• by Karl Greenberg , December 18, 2008

Red Bull is creating a massive snowboarding arena in lower Manhattan this winter as a branded venue for Red Bull Snowscrapers, a competition that pits snowboarding icons against each other for a piece of the $100,000 purse.

Sixteen pro board riders, including Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White and freestylist Travis Rice, will compete. The event will include performances by bands like Anthrax. There will also be a spectator "village" located in East River Park, at Houston Street and FDR Drive.

The structure for the event is a 90-foot tall or nine-story hill adjacent to an 80-foot-long landing area. A panel of internationally licensed judges will score the event. To promote, Red Bull has a Web site, www.RedBullSnowscrapers.com.

The competition will be live on MSG and on Feb. 15 on NBC, per Red Bull. The Austria-based company is big in sports. In 2006, it bought the former New York MetroStars soccer team and renamed the organization Red Bull New York (the team is called the New York Red Bulls).

The company will also do a similar kind of big-production, massive set pair of events on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. The "Red Bull New Year No Limits" to be broadcast on ESPN at 8 p.m. PST features motorcycle stuntman Robbie Maddison jumping over the faux Arc de Triomphe and driver Rhys Millen attempting to do a back flip off of a massive ramp, in a pickup truck at Rio Hotel and Casino.

First Research says energy drinks are benefiting from consumers leaving carbonated soft drinks, sales of which fell 6% in the food channel. Soft drinks constitute about 60% of non-alcoholic beverages sales, per the firm. Gatorade, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are top competitors; the latter two have bowed "G2" and "Full Throttle Hydration," respectively.