competitions, will accommodate 5,000, Bonaventura said, with plenty

of sand left for seating directly in front of the grandstands.

Action sports will join surfing in the spotlight as some of the

world’s best skateboarders and BMX riders compete for a combined

purse of $50,000 July 29 through Aug. 1.

The innovative Philips Key Ring “Soul Bowl,” which measures 68

feet long, 46 feet wide, 13 feet deep and is constructed of Finnish

birch, will be home to the action-sports competitions.

Seating capacity for the Soul Bowl, Leitz said, is 3,000, and

those unable to fit into the bowl can watch the competition on a

nearby big-screen television.

New to this year’s games is the King and Queen of the Beach

professional volleyball tournament July 30 and 31 on the north side

of the pier.

The competition will feature the sport’s up-and-comers against

legendary names such as Adam Johnson, David Swatik, Lia Young and

Karrie Poppinga.

The tournament will pay homage to beach volleyball competitions of

old by playing on larger courts with traditional beach rules.

Also new to the games is the Freestyle Motocross Ramp to Ramp Air

Show south of the Soul Bowl in a 300- by 50-foot area.

Three air shows will run on July 30 and 31.

“As you can see, there’s going to be a little of something here

for everyone,” Leitz said. “There’s going to be plenty going on down

here over an eight-day period.”

A minimum of 12 hours of original beach games programming will be

broadcast, including the surfing finals.

“Huntington’s just a fun place to surf,” defending U.S. Open men’s

champion Cory Lopez said.

Lopez, who lives in Florida, will arrive in Surf City on Sunday to

defend his title.

“The waves, the atmosphere, the crowd, the competition, it’s all

what makes coming to Huntington so much fun,” he said. “It’s just a

great arena for surfing.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.