In a super transparent attempt to bolster public support for their name in the face of public opinion (at least in the rest of the nation) that is turning against them, the Washington Redskins offered to write a blank check for a skatepark the Fort Yuma Quechan (Kwatsan) Tribe had been planning. They even brought a “skatepark designer” with them to present a design that was festooned in red and gold. Tribal officials had little trouble sussing out the ulterior motives, and quickly turned them down. You can read the press release from Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry. I have to wonder which destible “skatepark designer” went along with this embarrassing scheme. Definitely not a “credit to his race.” Was it a real design/build firm? Come on S&A community, let’s uncover this. In the meantime, enjoy this gratuitous link to Wounded Knee Skateboards. [Source: Kissing Suzy Kobler – Native News Online] – Thanks to Adam Shahan for the tip.

A very short documentary on Marginal Way Skatepark. I think this is the whole thing and not just a trailer. I would have liked to see more, even though the story is very simple, I feel like the filmmaker barely scratched the surface. I’m not sure what happened to the official web presence of Marginal Way, it seems to be limited to this Facebook group.

We first mentioned Joe Cialglia back in 2012 when he was named in a lawsuit for fixing skatepark bids and defrauding the City of Los Angeles in the process. Well somehow this slipped by (our crack staff) and we failed to report that in 2013, Ciaglia agreed to pay $65,000 dollars to settle the whole thing, while admitting to no wrong doing and not being barred from bidding on new contracts with the city. While yes, this is old news, we’d just like to take the opportunity to remind you that the skatepark company Joe Cialglia owns is none other than California Skateparks. Check out this article in the LA Weekly for all the sordid details. That’s Ciaglia on the far right wearing the Street League t-shirt in the photo above from LA Weekly.

A new spot by Evergreen Skateparks will be going into NE Portland this summer at NE 52nd & Alberta. This small spot (under 3000 square feet) is not part of the 19 approved parks in the now almost fatally stalled Portland Parks skatepark program. This one was instigated and funded by the the Cully neighborhood association. Coincidentally, Grover lives in the Cully neighborhood. I think he was lobbying for a vert ramp.

Skatepark builders are really stepping up their game when it comes to marketing on the Interwebs. Even the videos from some of the smaller design/build firms are getting slick. Here’s one from Team Pain, (by no means a small) covering a recently finished park in Lakeland Florida. Looks like a fun park, a little bit of something for everyone.

Kevin sent in an update on the DIY sanctioned park in his home town of Notre Dame de L’ile Perrot (Quebec, Canada) that he spearheads. I badgered the city for some $ for concrete, and they supplied the materials for the new corner we are going to do. I guess they value my volunteering for all the work and free sk8 lesson to the kids on Thursday’s. Any way we built some forms for some trannys, we are doing a corner and hips. We had a little rain but not much. We floated it good and then once it was all dry the rain came just in time.I am so impressed with this kid Alexis who is 7 and just kills it on tight tranny, he loves our pool and loves to skate. He was so down on floating the crete it was impressive, as is his older brother Nic, and dad Renaud.We don’t see many girls in skateboarding which is unfortunate, but Marianne came out to show she wants more crete and helped float the mud. A community that skates together stays together. Here in hockeyland, they just don’t get, but they are realizing that there is much more…

Elias Parise on his upcoming project in conjunction with his position at Dreamland Skateparks: Bridge to Bridge is a view into the world of skatepark building and more notably, the evolution that exists between renegade DIY projects and local government funded skateparks. This short documentary, Bridge to Bridge gives a glimpse into the amount of effort, passion and sheer dedication it takes to construct the nation’s largest covered skatepark and the key players that pour their sweat and blood into the making of these vast concrete structures. Watch the trailer after the jump.

The state of Kentucky is demolishing about a third of the Louisville skatepark as part of the Ohio River Bridges project. The good news is that they are going to pay to replace the part they are tearing down, and it will be tacked on to what’s left of the existing site. I’ve only been there once, and it was over a decade ago. At the risk of making people mad, I’d say this is probably a good thing. From what I recall, it seemed as though more effort was put into making it big at the expense of making it interesting. However, there’s something to be said for the sheer vast expanse of concrete, either way, so don’t get your panties in a bunch. Hopefully the locals will get something they like. Before you get excited about the projected $3.6 million price tag, a huge chunk of that has to go to relocating public utilities, so it won’t all be used on new concrete. Wormhoudt designed the original park, and I believe they’ve been tapped for the replacement as well.

Another shot of Grindline concrete work at Denmark’s “Street Dome.”

Here’s a couple of construction photos of the new skatepark in Milliken, Colorado being built by Evergreen Skateparks.