Lincon City phase III

[Kent Dahlgren]

We need to get photos .

City skateboard park expands

Published: November 29, 2005
By BILL CHOY
The News Guard


While most teens would not consider being covered in mud, digging holes and hammering pieces of wood together to be their idea of a fun weekend, this situation suited Jason Baker, 19, and several fellow skateboarders just fine

Although the work was long and challenging, he said on Sunday the end result of the work will be well worth the effort – they will have a new skateboard facility in town.

With the help of Mark Scott of Dreamland Skateparks, a company based in Lincoln City which travels around the country and world designing and constructing skate parks, several skaters spent the past weekend constructing a skating bowl at the Lincoln City Skatepark. It's design is like an empty swimming pool, a popular skating design used in areas like southern California. The group recently received approval from the Lincoln City Council and the Parks and Recreation Department to complete the work.

"We're working hard to get this done," said Baker, a resident of Lincoln City. "We all have the goal of skating here and we want to finish it."

Baker said skaters like the skating a bowl because of the challenge and the thrill of doing skating tricks and maneuvers in such a tight, challenging space.

Justin Heistan, a fellow skater from Lincoln City, agreed.

"It's going to be a whole lot of fun when it's done," he said.

Scott said work should be completed in around two weeks – weather permitting. Funds for the bowl came from several fund-raisers organized by Skaters For Lincoln City Skateparks, such as skateboarding contests held at the skatepark. For the current project, the city and the parks department helped the skaters by starting a deposit account earmarked for the skatepark bowl.

Scott said having the skaters who use the facility help build the bowl is a way for them to have pride and an investment in the skatepark.

"It gives them a sense of ownership," he said. "It's a good hands-on experience."


A positive endeavor

Parks and Recreation Director Ron Ploger said he believes it is important for the city to support the skaters andtheir endeavors. He remembers in the 1980s when the only skate facility in town was a wooden ramp at the community center.

When he took over as parks director in 1991, Ploger said he worked with local skaters to have a cement park in town, with a skatepark eventually being built.

In 1999, the park received a major renovation, done by Dreamland. The expanded park was named "America's Gnarliest Skatepark" by Thrasher Magazine, which gave the park a 9-out-of-10 rating.

Another skatepark section was built in 2003, after the city council approved funding to build the facility. Scott said if they raise enough funds, he would like to eventually connect the two skate facilities.

Ploger said, to him, it is important for his department and the city to help nurture and support a positive outlet like skateboarding.

"Skating is kind of like little league was 30 to 40 years ago," he said. "It's a popular thing and it's a good form of exercise. It's different than other types of sports, because it's an individual thing, like rock climbing. You do it at your own pace. A lot of kids like that. ... It's just another positive outlet for kids in town. It keeps them out of trouble."

"It seems to be a lifelong sport," Ploger added. "You've got guys out there in their late 30s and 40s skating."

Ploger said with the success of the skatepark, he would like to eventually see other, similar facilities built in town, such as an area with a bicycle track, where X-Game-type sports and events could be held.

[Peter Sundt]

this jest gives me one more god reason to go there.
PHOTOS!!!

[Dan Hughes]

SPS Summit in Lincoln City, '06?

[eric b]

I think I know where I want to live now.

[Mark Goddard]

SPS Summit in Lincoln City, '06?

[pablitolaak]

I have to go to Yachats soon.. within the next couple of weeks. I'll go through LC and get some shots.. and try and give a hand on the new project!

Did I ever mention that I skate the OG park... like the park where the tombstone came from?



P.S. Mark, great cartoon!

[Nick Dallett]

LC was already on my favorite parks list, but this should bump it up a notch

[Dan Hughes]

SPS Summit in Lincoln City, '06?

Sorry Mark. A city of 7,000 people, with three skateparks.
Seemed like a good example of getting more skatepark square footage per capita. Well, until I realized they don't really have any good street there.

But, then that could be our focus down there, eh?

[Chris Hildebrand]

wait a minute here... a third tranny park in Lincoln City? How dare they? This is a flagrant violation of the commandments of the SPS!

I'm surprised that SPS advocates aren't chaining themselves to the rebar in protest! How can you let such trangressions go unchecked in the heart of SPS country?

Sure this sounds like a volunteer grassroots affair, but thats no reason to take it easy on them!
You guys need to step it up and follow through better.

Theres no reason a stair set couldn't be built there instead of that pool replica.
What about the switch tres down 9, guys?

Have we forgotten what we're here for?

I would like to see Kent Dahlgren put his carcass on the line to put a stop to this transition madness, which is ravaging the countryside like a virulent epidemic.
chain yourself to the flatbottom of the bowl, Kent! ask the other Northwest SPS advocates to do the same! I would show up myself to help on that pour day--I think you guys would make a great foundation for a pump bump a la burnside.

Then at least you would quiet your critics who claim you don't actually help contribute anything useful to our scene!

PS hows that for an unprofessional misguided email rant?

PSS I'll take my chances with losing favor with my "potential clients", but thanks for the concern!

[Mark Goddard]

Sorry Mark. A city of 7,000 people, with three skateparks.
Seemed like a good example of getting more skatepark square footage per capita. Well, until I realized they don't really have any good street there.

But, then that could be our focus down there, eh?

A summit at LC following a summit at Hailey only reinforces the thoughts of some that SPS is a marketing machine for DL/GL/AS. SPS needs more involvement from younger skaters, having summits at tranny only parks will not attract younger skaters as effectively as a summit at say, Bonsor. It creates a vicious circle of sorts, most SPS guys are tranny skaters so we have summits at all tranny parks so we attract more tranny skaters so we then have summits at tranny parks as we are mostly tranny skaters...

Chris, that's quite the post, yes I realize it is bombastic sarcastic to the max, but it also illustrates that your thought process when it comes to terrain diversity is fundamentally flawed. You are also mistaken as to what we are and what we espouse.

[Mark Goddard]

I would like to see Kent Dahlgren put his carcass on the line to put a stop to this transition madness, which is ravaging the countryside like a virulent epidemic.

Consider: you are advocating to fight street plazas, which, by definition, are skateparks without tranny. You see them as an aberration, and rightfully so. How do you think an all-tranny skatepark appears to someone who skates street?

Finally: how many skate plazas are in existence, right now? How many are planned and being developed?

Now, how many tranny-only parks are out there?

[Peter Whitley]

Who is Chris Hildebrand again?

[Chad Balcom]

I like the visual of turning Kent into a twinkie.

[Todd Winkelman]

Who is Chris Hildebrand again?

I thought i knew him.

[seth_johnson]

Have we forgotten what we're here for?

Chris,

Your hostility towards SPS really comes across as misguided to me. Obviously you're rankled because various SPS members have faulted Grindline's reputation for building transition-dominated skateparks in towns where a significant portion of the intended users prefer street terrain.

You really have more to gain by ignoring those criticisms and continuing to demonstrate Grindline's commitment to integrating user input in your designs. This will shut your critics up and help snowball word-of-mouth marketing for your services.

Tomorrow is the grand opening ceremony of the park Grindline built in Austin. I'll be speaking at a podium with the Mayor. I'm going to ask "who thinks this is the best skatepark in Texas?" And I expect to hear over 1,000 skaters hollering back.

Why? Because you did a terrific job refining the design and evaluating the input we gathered from the street skating teenagers. You balanced the wants of the skaters with the meager budget we had available and then your crew came in and did a perfect implementation.

A complete success like this does not go unnoticed and literally sweeps the legs from under any Grindline critics. It's also a guaranteed way for you to win piles of contracts.

Seth