The weekend of April 4-6 was a busy one for the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department. Multiple events were held around the City such as the Naturally Fit Exposition and River Legacy Kite Festival. However, the grand opening of Vandergriff Skatepark was an event for the record books.

Vandergriff Park in the heart of Arlington, Texas, is now home to the City's largest public skatepark. The new 21,000 square foot skatepark made its grand debut on April 5, 2014, from 11 AM - 1 PM, at one of the highest attended dedication ceremonies in APRD history.

"[Saturday was] a wonderful day for the skaters of Arlington. This is the first community wide skate park for Arlington. Vandergriff Skate Park is unique in the fact it is centrally located in Arlington for skaters as well as the centrally located in the DFW area," Park Board Chairwoman Laura Capik said.

More than 300 event attendees skated to music from Alliance Skateparks DJ Victor Nelson while enjoying skating demonstrations, a best trick competition, free red bull, and pizza from Doughboys Food Truck.

Skater safety was also a predominant theme at the grand opening. Along with providing snacks and refreshments, the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department gave away over 100 ProTec Classic Bucky Lasek Skateboard Helmetsto event attendees.
"While skateboarding can be a lot of fun, safety is very important," Parks Planning Manager Jason Landrem said.

Attendees were urged by APRD Director Lemuel Randolph to use caution when assessing skating lanes, be courteous and respectful of others in the skatepark, and to wear safety gear. "To make things easier for skaters who cannot afford their own safety gear, the department wanted to provide as many skaters as possible with their own pro-style skating helmet," Landrem said.

The grand opening of the Vandergriff Skatepark will go down as one of the most anticipated, highly attended dedication ceremonies in department history. After 10 years in the making, local and regional skaters now have a place to call their own where they can skate in a safe and friendly environment.

In the early 2000s, Arlington skateboarders began to regularly request the development of a public skate park. These requests eventually led to the inclusion of a recommendation in the 2004 Park, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan for multiple skate facilities of varying sizes.

After an intensive public involvement process over the next few years, Arlington voters approved the 2008 bond referendum that included funding for phase one of a city-wide skate park. Realizing that one skate park would not adequately serve the skating population in Arlington over the long run, the Department decided to develop a Skate Park Strategy to help guide the delivery of skate facilities to a broad spectrum of skaters.

The long-term vision of this strategy was to identify a combination of skate spots, neighborhood skate facilities, community skate facilities, and a single city-wide skate facility that will offer skateboarders a place to practice and participate in close proximity to their homes. The department's Skate Park Strategy will help to ensure that the City of Arlington accommodates skateboarders and other action sports within parks planning and development efforts for the next 20 years.

Phase II of Vandergriff Skatepark will add an additional 10,000 square feet to the current location when funding becomes available. This addition will be designed for beginner and intermediate skaters.

For more information on Vandergriff Skatepark, please call Parks Planning Manager Jason Landrem at 817-459-5489