The Westside’s only skate park, which has long been held together by a neglected hodgepodge of recycled equipment, will finally see a full renovation by mid-January, thanks to community fundraising and a new grant.
Construction for the new Silverado Skate Park began in early December after local nonprofit, the Action Sports Kids Foundation, reached its fundraising goal of about $155,000 when it got a $133,250 grant from Nouns DAO, a web-based art brand.
The ASK Foundation took on the renovation project in 2021, though the nonprofit’s vision planning for the skate park began in 2010.
The project is expected to finish in mid-January, according to Mike Donelon, founder and executive director of the ASK Foundation. Local kids, especially those who use the skate park, call him “pops.”
Donelon said that funding came in part from skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and his nonprofit, The Skateboard Project, which gave $15,000 to support the rebuild, continuing their long-standing relationship with the ASK Foundation. The Port of Long Beach also contributed $5,000.
Through design meetings and garnering input on social media, the local skateboarding youth — many of whom come from low-income families — played a major role in sketching the old park’s new design. That effort gives them a sense of “ownership and pride,” said Donelon.
The long-awaited renovation will add new ramps, rails, gaps and ledges, replacing the old and makeshift equipment from other parks that was extremely worn down or broken.
The revamped park will also feature artwork from Long Beach artist Van Eggers, an illustrator and skateboarder who has painted murals around the city.
“What was once a unutilized sport court has organically become the skating hot spot on the west side of Long Beach,” Cory Keem, president of ASK Foundation’s board of directors, said in a statement.
The ASK Foundation led the way to revitalizing the skate park through its Long Beach Skate Program, which aims to help youth stay out of gangs and crime by building self-esteem and offering opportunities to get involved with community projects.
“It’s amazing. We have kids picking up skateboards, not guns, jumping into skate parks, not gangs,” said Donelon.
The park will reopen sometime in late January, and ASK anticipates throwing a grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 10, which will feature an informal skateboard “jam” led by the local skaters, said Donelon. He’s also certain that an older generation of skaters that the ASK Foundation once impacted will show up to the ramps that day.
“The way they stay together, love each other and support each other,” said Donelon. “It (is) the definition of skateboarding.”
Silverado Park is at 1545 W 31st St. Support for Silverado Skate Park’s reopening and the ASK Foundation can be given here.