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Skaters get on board to build new park

Contributed by: Seth Davis/YourHub.com staff on 2/25/2008

Whoever subscribes to the stereotype that most skaters are slackers likely hasn't met Emily Oliver and her fellow Arvada Skate Park Committee members.

The Arvada mother, who is about to open a boutique in Olde Town and has been skateboarding for about nine years, is working with other motivated members of the community ranging in age from 8 years old to adult to get the wheels rolling on a new skate park to be built next to the Apex Center, 13150 W. 72nd Ave.

"If it's built the right way and in the right place, next to a rec center, it can be a really safe place for your kids to hang out and do something they love and be outdoors," Oliver said. "To me, having a skate park is just as important as having soccer fields or baseball diamonds."

The existing skate park, located at Memorial Park at 7800 Barbara Ann Drive, consists of rails and half-pipes that have become as outdated as cassette tapes and parachute pants, Oliver said.

"It's just old - it was built in 1995 - and things have come a long way in skating since then. The new thing is to have concrete parks; they have more skill levels and more people can skate at once," Oliver said.

Oliver said the skateboarders would like it to "have bowls and have the widest range of obstacles so anyone with any ability can skate." She said she would even like to see parts of the park that are challenging enough for pro skaters to compete on if they held competitions there.

Mike Lee, manager of urban and park design for the city of Arvada, said he is familiar with the old skate park's shortcomings and agrees with the skaters who say they deserve a new venue to practice their sport.

"(The old park) is a small one, and we built it on a shoestring budget. It served its purpose, but it has gone downhill in terms of the quality of the facility," Lee said. "Since that time, several large skate parks have been built throughout Colorado."

Lee said the estimated cost of the new skate park is $2.2 million. That figure includes about $1 million worth of work that needs to be done on the entrance off 72nd Avenue, such as lighting, street and curb work and more.

The new skate park will be part of a larger community park, which is slated to occupy about 106 acres of city-owned land, Lee said. A 2000 study by the city found that Arvada has plenty of small neighborhood parks that are five acres or smaller, but it lacks larger community parks such as Denver's Washington Park.

Lee said the dedication of the skate park committee - exemplified by the fact that Oliver said the skate park group aims to raise the entire $2.2 million through obtaining grants and holding fundraisers - has impressed him and other city staff.

"The neat thing about it is a lot of times we get requests for new facilities, but these skaters were excited about the idea of a new skate park and were willing to work for that and help raise money," Lee said.

According to Lee, the advantage of having skaters on the committee is that they are aware of sources of money available to groups looking to build skate parks, including grants from the Tony Hawk Foundation, Great Outdoors Colorado and Jefferson County Open Space.

Lee said no timeline has been set for the completion of the skate park, but he ventured that "say the fundraising takes three years, I would say we'd have it done in five years, although the skaters would certainly want to have it done sooner than that."

The wisest way to proceed is to begin construction once the city has obtained all funding because projects often end up costing more when done in phases, he said.

Based on past experiences with groups putting forth project proposals, Bill Orchard, co-chair of the Arvada Park Advisory Committee, said he has been impressed with the resourcefulness employed by the Arvada Skate Park Committee in attempting to meet its goal.

"They're surprisingly organized," Orchard said. "We had a group come one time that wanted us to build a miniaturized race track. They said, 'Call us when you're done with it.'"

Orchard said he doesn't think that will be the case with the skateboarders, though.

"There's grants out there, and these little fundraising activities, while they don't raise much money, they show that these people are dedicated and trying to help out any way they can," Orchard said.

Other skate parks
If you're looking for a place to skate while the new park in Arvada is being planned, here are a few local options:
- Memorial Park, 7800 Barbara Ann Drive, Arvada
- Warehouse 180 Indoor Skatepark, 8270 W. 80th Ave., Arvada
- Anderson Park, 44th Avenue and Field Street, Wheat Ridge
- Woodward Skatepark, 14500 Colfax Ave., No. 610, Lakewood
- Walker-Branch Park, Harlan Street and 17th Avenue, Lakewood
- Westminster City Park, 104th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard
- Ulysses Park, 1206 Ulysses St., Golden
SOURCE: WWW.DENVERSKATEPARK.COM

How to help
- The Arvada Skate Park Committee's next meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 in the party room at the Apex Center, 13150 W. 72nd Ave., Arvada. The public is welcome to join.
- The committee will be holding a spaghetti dinner and silent auction to raise funds at 6 p.m. March 4 at Ralston Valley High School, 13355 W. 80th Ave., Arvada. Tickets will cost $5 at the door and include dinner and a beverage.
- Go to www.arvadaskatepark.com to stay updated on the committee's activities, or e-mail info@arvadaskatepark.com for more information.



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Showing 1 of 1 comments
Submitted By: Paula Dunbar
posted on 2/26/2008 @ 1:07:17 AM
Rated Story
Awesome... as a mother of a skater.. and it's close to home.. we both endorse this idea..
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Seth Davis has posted 1404 stories and 211 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Seth Davis's average story rating is 4.69.
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