The Board House Society, a nonprofit effort to create an indoor skatepark in Bend, continues to move forward since the project got rolling in July.

As it currently stands, Bend is sorely lacking any kind of skatepark that can stand up to the shorter, wetter days that are a fact of life at elevation in Central Oregon from late fall through early spring. Partners Trygve “Tryg” Bjornstad and Mitch Wettig, along with newer recruit Trent Bowman (now here’s a job title: director of skate) envision an indoor park that could serve the need for year-round skateboarding but also serve as a community-focused, multipurpose, year-round space where anyone from beginners to lifers to non-skaters might hang out.

As they put it at boardhousesociety.org, “Upon first glance, you might see the only indoor skatepark within 100 miles. Look closer and you will find a retail space, a communal area with games, sitting space, food trucks outside, opportunities for movie nights, parties, and art.”

After a decade without an indoor skatepark in Bend, a new effort ramps up

“The real goal is so much more than a skatepark,” Tryg told The Bulletin over coffee a couple of weeks back. “It’s going to be a community hub, not only (skating) but all the aspects within that world: art, music, events, things like that. We would love to have local artists involved, their stuff up and selling it, that kind of thing. Having a spot for a graffiti wall, making it a spot — we could have this meeting there. Someplace that you could just go chill, and you don’t have to skate but still feel included.”

At this point, however, it is all but a dream. When first announced, the price tag was an estimated $1 million for the buildout. The estimate is now $1.5 million, a figure they landed on after gaining nonprofit status.

“Then it was really making sure that we’re doing things the way this place needs to be,” Tryg said.

Doing things that way would also mean having a professional skatepark company do the construction of the park. They’ve spoken with Mohr Custom Renovations, operated by Ben Mohr, a Portland contractor and skatepark builder whose work includes a 2009 rebuild of Bend’s former indoor skatepark, The Truckstop. That park eventually closed in April 2014, leaving Bend skaters without an indoor skatepark for the past decade.

Hiring a professional park builder would mean a higher price tag. To that end, the group has launched a fundraising campaign through Give Butter, a crowdfunding platform for nonprofits, which can be found at givebutter.com/2mu4kQ.

“We picked that (one), and it’s been pretty easy,” said Caitlin Bjornstad, Tryg’s wife, who handles Board House messaging, part of which is now focused on spreading word of the need for funding. Their kids, son Ollie and daughter Anders, are also skaters.

Tryg described the process as strategically spreading awareness of the fundraising campaign outward from their and board members’ immediate friends and families.

“We’re talking to local resources. We’re just trying to figure out how to get to people who aren’t already following us. We’ve built a pretty solid community already, but how do we expand to people who may be looking to contribute to something for the community,” Caitlin said.

Skate jam and party

From 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 9 at The Commons (875 NW Brooks St., Bend), the Board House team will hold a Community Jam, a fundraising event featuring a DJ and dancing, beer from Crux, Boneyard and Bend Brewing Co., a raffle and, of course, skateboarding.

For skating, Tryg has built two quarter pipes with materials donated by Baxter Builders, as well as procured two parking blocks for a curb jam. Curb and parking block skating is a sort of sub-discipline where people do slappy grinds, boardslides and other tricks. There will also be a wally ramp, a steep quarter pipe with a steep bank on the back of it, and the skate will be from specially made metal signs from Bend Signs.

The team behind Board House also intends to hold a boarding-related trivia night.

“We haven’t talked or locked in anything, but the hope and the goal would be to have a trivia night coming up sometime soon,” Tryg said.

“Monthly would be ideal,” Caitlin said. “Maybe we’ll see how the first one goes and how that traction is.”

Meanwhile, the hunt for a viable, spacious building with high ceilings to accommodate the dream continues.

“Starting this mission, we knew 100% that it was never about us, and it is going to take our whole community coming together to make this thing happen,” Tryg said. “And I think it’s worth it, and I think the community wants it.”