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Skate park in vogue before opening

The soon-to-open Ross Norton recreation center features an already-frequented skate area that highlights the "wow factor."

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published April 30, 2005

CLEARWATER - Mark Richardson is busy shooing eager youths away from the 30,000-square-foot skater haven set to open at 1526 S Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. next month.

Richardson, facility supervisor for the Ross Norton Recreation and Aquatic Complex & Extreme Sports Park, has to chase away 15 to 20 kids who wait for the construction crews to leave before jumping the fence and trying out the new equipment.

One mom even called Richardson saying her son had been using the park and wanting to know how much to pay.

He told her the park hasn't even open yet. She vowed to keep her kid off the premises until then.

The grand opening of the park and a 21,000-square-foot recreation center is May 21. The $3.7-million project is funded by Penny for Pinellas sales tax revenues and a $200,000 grant for the Extreme Sports Park from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program.

Daily admission fees for the new facilities vary from $2 to $6. Annual and three-month memberships are available.

The current recreation center, built in the 1970s, will be torn down before the new center's grand opening. Crews are applying bold hues of sky blue and lime green paint to the new building.

The center will have a teen lounge with video game systems, televisions and computers with Internet access. On Friday, game lines were being painted on the gym floor where six basketball hoops are waiting to be used.

A 1,500-square-foot fitness room is ready to be filled with exercise equipment, and a multipurpose room with a view overlooking the lake is already booked for a graduation party the night of the center's grand opening. Outside, a new pool with a water slide is planned for next year.

Then there's the skate park.

Kevin Dunbar, director of the city's parks and recreation department, told designers that he wanted an impressive facility. A three-member team toured eight skate parks in the southeastern United States and got feedback from local youths.

"We want you to work with our staff, the youth of the community and most importantly, the wow factor," Dunbar told designers.

Clearwater's only skate park was built in three zones to accommodate skaters of different levels. The open area has equipment for beginners on the far south end of the park, intermediate equipment in the middle and advanced equipment with 6-foot quarterpipes on the north end.

Skaters can leap off the main deck and into the course, jump off stairs, slide down ramps and grind against concrete ledges with curved metal edges. Even the picnic tables on the course were designed to take a beating.

There is also talk of arming police with day passes to the park to finally answer the youths they stop when they ask where they are supposed to go to skate in peace.

A pro shop managed by 688 Skate Park will be open for business by the patio overlooking the park. With Lake Belleview in the background and moveable equipment, the park is designed to host skate competitions.

"What you don't want to do is build and invest in something and not have anybody use it," Dunbar said.

He says the number of kids who are flocking to the park before it is even completed is a good barometer of success to come.

But until the bubble wrap comes off the rails, the sawdust is swept off the center's floors and the final coat of paint dries, Clearwater's skaters will just have to wait.

[Last modified April 30, 2005, 00:51:14]