Matt Tolbert, Director of Texas X Park

Matt Tolbert, Director of Texas X Park

Written by Staff Thursday, 17 April 2008

Q. What got you interested in extreme sports?

A. Extreme sports have been a life-long passion of mine. In June of 2000, I retired from the pro circuit of competing in the International Hot Rod Association’s Pro Modified class to devote my time to this type of development. My experience with extreme sports is that they are very family-oriented, and everyone involved is part of one big family unit.

Q. How did you transfer that interest in extreme sports into a development?

A. This is truly a difficult task. Unlike traditional sports with set boundaries of play fields, extreme sports are always evolving and changing. With thousands of concept plans and input from the respected venue consultants and participants, we feel that we now have the right site development plan being submitted. When our sports venues change, we should be able to modify field changes needed to stay on the cutting edge, per our development agreement we have with the city of Leander.

Q. What is your favorite part of the Texas X Park development?

A. My favorite part of this development is the timing and location. The city of Leander has really come a long way in the last five years to become a very trendy and progressive community. The community, Leander staff and its leadership have made a real commitment to providing the community with a higher quality of life, work and play. Our development is benefiting from the community, as is every other business in the Leander area. The improvements on transportation, including the partnership with Capital Metro, are definitely helping to draw a lot of people. Our timing with choosing Leander for our development was perfect, and we are proud to be part of the early stages of the city of Leander’s exciting growth experience.

Q. What will surprise people about the development?

A.The energy and excitement of our development will be surprising to everyone. Our development promises to be a unique venue where individuals and families can come and spend a few hours, an entire day, or even vacation here, as a spectator, fan, or a participant. Plain and simple - there will be something for everyone.

Q. How do you respond to people who question if the X Park will ever open?

A. Hmmm, my 7- and 10-year-old sons, Toby and Thomas, ask me this all the time. Our partnership is approaching its third year working on this development. We have the best engineers, consultants, and attorneys working with us. My equity partners have spent well over $4 million in planning, permits and entitlements. I spend more than 80 hours a week on this development as do our other partners. There is no income for us, and there will not be for some time. We are doing all we can.

Q. How will the Texas X Park affect the city of Leander?

A. We are hoping for a large economic impact for our community. We desire to draw entertainment dollars to Leander and create jobs and additional income to our community business partners. We are planning a lot of community support programs, and hopefully we will meet our sales tax expectations for Leander. When our development is up and running strong, we will strive to support our community as they have supported us.

Q. Where do you see the Texas X Park 10 years down the road?

A. I do have a ten-year vision. Our team is designing a very good product over phases that should ensure that the Texas X Park continues to be a very successful and highly exposed entertainment venue. I would like to see people vacationing here from other cities and countries because of what they have heard about the Texas X Park and the City of Leander.

For more information:

Texas X Park, 339-9935

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