State College’s long-awaited skate park is finally opening. Here’s a look around

After years of meticulous conceptual planning and logistics, the highly-anticipated High Point Skate Park, is ready to welcome skateboarders, BMX riders and others on wheels to a first-of-its kind-space in the area.

High Point Skate park construction has been completed on 855 West Whitehall Road, within High Point Park, and a grand opening event is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, May 29. The event will kick off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony along with remarks from local leaders and community members who played a role in the decade-plus that it took to get the park from idea to reality.

The concrete skate park was designed for all riding styles and skill levels within wheeled sports, including skateboards, BMX-style bicycles, in-line skates and scooters, John Saxton, a former professional BMX rider and owner of Skidmark Parks said during a tour Wednesday. Saxton’s ramp building company designed the wooden frames and forms used to shape the concrete features in the park.

The 20,000-square-foot park features a street-style plaza up top, a bowl and transition zone below, and a hybrid middle section designed to let riders flow naturally between the two areas.

One section mimics the feel of riding through downtown streets or campus environments, with obstacles such as ledges, rails and stairs tailored toward technical street skating, Saxton explained. Nearby, a dedicated transition area features quarter pipes, hips and curved ramps that cater to riders looking for speed, flow and aerial tricks. The opposite side offers larger features and caters to experienced riders.

It is also wheelchair accessible and includes a granite centerpiece, which is a specialty in the skating world, according to Saxton.

“We were able to incorporate a couple big slabs of granite out here, which have already been huge,” he said.

Scratch marks along the waxed edges of the ledges show the park has already seen some early use before Friday’s official opening. Although the fence surrounding the skate park was only removed last week, Saxton said eager riders had already begun checking out the new space as soon as it appeared close to completion.

“The fence was mostly there to keep people from walking on the grass while it was still coming in,” he said. “People kept walking into the area and even climbing over it to get inside, whether they were supposed to or not. They officially took it down within the last week or so after the grass had its first mowing.”

Rules and restrictions at the skate park

When it comes to skate park safety measures, it is important for riders to stay aware of surroundings at all times, said Saxton, especially when it gets packed.

“There are going to be a lot of people here — big kids on bikes, scooters and skateboards — that can take you out and hurt you. So you kind of need to watch everyone, learn how to watch for traffic and know what everyone else is going to do,” he said.

He also recommends beginner riders wear pads and safety equipment such as helmets.

Skate park etiquette is also critical to the sustainability and reputation of the park, Saxton said, especially since it is newly introduced to the community.

“It’s a community, so we’re all working together to kind of try to make this a fun, happy, safe place this community has needed for a long time,” he said. “We finally have it so we don’t want to screw that up. We want to work together. We want this to be a healthy environment for everyone.”

The park is designed to operate from dawn to dusk, with no lighting installed for nighttime use. Saxton said the decision was intentional, as nearby homes could otherwise be disturbed by after-hours activity.

“We ask, try to keep music and noise and everything to a minimum,” he said, adding that smoking or drinking is not allowed and food and beverages should be kept at a minimum.

Although skateboarding and other skate park activities are largely individual sports, Saxton said the park fosters a unique sense of structure and community because riders of all ages are often using the space together.

“They’re very self-policing — the big kids, the adults, they kind of reign in the little kids and kind of guide them, almost like a mentor because we were all there at one point in time,” he said.

Construction and opening delays

Construction on the park started last year after State College Borough approved a $1.37 million contract with New Line Skate parks, a Florida-based municipal skate park design and construction team. Overall, the project cost more than $2 million and was aided by several grants and received more than $100,000 in donations from local residents and businesses, developers said previously.

A local group of community advocates and professionals in the skating world helped design the park, including Saxton, Gordie Kaufman, Kim Folds and Brad Groznik.

The project stretched out because of logistical and bureaucratic procedures, Saxton said.

“A lot of that was just bureaucratic stuff,” he said. “We needed certain papers filed, then other papers filed. A lot of it probably could have moved faster without that, but when you’re working with towns, cities and municipalities, you’re going to run into that kind of process no matter what.”

The official opening was also pushed back due to landscaping not being ready, even after the concrete park itself was essentially done.

“We were going to have this grand opening, I think it was April 2,” he said. “But because the grass had germinated and it was still too cold, it hadn’t taken yet, so we had to push the grand opening back until this Friday.”

During Friday’s grand opening event, riders are free to test out the park until 3:30 p.m., when professional skateboard, BMX and scooter demonstrations begin. From there, attendees will have the chance to interact and ride alongside the professionals while participating in a series of contests, games and giveaways consisting of donations by local businesses.

There will also be local food trucks, vendors and a DJ throughout the event. Parking will be available on Stratford Drive and at Whitehall Road Regional Park.

For more information on the park, visit www.highpointskatepark.com.

Paloma Pimentel

Centre Daily Times