From sidewalks to skateparks: creativity and perserverance are key to financing a world-class skatepark.

As the popularity of skateboarding among kids has grown, the perception among adults that skateboarders are "vandalizing misfits" has made a radical shift. Skateboarding has achieved recognition as a legitimate sport with its own set of professional athletes and heroes, and the kids who skate are understood to be athletes in their own right. It's also widely accepted that sidewalks and other public fixtures may not be the best venue for their athleticism. Across the country, communities big and small are responding to the demand for skateparks to serve the needs of youth, and for every skatepark there's a fundraising story to tell. Those stories run the gamut from jetty jars on diner counters to visionary public officials equipped with multi-million dollar city bonds. One common thread links them all: Whether a budget is based largely on sweat equity or completely on government largesse, every skatepark grew out of a passionate commitment to kids.

Free For All

The result of this commitment to kids is the prevailing notion that skateparks should be free community facilities open to all. It would be shocking to think of paying an admission fee for the use of a public basketball court, tennis court, playing field or playground. It's expected that those parks are free, open to all, 365 days a year. Reflecting the importance of this trend, The Tony Hawk Foundation, for example, provides a total of $400,000 in grants for new skatepark facilities each year, but will accept applications only from communities planning to build a flee park. The skatepark of the future isn't to be found in temporary prefab structures or privately owned arcades, but in high-quality, permanent, in-ground structures that are free for all.

While for-profit ventures can seek capital as an investment toward future profits, communities that envision free skatepark facilities must find the necessary resources to cover costs for the site, design, construction and maintenance of their parks. Although public funding is the traditional source of money for public parks, in many cases municipal governments haven't caught up with the demand, and for most cities, tight budgets may preclude new capital improvement projects. Often, communities must rely on the resources and generosity of individuals in the community. The good news is that parks born of that kind of commitment can become the pride of the community and one of its most important contributions to the health and vitality of its population.

The Grassroots of Success

Charlane and Steve Carlson, of Keizer, Ore., had no idea what the future held for them when they stepped up to the plate to help their small town of about 36,000 build a skatepark. To them, it was clear: Rather than punish kids for skating on city sidewalks, give them a place to skate. Seeing a solution to the problem of complaints to the police about the kids was easy. Pulling off the sleight of hand necessary to build a park out of nothing but the certainty that it was needed turned the Carlsons into masters of grassroots organizing. After the Carlsons had placed just a few flyers to drum up interest, their phone began to ring, and for the next 4 1/2 years they practiced the fine art of the possible.

Their first step was to organize the youth in the community by forming a skatepark committee of volunteers who met once a month. With the Carlsons' help, the kids raised the seed money for the park by setting up bake sales and selling T-shirts donated by local businesses. Charlane drew local businesses into the cause and organized a community carnival. The bicycle shop owner donated his services and fixed bicycles. Community groups donated money for activities providing dunk tanks, face painting and food. The popular Portland radio station Z100 showed up to draw in the crowd. And then the real magic started.

The Carlsons, their two non-skating daughters and their young helpers had raised $15,000; the city showed its support with matching funds, thereby bringing the total to $30,000. Charlene started to work and rallied what must have been every craftsman and labor union in the area. On a city-donated site next to the police station and city hall, with an all-volunteer workforce, during spare time, using materials donated by local groups, the Carlsons built a 21,600-square-foot facility designed to accommodate skateboards, inline skates and BMX bikes. It was valued at $365,000. The only cash outlay was the original $30,000 used for discounted concrete and rock.

The Carlsons proved that it's possible to answer the needs of kids with nothing more than passion, grit and the good will of the community. How did they find the motivation? According to Charlene it was simple. "Skating is what the kids love to do," she says. While the reward for their hard work is seeing the kids use the park, the community showed its appreciation by naming the park for them. They also received a Congressional Award from Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.) and The Governor's Fitness award for their contribution to the health of the local kids.

The Carlson Skatepark, in Keizer, Ore., can be seen at www.skateoregon. com/keizer/keizer.html.

Deeper Pockets

While grassroots organizing and fundraising is essential for almost every community skatepark project to get off the ground, occasionally help is found from philanthropic organizations and individuals with deeper pockets than most. Andy Andrews of Hailey, Idaho, had this experience in building a premier facility in his tiny town of 6,000. Spurred by the death of his champion snowboarder son TC, who loved to skateboard during the off-season, Andrews devoted himself to the dream of having a place for kids to go, practice their sport and hang out. Social and recreational outlets for kids in Hailey were slim, without even a teen center to call their own.

Andrews organized a dozen of TC's closest friends into a committee that met once a week through their senior year of high school. Simple glass jars placed all over town started the ball rolling. The skatepark committee sold T-shirts, hats and bumper stickers. With the donated help of a local accountant, they applied for nonprofit 501(c)(3) status, enabling them to apply for grants from charitable foundations. They lobbied the city for land and, by the end of the first year of fundraising, with the extra help of a few substantial donations from private individuals, had built a temporary park on borrowed land, with discounted asphalt and plans purchased off the Internet. It was immediately clear to the city government, the police and local businesses that this was a good thing for the kids: For the first time, they had a gathering place, and complaints to the police about skateboarding on city streets dropped to zero.

At this point, with the original group of TC's friends leaving for college, a committee consisting of Andrews, his wife Katherine Sheldon, Jim Kuehn and Dave Ferguson (the only skater in the group) were ready to move forward with their ultimate plan for a permanent, world-class facility. They dropped in on public events and set up a booth to sell anything they could, and planned a silent auction with items donated by local businesses. Meanwhile, the jars sat patiently on the counters of shops all over town. Word of the skatepark project had spread to Warren Miller, a writer, moviemaker and ski champion. Miller gave Andrews access to his latest movie as a feature attraction for the auction, and the group raised $20,000 at the wine and hors d'oeuvres event. They won a grant of $35,000 from a charitable foundation in Seattle.

While all of this was happening, the temporary park was growing. The committee appealed to the city for more land, and the local Rotary Club donated a $20,000 half-pipe to add to the park.

While inching along toward his goal, Andrews got the sort of phone call no one in his shoes would dare to wish for--an anonymous donor volunteered to match, three to one, whatever his group could come up with from that time in August 2001 to the coming November. In that short time, by tapping every possible source, winning additional grants, twisting arms and begging, and holding one more gala event, they scraped together $50,000. With the matching grant of $150,000 and the money they had raised before August, they had $285,000, and were ready to go. The committee appealed to the city to give permanent status to the park site, signed on the Dreamland Skateparks crew and the last concrete was poured four years to the day after TC's death. With an additional $40,000 in donated landscaping, the Hailey Skatepark celebrated its grand opening in June 2003.

Andy Andrews had the fervor of a personal cause, and now has the satisfaction of giving the kids of Hailey a world-class park in what he calls "the perfect location." It's in the center of everything, close to bike paths, local schools and on the main drag of town. Nobody can drive into Halley without seeing the kids at the park showing off their skills. Ray Hyde, Hailey's public works manager, says there are only two problems: He worries about traffic accidents that might result from the distraction of seeing airborne kids at the skatepark, and he gets phone calls from the school. (Apparently, it's hard to keep some of the kids at their desks when the park beckons.)

Hailey Skatepark, in Hailey, Idaho, with its nine-foot bowl and full pipe, can be seen at www.haileycityhall.org.

Visionary City Leaders

The city of Denver, Colo., has had an entirely different experience. In 1998, driven by the leadership of the popular mayor, Wellington E. Webb, and Councilwoman Joyce Foster, $1.8 million was set aside for the first phase of a skatepark facility for Denver from a $98 million neighborhood bond for parks and recreation projects and public works projects. The second phase of the project was funded by another $1 million in public resources.

Built on two-and-a-half acres of city-owned property in an area of particularly valuable real estate, the Denver skatepark features 60,000 square feet of skateable surface adjacent to bus lines, light rail and regional recreation trails. It's the largest free facility in the country, and is filled with hundreds of kids every day. The skatepark reflects the commitment of city leaders to the youth of Denver. Mark Bernstein, project manager of the skatepark, notes, "It is very unusual for people to have to raise money for parks and playgrounds--why should skateparks be any different?"

Skateboarding has enjoyed an image boost in recent years, with increased appreciation for the athleticism of skateboarding, surging popularity among kids and the acceptance of the idea that skateboarding is a sport deserving of the same accessibility as traditional sports. As a result, more communities will assume responsibility and budget the public resources necessary to build free, high-quality skateparks for their youth. Until the resources are there for all communities, passionate and visionary individuals will need to take on the job of building skateparks, and they'll need to raise the funds to do so. Fundraising is at heart a public relations task. Convincing parents, teachers, the non-skating community, the press, local politicians and local media that a skatepark is a worthy cause is 90 percent of the battle. Once there's momentum, it's easier to get corporations, local businesses and individuals to sign on and contribute with money and discounted services and materials.

A Note on Costs

Costs vary from region to region. While a good rule of thumb is anywhere from $20 to $35 per square foot for an in-ground, concrete skatepark, it can be higher or lower depending on where you live. Get bids from companies that may provide labor and materials at cost. Ask labor unions to participate in your community-development project. For example, the Keizer, Ore., project couldn't have been completed without the contributions of the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters and several other labor unions in the area.

Carol Newman is a freelance writer living in Washington, DC. She was the former editor of Running & FitNews for the American Running Association. She can be reached at [e-mail].