Visited the new Gresham skatepark being built by Dreamland today and took a few snaps. There’s a lot packed into this thing. The park is about 7 miles east of the Ed Benedict skatepark on SE Powell Blvd. No word on opening day (the Gresham website calls for it to be subtantially completed in January 2010) or how soon before they start on phase 2. More photos after the jump.
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It may have been pen for months already, but the Ed Benedict grand opening celebration is this Saturday, May 30th.
- 1:15 PM Ceremony: Commissioner Saltzman, Commissioner Fish, PP&R Director Zari Santner
- 1:30 PM Adidas/Tribute Skateboards Skate Jam
- 2:00 PM Best Trick Competition
- 2:30 PM PP&R Skate Jam Invitational (grades K-8 and 9-12)
Join Portland Parks in the celebration of Portland’s new skate plaza at Ed Benedict Park, Saturday, May 30, 1:00-3:30 p.m.
Event Schedule
1:15 PM Ceremony: Commissioner Saltzman, Commissioner Fish, PP&R Director Zari Santner
1:30 PM Adidas/Tribute Skateboards Skate Jam
2:00 PM Best Trick Competition
2:30 PM PP&R Skate Jam Invitational (grades K-8 and 9-12)
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Skate Life NW has been pushed back a day to May 31st to avoid a conflict with the official grand opening of Ed Benedict skatepark. We’ve added a bunch of companies to the official attending list, with more to come. Check it out at Skate Life NW.
Dean of Team Shralp/100 points out this preview of an upcoming project. The clip is chock full of amazing pool skating. Dean is a bike rider who has been a real supporter of the skatepark effort in Portland, coming out for meetings and raising money. Sorry about the Ed Benedict thing dude, vert riders ahd nothing to do with the bike ban. Check it out after the turn.
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Taking influence from a skipping stone, this design focuses on a rhythm of circular plazas that are linked through paving and skate-boarding features. The design offers features for riders of every skill-level and style. The paving pattern consists of a large saw-cut concrete pattern within a circular paver banding that helps de? ne space and add visual appeal.
The first meeting for the Happy Valley, Oregon skatepark saw three different Newline concepts presented, and this is the design that was the overwhelming favorite. The plan now is to refine it to “to serve as many different levels of skateboarders as possible.” The argument about street plazas vs. tranny and out of state (and Country) contractors is moot here, so please don’t waste anyone’s time by flogging that dead horse. The Clackamas County planners would do well to talk to Portland about the Ed Benedict project. I have heard that when it came time to actually build the park, there were numerous delays and attempts to get more money out of the project than was set forth by the agreements in the contract.
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I was in the Seattle burbs over the weekend. I did get in a couple sessions at the Sammamish Wa skatepark, which was overrun by scooters and bladers on both occasions. That park sucks. I think I was way to generous in my first review. Still, part of the fun in that park is figuring out how to have fun at that park. One day I happened to be in the neighborhood of the the new Seattle Center skatepark (replacement for the demolished SeaSk8) so I decided to check it out. So far it’s just a flat slab of concrete, which is not what I expected at all. It makes it look like the elements are going to be prefab. But hey, I don’t know anything about skatepark building, except that the only other street plaza I saw under construction still looked like a conventional dig site. There were a couple of guys there who looked like they were painting a ledge that went around the perimeter of the park, something that doesn’t show up in the renderings. All in all, I’m confused. You can check out some not very enlightening photos after the jump, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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Went to Ed Benedict today, had a lot of fun. It’s kind of boring because every bank is exactly the same, but on the converse side, there are lots of places to work on things, be you regular or goofy foot. Some complete assholes appear to have stolen a granite slab and some of the pool coping. Classic. I encourage a supreme level of narcing on the guilty parties if anyone ever sees it. I took two pictures of Kaden, and because I can’t edit myself, you get to see them both.
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Yeah, we went to the opening day, but it was at the end of a long day after sessioning in the Aumsville/Salem area. Figured it would be a zoo there, and everyone we talked to said it was. We got there about 5:30pm, and it was still packed full of kids. There were a lot of bikes too, but everyone was happy. I did hear some grumbling about the traffic. Miniramp section looks fun. Coping is slick and sticks out a little too far. ALso odd that there is no decks on any of it, but still fun. It seemed like every obstacle had a line of kids waiting to hit it. We heard tales that there were three separate filmers there at the same time, each in a different area of the park. “I can’t wait to come back when there’s nobody here” was a common refrain. And yes, we had a winner from that morning. I was only there for about a half an hour. Nobody was really landing much, and I had to split, but I did get a few snaps. If you’re still hungry, EPM has one shot up so far. UPDATE: EPM has the shots.
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Curt Stevenson tipped me off that construction on the new 16,000 square foot Venice skatepark has broken ground. It’s a Wormhoudt design, but I don’t know who is building it. according to Yo Venice, the construction is supposed to take an inhumane TEN MONTHS! Really? That seems absurd, but then again, those California construction companies seem to work at a glacial pace. We’re still waiting for Ed Benedict to open here in Portland, and coincidentally, California Skateparks is the contractor on that long overdue opening. We never seem to have that problem when the jobs go to local contractors, I’m just saying… A web site called Venice Skatepark would seem to be the place to go for info, but so far it looks like the site is only aggregating feeds from elsewhere. A skateshop called, wait for it… Venice Skates has more of an inside line, including shots of Christian Hosoi, Pat Ngoho and Jesse Martinez taking a break from a session to revise some of the bowl plans. Considering the long and colorful history of street skating at Venice Beach, I’m surprised there is as much tranny in the design. It’s about half and half. I guess a street plaza would pretty much be replicating what was already there and legal to skate for the most part. Still, it’s an interesting choice.
[Source: Poweredge Magazine]
