There are multiple types of skate spaces. While they all share a similar purpose, it’s important to know the differences and what may be right for your community or your group.
Temporary Skatepark
Prefabricated or non-concrete skateparks, regardless of size, are considered temporary skateparks. They need ongoing maintenance and typically don’t stand up to long term use. TSP stopped granting funds to anything but concrete skateparks in 2011.
Neighborhood Skatepark
The neighborhood skatepark is around 10,000 sq. ft. No less than 6,000 square feet. This is the size of the average public skatepark.
Regional Skatepark
The regional skatepark is often 30,000 sq. ft. or more and serves the city it’s in plus the surrounding region. The largest skatepark in the United States just opened in Des Moines Iowa, coming in at a whopping 88,000 sq. ft.
DIY Skatepark / Community Build
“Do It Yourself” skateparks have been around a long time and embody the creative and persistent spirit of skateboarding. These parks are hand built by locals – sometimes without permission, sometimes with permission from the city or property owner. Some turn into bonafide public skateparks, some are torn out unceremoniously. We often recommend going the traditional public skatepark advocacy route (working with the city and hiring professionals to build it) rather than trying to build it yourself. However, there may be opportunity to do a “proof of concept” permission DIY/community build in the midst of the larger municipal skatepark advocacy push. Contact us for more details.
Skate Spot (Purpose Built)
Skate Spots or Skate Dots (not to be confused with the common street skate spot) are smaller skate areas with only a few skate-able elements. These can be peppered throughout a city’s interconnecting public access ways. Sometimes referred to as dots.
Skate Spot (Street Spot)
Street spots are spaces in the community that have architectural features that attract action sports community members. It is often illegal to ride in these spots.
Legalized Skate Spot / Liberated Spot
These are street spots that have been liberated (made legal) through local advocacy and cooperation between the skate community and the city/property owner. Examples include the Tacoma WA ledges, South Bank in London, England, and the West LA Courthouse in Los Angeles, CA.
How much skatepark do we need?
In general, every town needs a skatepark. The true “Skatepark Need” of a community depends on the size of your community and what existing legal skate space already exists.
To find out how big of a park you need or how many parks you need to serve your community, use the Skatepark Adoption Model.
The shorthand for the SAM model is 10,000 sq. ft. for every 25,000 residents. Nothing smaller than 6,000 square feet if it’s the primary skate space in the area. If it’s a densely packed major metropolitan city, that number jumps to 10,000 sq. ft. per 50,000 residents
Figure out what your city needs by following the SAM model or dividing your population by 25,000, multiplying that answer by 10,000, then subtracting all of the existing square footage of functioning concrete skatepark in your area. What remains is your community’s need.
Determining your community’s need is a way for you to inform your local government of what should be in place, using a language they understand. To get help with an official need report from our staff, connect with us using the form at the bottom of the page.
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This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with them what is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with them what is on your mind.