Saturday night’s Skate Eugene Party at the McDonald Theatre brought together skate enthusiasts in support of constructing a new skatepark that would be built underneath the Interstate 105 bridge.
Featuring a live DJ, two video game stations, two new skate films up on the big screen and the unveiling of final designs for the park, the benefit attracted local skaters inspired by the project’s potential. Benefit organizers and advocates of the new world-class park had a clear message for local skaters: almost there.
“It’s a project that’s been in the works for probably about five years, but we’re to the last hurdle, and that’s getting the money,” said Janet Brown, co-chair of Skaters for Eugene Skateparks. “That’s where we really need everybody’s help to just step up and buy a $15 T-shirt, buy a $2 bracelet. All the money goes to the park.”
The City of Eugene, Eugene Rotary and local non-profit Skaters for Eugene Skateparks have partnered for the project. The proposed 22,000-square-feet facility, dubbed City Center Skatepark, would be located in the area covered by the I-105 bridge between Washington and Jefferson streets.
Local skaters, who referred to themselves simply as Slay and Rudy, mused at a conceptual graphic of the park and shared their thoughts:
“I’m blown away by the whole design,” Slay said. “They’ve got in rails, boxes, bowls, freakin’ vert everywhere. I’d say it has everything you’d want to skate.”
Rudy said he appreciated the communal effort that went into conceptualizing the park.
“It was just really sick the way they had meetings for it and you could just throw out all your ideas,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of stuff going in there.”
Dreamland Skateparks, a Lincoln City-based company, unveiled the final design. The company lists design credentials on its Web site in the form of 60-plus finished skate parks, mainly in the Pacific Northwest. The site also boasts about the company’s skater-centric design ethic, stating that Dreamland employs only proficient skateboarders with a passion for the sport.
Dreamland team member Burke Morris said the Eugene City Center Skatepark is a highlight project for him because of the opportunity to develop a local skatepark where he lives.
But Brown said Skaters for Eugene Skateparks and Eugene Rotary are still about $200,000 shy of their pledged goal of $250,000 for the project.
Brown said the idea started with a small group of passionate local skaters, and now it is up to the community to help realize their vision for an epic skatepark in the heart of Eugene.
“Originally it was skaters who stepped up and wanted to have a downtown skatepark,” Brown said. “They had to get, I think, 1,700 signatures, and they did it in a very short period of time, brought it to the city of Eugene and got the ball rolling.”
Brown emphasized the potential for the world-class skatepark to bring an influx of skaters from around the world.
“It’ll be considered a destination skatepark, so people will travel from places to come skate here,” she said. “Skate pros will come and skate this park, so it’ll be a big deal.”
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