That’s radical! Skaters now have their own spot to shred in Nipomo
Nipomo skaters have a new spot to ollie, grind and wipe out with the opening of a brand-new skate park.
The Nipomo Skate Park, a $3.5 million complex at Nipomo Community Park, opened to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday morning, according to a news release from the San Luis Obispo County Parks and Recreation Department.
The park replaces an informal skating area that attracted local skaters but offered little in the way of quality surfaces, County Parks director Nick Franco told The Tribune.
“There was private property in Nipomo that a bunch of skaters had just kind of put up their own ramps and kind of made their own,” Franco said. “But technically, that’s trespassing, and technically, that’s vandalism, so clearly that was not a long-term solution.”
What used to be a collection of impromptu ramps and rails assembled by local skaters now features grind rails, two bowls, rails, stairs and a quarter pipe for local skaters to practice their tricks on, Franco said.
The park also features an art installation painted by Dana Elementary School students that skaters can use to display broken boards.
“When you’ve broken your skateboard, it means you’re pushing your limits, you’re trying to do things that you haven’t done before,” Franco said. “It’s a mark of saying, ‘Hey, I’m pushing it — I’m not just taking the safe routes.”
Nipomo resident Wyatt Russell, 21, said he and other skaters have been waiting to get a new park since he was in eighth grade.
Russell said he, other skaters and the county worked with former professional skater and skate park designer Kanten Russell to design the new park.
“He actually took our designs and created a professional blueprint,” Russell told The Tribune.
Another skater, 28-year-old Santa Maria resident Jason Bautista, said he’s “stoked” to see the park get built.
“It’s just like water for our community — it’s needed for growth,” Bautista said.
The 10,000-square-foot park and accompanying 5,000-square-foot plaza date back to efforts that launched in 2018, Franco said, when former District 4 Supervisor Lynn Compton got the project rolling.
Funding came from a combination of public facility fees and two grants from California State Parks via the Proposition 68 Parks Bond Act — $456,230 from the Per Capita Grant Program and $1,131,484 from the Regional Park Program, a Parks and Recreation Department news release said.
Saturday’s grand opening featured a band that previously performed at the old informal skating area, playing for the assembled skaters and officials, including Supervisor Jimmy Paulding and Franco.
“I am thrilled for the kids and families of Nipomo to begin enjoying this long-overdue community resource,” Paulding said in the release. “This skate park is an excellent example of our community coming together to make Nipomo an even better place to live. I want to thank all of the community advocates for their commitment and perseverance, as well as our hardworking staff and my predecessor Lynn Compton for making this project happen.”
