Railyard Skate Park opening ceremony slated for Saturday

Ben Joe, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·2 min read

Apr. 17—LOCKPORT — The Railyard Skate Park at Outwater Park will be formally opened at noon on Saturday. Donors and organizers will be on hand to cut the ceremonial ribbon.

Lockport Community Services Director John Craig said he has invited several of the key players, as well as local, county and state officials, to usher in the "fifty-year skateboarding legacy" that the park represents.

"The (new, concrete) park is supposed to last between 20 and 25 years," he said, adding that he first got involved in 2006 when the original wooden Rail Yard skatepark was built.

While the skate park is ready for use, there are still things that need to be done, including landscaping and installation of signage, Craig said. Hopefully, that will all be done by June 15, the Saturday before Lockport schools close for summer break, at which time a National Go Skate Day event will commence.

Joe Villella, a member of Friends of the Railyard Skate Park, said the June event will have more for skaters to enjoy than the opening will. From contests to bands and maybe a basket raffle, the "skate jam" is sure to be "a good time."

Villella will attend the ribbon cutting, though, as that represents the new skate park being turned over to the public.

"Lockport Community Services wanted to officially present the park and say to the skaters, 'This is yours now,'" Villella said.

Expected guests at the ribbon cutting include Built to Play Foundation representative Trevor Staples, Mayor John Lombardi III, former mayor Michelle Roman, state Sen. Robert Ortt, state Assembly member Mike Norris and Niagara County legislators involved with the Niagara River Greenway Commission, which contributed $30,000 to skate park development.

Also attending will be: Dan Wilson representing the Grigg Lewis Foundation, the second largest donor to the project that contributed $125,000; Larry Cook representing the John R. Oishei Fund, which donated $28,000; and possibly a representative of the Verizon Media Foundation, which donated $25,000.

Craig said now he's in the hunt for funding to finance a youth skate park ambassador group.

"(That way) anyone between eight and 16 will have the opportunity to learn to skateboard and be signed up as an ambassador with oversight and care of the park," he said.