Established in 2013 by Franklin Alves, the USFSP Longboarding Club quickly grew in size to almost 50 members. In May 2014, the club attended a City Council meeting to help lift the ban on skateboarding downtown.
St. Petersburg will soon become home to the one of the largest skate parks in Florida.
Set to be completed by winter 2016, the 32,000-square-foot skate park will be located at Campbell Park on Fifth Avenue South and 16th Street, just west of Brooker Creek and east of Tropicana Field.
The city council approved the $1.6 million project, financed through the Weeki Wachee Fund, the reserves used for parks and recreation activities.
“We love the fact that it is close to downtown, close to USF and close to the interstate,” said City Council member Karl Nurse, who has shown his support for local skateboarders in the past.
Nick Nicks, 40, from the St. Pete Skatepark Alliance originally wanted the skate park to be on the water, and looked for a location on Spa Beach and Albert Whitted park. But due to the city’s waterfront master plan, the options became limited.
Campbell Park was chosen for its location and amenities, such as restrooms and parking. After, a feasibility study was conducted to check if the land could support large concrete structures and bowls.
Nicks said a regional skate park is “truly a destination” that has the potential to hold world class events.
According to Jay Turner, 43, from the St. Pete Skatepark Alliance, locals did not have access to quality skate parks like those in Sarasota.
Local skateboarders often travel across the Bay area to parks such as the Skatepark of Tampa.
“We have such an amazing city here in St. Petersburg that we felt it was time to have a skatepark of our own,” said Turner.
The skatepark could be the new hangout for the USF St. Petersburg Longboarding Club, which advocated lifting the 20-year-ban on skateboarding in the downtown corridor, and have shown their support for the upcoming skate park.
Founder of the Longboarding Club and former USFSP student Franklin Alves, 23, said the changes in skateboarding laws show how students can make an impact on the community.
“We showed up at the council meetings to show that there are local youth who are interested in this project,” said Longboarding Club member Will Harris, 21. “We wanted to get a lot of voices to show our enthusiasm for it to happen.”
City architect Raul Quintana said the skate park will commence construction next year.
