Dover and Portsmouth skateparks poised to open this fall: 'A regional draw'

When Rye Airfield permanently closed in recent years, Seacoast skateboarders and BMX bikers were left with a limited number of municipal skateparks, some of them deteriorating.

Now things are changing with new skateparks in Dover and Portsmouth opening in the coming months, thanks to multi-year efforts led by youth skateboarders, supportive parents, elected officials and city staffs.

Skatepark project leaders in the two local communities are planning to open the new facilities this fall.

In Dover, the new 10,700-square-foot skatepark will be located at Guppey Park, while Portsmouth’s 20,000-square-foot skatepark is at the “stump dump” site off Route 33. Both projects were created by Pillar Design Studios, an Arizona-based architectural design firm that has designed hundreds of skateparks around the world.

“Each park is pretty unique in terms of what it brings to the table,” said Dave Cosgrove, co-chair of Portsmouth’s Skateboard Park Blue Ribbon Committee. “From a skateboarder’s perspective, you’re not going to skate Portsmouth’s and be bored when you go to Dover.”

“Having these two skateparks close by is going to be incredible for these kids to just ride their bikes over and skate,” added Amy-Mae Court, fellow co-chair of Portsmouth’s skatepark committee.

Dover's skatepark is projected to open before the one in Portsmouth. Dover Recreation Department director Gary Bannon said the goal is early October before a local charity benefit event is held at the site on Oct. 21.

Here's what to know about the Dover project

The Dover skatepark, replacing an existing skatepark on River Street, is situated in the upper part of the park near the Park and Ride behind the Jenny Thompson Pool. The River Street skatepark remains open, though the city put its halfpipe up for auction and had it removed last week because it was no longer useable.

“The skatepark is a state-of-the-art design that has features that are designed to provide skating opportunities for users of all abilities,” Bannon said.

Site work for the Guppey Park facility commenced in spring 2022, while the concrete work began in June this year. Artisan Concrete is the contractor.

Between paying Artisan Concrete and Pillar Design Studios for their work, the city has remained on budget and is slated to dish out $500,000 to the two companies. Additional site and lighting costs, Bannon added, bring the project budget to approximately $600,000.

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“The cost is what the standard price per square foot has been for this type of custom design,” he said. “The contractor gave us the price over two years ago and has held the price stable with no changes over that time despite construction costs increasing so we are very fortunate to get this level of quality and size of the skatepark at this price today.”

Before the skatepark can open, Bannon said, final site work, drainage and skatepark access path work needs to be completed in the coming weeks.

The Dover City Council approved the design, engineering and construction of the skatepark in an August 2021 vote.

Here's what to know about the Portsmouth project

Portsmouth skatepark committee members are watching from the sidelines as project officials dig in and build the city facility.

“The committee at this point has been standing back and it’s all in the city’s hands, which is actually incredible because there are other communities that have to be very involved with pushing for it to be done,” Court said.

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In Portsmouth, the journey to open a new skatepark began when a group of Portsmouth High School student skateboarders, assisted by former City Councilor Esther Kennedy, petitioned the council for a new facility in the winter of 2021. Their ask came after Rye Airfield’s closure, and their argument was bolstered by the wear and tear seen at Greenleaf Recreation Center skatepark, which the city later upgraded and unveiled to the public.

Site preparation work began this past spring, and city leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony at the stump dump in late May.

Engineering work has been completed by Weston & Sampson and Quirk Construction was hired as the contractor for the build-out.

City spokesperson Stephanie Seacord said Quirk Construction has completed the concrete foundations for shade shelter and the gravel pad for the skatepark pad area. Work is ongoing to finish installing underground utilities, park lighting and completing the concrete portion of the skatepark.

“We anticipate the park to be open for skating this fall although all of the amenities for the project will not be fully completed,” she said.

The cost of Portsmouth's skatepark is nearly $3 million, nearly five times the cost of Dover's park, and it's nearly double the size.

“To finally see, pun intended, concrete evidence of our work and see this really transforming the region, I predict that given the scale, the design and the level of professionalism that’s gone into the park, this is something that will fill the void that Rye Airfield left when it closed,” Cosgrove said. “I expect it to be a regional draw.”

The most recent project timeline update given to Court and Cosgrove by the city was that the facility could be ready for use by late fall, with skaters hoping it is before snow falls. Court said an opening ceremony of the Portsmouth skatepark will likely be in the spring.

What it means to Seacoast skaters to have new parks

Both Court, whose teenage son also served as a skatepark committee member, and Cosgrove spoke to the benefit of Dover and Portsmouth opening their respective public skateparks in a few months’ time.

“You can make a weekend out of visiting both parks,” Cosgrove stated. “And there are secondary benefits in terms of driving the economy in both towns even further.”

Court said the impact Rye Airfield closing had on the region’s youth and adult skateboarding culture was similar to what would happen if the Portsmouth High School football field were shut down.

“All of those people that love football are suddenly displaced and everything disintegrates,” she said. “That’s kind of what happened when Rye Airfield closed. Because of that, because it closed, it kind of just continued to disintegrate. But with these parks, that’s going to come back. I just can’t wait to see the groups of skateboarders be able to hang out with each other in a safe place.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Dover, Portsmouth skateparks to fill void in Seacoast NH