Park district staff and local skateboarders are excited about the Bud Mohr Skate Park, which reopened at the end of May after a complete remodel.
“It is awesome!” said Executive Director Jackie Iovinelli. Iovinelli said the crowds have been big, respectful and considerate and have expressed their joy in the new equipment.
Last Tuesday, Iovinelli said there were over 100 skaters of different levels and abilities, all of them with positive things to say. “They were so happy,” said Iovinelli.
The process in total took about six weeks, longer than the anticipated four weeks because of factory delays related to the pandemic. Although the park district applied for a grant to rebuild the skate park, they did not receive it. The project was budged for $250,000 and ended up costing a dollar less than estimated at $249,999.
A skateboarder performs a trick at the newly rebuilt skate park. | Alex Rogals, Staff Photographer 
Noah Hickman drops in the half pipe on Friday, June 4. | Alex Rogals, Staff Photographer 
Chris Davis transfers on his skateboard. | Alex Rogals, Staff Photographer 
Attendees skate on the new ramps at the skate park on Friday, June 4. | Alex Rogals, Staff Photographer 
Noah Hickman drops in the half pipe on Friday, June 4. | Alex Rogals, Staff Photographer
The work was done by American Ramp, which conducted a survey of skate park users prior to the redesign. The idea, said Brian Moore from American Ramp, was “a 100 percent community driven design.”
At a February park district board meeting, Moore talked about the growth in popularity of skateboarding as well as the growing respect it’s been receiving outside of the skateboarding community. In fact, skateboarding is making its debut at the 2021 summer Olympics, originally scheduled for 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic.
“This is the first time that our sport has been recognized as an actual sport and not a fad or a hobby,” said Moore.
