Prineville’s renovated skatepark is almost ready to ride

PRINEVILLE —

By the time its renovation work is finished in August, the Prineville skate park will bear no resemblance to what was there before.

The park, near Ochoco Creek Park on Juniper Street, has fallen into disarray, with rusting platforms, crumbling asphalt and steep, dilapidated metal ramps.

The renovation will double the size of the park, with a new bowl and updated terrain for beginners to advanced skaters.

“It feels good. It’s been a long time coming,” said Duane Garner, executive director of Crook County Parks and Recreation District. “To see it happen finally is a big deal.”

The project is the product of more than 10 years of community rallying and fundraising efforts, Garner said. Aside from a few patchwork jobs to fix cracking asphalt, the skate park has not had a major renovation since it was first built in 1997.

“The amenities were run down so much that we either needed to do something or just shut them down,” Garner said.

Between fundraising efforts from a citizen group and a matching grant from Oregon State Parks, this year, the parks district was able to put the $468,000 project out to bid.

Dreamland Skateparks, the company chosen to design the project, broke ground in May.

This is exciting for skaters like Scott Elliott, who said Dreamland Skateparks is known for its unique designs made by skaters, for skaters. Other local parks have not always been designed this way, he said.

“It’s another chance for central Oregon to have a beautiful park,” Elliot said.

Heather Kennedy, a Bend resident who has been taking weekly photos of the park’s progress to keep other skaters in the loop, is also excited about the redesign. She said she won’t miss the old park’s steep metal ramps that would sizzle in the summer heat.

“They were hot, and when you fell on them you would definitely feel it,” she said.

But that didn’t stop the kids of Prineville from skating there anyway, Kennedy said. She believes the new design will only attract more people to a park — and will serve as an important way to support local kids in the process.

“People in rural in communities need stuff to do. Skateboarding builds so many skills … perseverance, physical activity, personal bonding,” Kennedy said. “It’s something that levels the playing field for them.”

The renovation brings the parks district closer to its goal to update aging park infrastructure throughout the town.

Another $100,000 project to transform two aging tennis courts into six pickleball courts is also in the works this summer.

“We’ve been focusing efforts on old amenities,” Garner said. “These projects are kind of the last of things that really needed a big upgrade. The community has rallied, and now, we’re finally seeing it happen.”

— Reporter: 541-633-2160, bvisser@bendbulletin.com