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<br /> III ‘ Skate Away ,...
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<br /> Cities begin to accommodate young skaters and skateboarders.
<br /> By Rachel M.Sherman
<br /> Iti
<br /> • . he phone in Denise Smith's office keeps on ringing.The from all over the southeast to see what we've done," i
<br /> callers are interested in booking birthday parties, says H.C.(Woody)Woodward,the director of the
<br /> donating money,finding out about sponsorships Methodist Home Recreation Center Skate Park in Char t
<br /> and getting all the details about the new skate park lotte,N.C.,one of the locations Greer's planning corn-
<br /> i
<br /> in Greer,S.C.Sounds like a dream come true. mittee visited during its extensive research stage."In
<br /> But for Smith,who is in charge of fund raising for the west,there are quite a few skating facilities,but 1
<br /> the facility,it's also a bit overwhelming.The four-acre therearen't a whole lotin this part of the country." •
<br /> park for skateboarding in-line skating,in-lure hockey The 13-month-old Charlotte facility is a testimo- R
<br /> and BMX bikes is not yet complete.In fact,the ground nial to city-owned skate parks,as it was relatively I
<br /> has barely been turned,and inexpensive to build and it's
<br /> • Smith has just begun to seek „may,i always in use. j
<br /> the handful of major spon- This is a group of The 9,000-square foot park I
<br /> • sors she hopes to secure. was erected on an old tennis
<br /> "We're hoping a lot of the teenagers and court that had a concrete pad
<br /> skate companies and anyone and fencing already in place.
<br /> who produces any type of With labor provided by the f
<br /> athletic gear will want to be young adults Who county's engineers, the park j
<br /> involved in this,"she says. was completed for approxi- �`
<br /> "It'sgoingtobe agreatoppor- we, as recreation - - mately $30,000, the cost of ,
<br /> The plans for tunity for these companies to 7 materials.The city was then
<br /> Greer's new promote their products,and professionals, able to raise about $40,000 in
<br /> • skate park hopefully for one,to have the national and local corporate
<br /> include park named after them." , sponsorship by selling advertis-
<br /> activities for The excitement being gen- probably ha ven t ing space inside the park. .
<br /> skateboarders, erated by this park is certainly y, The number of registered
<br /> in-line skaters due to its mammoth size and addressed until the skaters in Charlotte has already
<br /> and BMX the four skill levels it promises reached 1,500,and about 400
<br /> bikers from to offer,but it's also in part to n skaters use the park each week
<br /> beginner to its location in the southeast last couple of years. Woodward says they also hold
<br /> professionaL "I've had people coming special events such as demon-
<br /> strations and events that include raffles,giveaways
<br /> and product showcases from the park's sponsors.
<br /> s.,\ Says Greer's recreation director,Dick Ploof, •
<br /> "When we first started our project, I wasn't sure
<br /> what we had gotten into But once I went to the
<br /> p,, Charlotte facility, I was convinced it could work.
<br /> *iv/ We're still very conservative here in South Carolina,
<br /> and some of the kids who skate wear their hair long,
<br /> and some may even have tattoos,so people see
<br /> area/street them as different But these aren't bad kids.The fact
<br /> hockey is,this is a group of teenagers and young adults who
<br /> we,as recreation professionals,probably haven't
<br /> addressed until the last couple of years." •
<br /> That's what makes the idea of a skate park such a
<br /> viable one,says Ken Friesen,sports coordinator at
<br /> Sioux Falls(Si).)Parks and Recreation."We believe
<br /> i> IP it meets the needs that some of the other programs
<br /> don't,"Friesen says.
<br /> \lI ''� A skate park may be more of a gamble in South
<br /> Dakota,where the facility can only be used during
<br /> %f the warmer months,but Friesen says Sioux Falls is
<br /> 1 willing to give it a try.Currently the city is turning a
<br /> III 40 vacated tennis court into a temporary park that can
<br /> be used until snow begins to falL
<br /> "We had an initial figure of$100,000 to build the
<br /> permanent park,"Friesen says."We came up with
<br /> this interim solution so we could see if this will work
<br /> 28 ATHLETIC BUSINESS October 1997
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