The Kovach Park Skatepark is nearing the finish line.
On Feb. 28, New Line Skateparks presented their new scaled-down design to a roomful of excited skateboarders.
“There seems to be a lot of excitement,” said New Line Skateparks president and lead designer Kyle Dion as he presented the design to a room of about 30 people at the community centre.
With large renderings of the design pasted on the walls, Dion got into more of the specifics of the project.
While the current park feels pretty open, Dion outlined the four areas that will make up the new park.
Included in that is a flow bowl, a street line, a transition area and a pool bowl.
The way it’s designed, as you approach the park from the existing pathway, you first come across the most beginner areas, then as you move around the park, there’s a big apron.
“It’s not like you walk in and you’re in the middle of craziness,” said Dion.
He said he’s excited for the street and transition areas, which are disciplines being added to the Olympics in 2020.
Dion is confident that the design will allow teaching to take place and for beginners or kids to be eased into the sport via the park.
“I think this is going to generate a lot of excitement,” he said.
The new park is slated to go over top of the existing park.
New Line Skateparks is usually brought in near the finish line of projects, but Dion has been involved with the Kovach Park project for about seven years.
He said a lot of the early years were focused on finding a location for the park. Once that was locked in, they worked on the scale of the project.
“In the beginning, the scale was quite grand. They had a vision, which was awesome,” said Dion. “It’s a little bit smaller, but it’s not that far off the original vision of what they were hoping to do.”
RELATED: Rave reviews for new Revelstoke skateboard park design
The design presented last week represents a realistic vision of what the funds raised by the Columbia Valley Skatepark Association can build.
Included in the design are some bonus features. The pool bowl, is a feature you won’t see at every skatepark.
Dion said there is a unique pool bowl in Kelowna West and one in Vancouver.
“They’re not everywhere, so it makes it a bit of a destination, which is what they were trying to create as well,” said Dion.
Momentum has been building this year, with the community chipping in to make the project happen.
During the presentation, Dion said that if another city wanted to build the park, it would cost them around $1-million retail.
For Revelstoke, the dollar amount won’t be that exact, with many in-kind donations continuing to flow in.
Current skater Cynthia Cyr is looking forward to seeing the new park.
“I’m pretty excited about having a place to go and have fun and hang out and get some exercise in,” she said.
Cyr described the current skatepark as a “cheese grater.”
“You fall and you take all your skin off,” she said.
The new park will feature concrete, which will be quieter for the neighbours and smoother for the riders.
Cyr said she’s ridden New Line-designed parks before. The design firm has more than 200 projects to their name.
Cyr is most excited for the flow bowl, an open feature that takes up the majority of real estate in the design.
“Bowls in general are always pretty exciting and fun,” she said. “[New Line Skateparks] always make their transitions perfect and the bowls are always super fun. I’m pretty excited to see what it’s going to look like in real life.”
The project will begin this summer and Dion is hopeful that it’ll be complete before the snow flies, so that people have a chance to enjoy it, before it’s covered in snow.
“We know for sure we’re coming in June and this thing is getting built this summer,” said Dion.
A crew from New Line Skateparks is slated to be here all summer working on the project, along with local contractors.
“Literally every facet of the community has come together to make this thing happen,” said Dion. “It’s probably going to be an emotional ribbon cutting for a lot of people.”
