X Games leaving Southern California after 10 years in LA

Is this more fallout from the turmoil at Anschutz Entertainment Group? Here's how ESPN explains the departure of the X Games after the finale this August in downtown Los Angeles:

After more than 10 years in and around downtown Los Angeles, the X Games will leave Southern California for a new destination next year. Chicago, Detroit, Austin, Texas, and Charlotte, N.C. have been announced as finalist cities to earn three-year contracts to host the North American summer stop on the X Games global tour beginning in 2014, the X Games said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The X Games have grown significantly and has been enjoyed by millions of fans over the past 10 years in Los Angeles," Scott Guglielmino, senior vice president, programming and X Games said in a statement. "Our partners AEG and the city of Los Angeles have been instrumental in our success. As we embark on a year of significant global expansion and transformation for X Games in 2013, we are excited about the potential each of these cities bring, and look forward to identifying our next host city for the X Games."

Last October, X Games began taking bids from cities hoping to host the games -- an Olympic-style bidding process where groups representing each city sent in proposals as the contract between the X Games and AEG was set to expire after the 2013 X Games in Los Angeles. AEG, a Los Angeles-based entertainment company which owns Staples Center, the L.A. Kings, L.A. Galaxy and a minority stake in the L.A. Lakers among other properties, was up for sale last year and a contract to extend the X Games in Los Angeles was not agreed upon, so downtown L.A. was out of the running. However, Long Beach and Pasadena were announced as qualifiers in January, but those two cities missed the cut for the final round, meaning the X Games will not return to Southern California next year.

Detroit has been among the loudest cities looking to get the games, ESPN says.