Sturgeon Bay Plans for Skate Park
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Coming off the heels of Sister Bay’s skate park opening, skateboarders in Sturgeon Bay may soon have a park of their own.
The Sturgeon Bay City Council approved a basic plan at their June 7 meeting setting land aside near the West Side Ball Field for the park.
Matt Young, member of the Sturgeon Bay Sk8 Park Initiative, said skateboarders currently lack a safe place to practice their sport, which a park would provide.
Skater and Sturgeon Bay sophomore George Dubuque said skaters use the streets as their park, which attracts the attention of law enforcement.
“We try to skateboard in town and the police are after us,” he said. “We don’t really have any place designated for us.”
Dubuque said he and his friends run from Sturgeon Bay Police every day, and while they usually just find another place to skate, having a place of their own would make it easier to grow as skaters.
“[The skate park] just gives everybody a chance to get a lot better and advance in their skills since we wouldn’t get kicked out,” he said.
The park will be built in phases, similar to Sister Bay’s, but Dubuque said the Sturgeon Bay park will start off as concrete. Sister Bay’s skate park, located at the Sister Bay Sports Complex, is made of wood and currently sits where the ice rink is in winter.
Because the Sturgeon Bay park will be poured concrete, Young said $5,000 needs to be raised for a design before money can be raised for the park itself.
The first phase of the park would cover 2,500 square feet and could cost $90,000, Young said.
So far the group has raised $600 in pledges. Young said hosting a battle of the bands and running a hot dog stand are two possible fundraising options.
Members of the Sk8 Park Initiative traveled to Stevens Point June 10 to skate at its public skate park. Young said the trip was used as a brainstorming tool to help the skateboarders create their own park.
While in Stevens Point, the group met one of the main fundraisers for the skate park there. Young said they bounced ideas around as far as fundraising ideas.
Taking what they know, Dubuque said the skaters are also using their experience with the streets of Sturgeon Bay for inspiration, incorporating street elements into the park.
While the project is still in its early stages, Young said the enthusiasm among skaters has been contagious.
“Everybody is excited to have a place to skate,” he said.