New Chapel Hill Skatepark renovations rolling along

RECREATION & LEISURE

By Randy B. Young
Correspondent

Watch the skateboarders at a skatepark, and you’ll see them hit magnificent heights and suffer ferocious spills. They’ll drop in, twist, turn, flip, and grind, achieve dizzying feats, tumble, take a few bruises, and then turn it all around for a big-time recovery.

Such has been the plight of the Chapel Hill Skatepark itself, located just up the hill from the Homestead Aquatics Center in Homestead Park, 100 Northern Park Drive, adjacent to a batting cage facility.

Over the past 26 years, the skatepark has attracted large crowds and hosted significant events, including a qualifying round for Outdoor Life Network’s former popular Gravity Games competition. The skatepark also experienced uncertain times during its adolescence, but the big renovations currently underway are sure to elevate and invigorate the local skating community.

A new era

The Chapel Hill Skatepark has been closed for a major upgrade since August 4, according to a Chapel Hill Park and Recreation press release. As such, the town is changing the old wood-frame ramps into a strong, modern facility made from steel-reinforced concrete.

“The redesign honors the park’s legacy while ushering in a new era for skaters of all levels,” the release said.

With a nod to the skatepark’s original layout, the new park will marry street and transition elements to support skating of different styles and skill levels.

“Features will include dedicated areas for beginners and intermediates,” the Town release said, “along with new rails, quarter pipes, banks, and ledges.”

With construction already underway, the 3- to 4-month project is expected to be completed later this year.

Decades in the making

Built in 1999 by the Town of Chapel Hill and first managed by businessman Frank Noel under the name Ryan’s World Skatepark, the facility attracted a steady flow of skateboarders in the early 2000s, lured further by product sales and concessions.

Noel worked with sponsors and skateboard-related concerns to offer frequent product demonstrations and host competitions, including a regional qualifying round for the Outdoor Life Network’s Gravity Games competition in September 2004.

“From Florida to New York, the best skateboarders in the East will be right here,” the late Noel said in 2004. “There will be some seriously big names here. I’d say we’d get skateboarders from Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia, and they could come from as far as New York. We’re right in the middle of the East Coast district. This is big time.”

Noel ran the park for approximately five years, during which time he sought to provide a healthy venue and a clean atmosphere at the park. When Noel ceased operating the facility, management was initially overseen by skateboard enthusiasts and later by Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation.

Built by skaters, for skaters

Chapel Hill partnered with 5th Pocket Skateparks (https://www.5thpocketskateparks.com/) to engage the community and develop the design, according to the release. The skater-owned and run company has worked on parks in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and North Carolina, including the new Cates Creek Skatepark in Hillsborough.

Jesse Clayton, one of the firm’s owners, said they “strive to offer economical alternatives to prefab parks while not compromising quality and creativity.” 

“If the new design looks familiar, that’s because it is,” Clayton explained. “We heard loud and clear that the local skate community wants to preserve the spirit of this historic park, while making some upgrades and adding some modern touches.”

In two public meetings, 5th Pocket heard from 40 local skaters of all ages, as well as some rollerbladers and other enthusiasts of wheeled sports. As such, the public informed the final design that includes a full transformation of the park from aging wood structures to a poured concrete facility, enhanced flow for skaters with a continuous, integrated design, and new features that preserve the park’s legacy and improve access. Also notable will be a custom-built bowl and smoother transitions to allow for higher-skill development.

The project’s design phase was funded with $12,000 from the Town of Chapel Hill’s “Penny for Parks” allocation that dedicates funding to a range of improvement projects. For the construction phase, the Town is using $500,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.

“We are excited to move this project forward by leveraging both local and federal funding to create a new amenity that honors the past while making improvements for present and future skaters,” Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Director Atuya Cornwell said.

Northward view of the Chapel Hill Skatepark showing the new custom-built bowl just to the south of the main skatepark. Rendering provided by 5th Pocket Skateparks and the Town of Chapel Hill.

A ‘supporting’ chance

The rationale for a skatepark—and skateboarding in general—was actually bolstered by the University of North Carolina. Research published in 2006 by experts within and without UNC’s schools of public health and medicine noted that physically active adolescents—including skateboarders—were not only improving their health but also decreasing the chance that they will get into trouble. The study was published in the April 2006 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

“Among teens that fare well are skateboarders,” the report stated, “particularly regarding their self-esteem and despite a lack of wide public support for this activity.”

The report received high praise for any activity that got kids moving, noting that physical activity yields social, emotional, and cognitive benefits. Even in the days prior to widespread social media, adolescents who skateboarded actually fared well in terms of self-esteem and were less likely to engage in risky behaviors compared to teens who were idle or inactive.

The report emphasized that adolescents who spend a significant amount of time watching TV or playing video games tend to be at a higher risk for engaging in risky behaviors.

Additionally, competitions in the sport of skateboarding, governed by World Skate, have now been featured at two editions of the Summer Olympic Games, further enhancing the sport’s legitimacy.

First selected as one of the discretionary sports for the 2020 and 2024 games, skateboarding will be inducted as an officially contested sport at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Athletes will compete in one or both disciplines of skateboarding: park and street skateboarding, counted as separate events.

A Holiday gift…

Cornwell noted that the construction is proceeding on schedule.

“We’re pleased with the renovation efforts to date, and we’re excited to welcome the community to the new skatepark later this year,” Cornwell added. “The project remains on schedule for a late-December reopening.”

Chapel Hill suggested that skateboard enthusiasts visit one of the other local parks while construction was underway, including Concrete Disciples’ Cates Creek Skatepark in Hillsborough and those highlighted by Sk8Park Atlas.

Follow the Town of Chapel Hill on social media for updates, sneak peeks, and announcements about reopenings.

Going for gold

For all the highs, lows, twists, and turns, however, it’s clear that skateboarding as a sport is only growing in terms of popularity, accessibility, and legitimacy.

And who knows? Perhaps one of the skateboarders who may rise from the renovated Chapel Hill Skatepark may hone the skills locally that will propel him or her to the greatest of heights and Olympic glory.

Scaffolding is already in place and renovation is ongoing and on-schedule for the Chapel Hill Skatepark, with a potential completion as early as December 2025. Photo by Randy B. Young

A Dartmouth College graduate, Randy B. Young first worked as an award-winning advertising copywriter in New Hampshire, then in communications at UNC for over 30 years. He maintained an award-winning newspaper feature covering Recreation and Exercise in the Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Orange County. Retired and living in Chapel Hill, Randy continues to write for regional publications both locally and in New England, and his book, And the Stars Flew With Us, is available through Amazon and at independent bookstores. He coaches track at Chapel Hill High and has a photography business, Pierless (sic) Photography. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocalReporter.press