City to expedite plans for new skate park

Spohn Ranch Skateparks was selected by the city to build a new skate park at the Recreation Center. The company was hired by Alli Sports and NBC to construct a world-class bowl for the Dew Tour’s Beach Championships in Ocean City, Maryland, pictured, earlier this year.

Courtesy Spohn Ranch Skateparks

Sean Plundeke won the open skate contest at NYSEA’s fifth annual Surf Week in July. Many say that the skateboarding community in town continues to grow, and many are supporting plans for a new skate park.

COURTESY GRANT MONAHAN

• 
• 

The city is fast-tracking plans to build a new skate park at the Recreation Center, one that will include input from the public, and has many in the skateboarding and surfing community lauding the measure, though some questioned whether the best company was selected for the project.

At the Dec. 2 City Council meeting, City Manager Jack Schnirman said that construction of the skate park — a $300,000 project to be bonded as part of the city’s five-year capital plan — will begin in the current fiscal year, after it was originally slated for 2015-16.

“What we’re doing tonight is accelerating the construction to be completed in this fiscal year,” Schnirman said to a round of applause. “It is the city’s intent to provide a safe, designated place for skateboarders of all skill levels. This park will be state-of-the-art, based upon the latest skate park design principles and will naturally blend into the surrounding environment at the city’s Recreation Center along Reynold’s Channel.”

The council voted unanimously to enter into a $5,000 contract with Spohn Ranch Skateparks — a Los Angeles-based skate park design and construction firm that has done work for the Dew Tour and Red Bull contests, as well as ESPN, MTV and NBC — to design and construct the park.

Jim LaCarrubba, the Department of Public Works commissioner, said the city issued a request for proposals to five companies, and received responses from two. LaCarrubba recommended Spohn Ranch based on its experience and “stellar” track record building public skate parks.

“They intimated in their proposal a great desire to work with our skating community to really come up with something they want to see here, and make this a unique design for Long Beach,” LaCarrubba said.

The first phase of the project calls for two public meetings with local skateboarders and residents to incorporate their input into the design, after which the city will be presented with two design options, while the second phase of the project will include the construction.

Based on public input, the city will determine whether the park will include half-pipes, quarter pipes, handrails, bowls and other designs, and whether it will be prefabricated or built on site.