SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — It’s been decades since skaters dropped in on a half pipe or any kind of skate ramp on the Island to show off their tricks.
All that is going to change as skaters will soon be welcomed on the Island with their skateboards once again to show off their handplant, kickfilps and grinds.
And the day is coming soon as city officials voted recently to seek bids from skate park designers to turn an area of the John L. Tompkins Park into a haven for skateboarders.
The city received funding of $100,000 for the design and construction of the park.
The funding source was the South Padre Island Economic Development Corporation.
There is a large area of space dedicated for the skate park between the playscapes and the basketball courts.
Assistant City Manager Darla Jones reported to the council that Island officials had contacted the city manager of Los Fresonos to get tips on what that city did to build their skate park that was designed with a budget of $85,000.
The Los Fresnos skate park was constructed in 2012.
Jones said Los Fresnos received drawings, renderings and asked skate park designers what they could offer them for the kind of money the city had budgeted for the project.
She recommended the Island seek out skate park design companies and find out what kind of skate park they could design and construct with a $100,000 budget.
“These people that design skate parks is all they do and they are very knowledgeable of the latest trends and skating,” Jones said.
It will only be a matter of time before a big named skater visiting the Island stops by to ride the Island’s skate park.
City leaders agreed any extra money received from private donations would be used for the lighting, landscaping and benches.
City leaders also agreed the addition of the skate park would make the park look complete and would enhance the Tompkins Park over all.
“This is a half finished park,” said Susan Guthrie, South Padre Island city manager. “There is a bunch of dirt and it’s roped off because children were tracking mud all over the concrete.”
