The skate park was full of athletes as the official opening was celebrated this afternoon at the Art Gibon's Park in the Nelson suburb of Rosemont.
“It’s wonderful to see this project’s completion,” said Acting Mayor Paula Kiss. “Residents and visitors alike will greatly benefit from the completion of this skate park.”
The Nelson Outdoor Skate park is a 15,000 square foot facility that offers a variety of features for skateboarders, bikers and other wheeled activities. It is also designed as an inclusive, safe, and barrier-free, outdoor recreation venue that offers a dynamic and thrilling opportunity for residents and visitors to be active.
The Kootenay Lake Outdoor Skate park Society (KLOSPS) and its volunteers were recognized for their pivotal role which brought the project to completion. KLOSPS were central in the creation of the City of Nelson’s vision to build a world class outdoor public skate park that would promote an inexpensive, healthy physical activity option for the community.
Emcee Rob Leveque, was the original instigator of the project and journeyed back to Nelson to celebrate that the fruition.
Shane Johnsen, KLOSPS member and Tribute Board Shop owner, also organized skating pros to roll out the event with a demo. Afterwards, everyone got a chance to skate with the pros while DJ Digs spun tunes.
The Daybreak Rotary Club was thanked for spearheading the final fundraising push that made it possible to add colour to the concrete at the skate park, which further enhances this impressive park.
The City of Nelson received a $400,000 grant from the Government of British Columbia’s Community Recreation Program to help cover the cost of the project.
Columbia Basin Trust was another major funder as they provided a $50,000 grant. Nelson Lions and Rotary Clubs were among many others in the community that supported the fundraising effort that accumulated over $140,000 towards the construction of the park.
