The Sturgeon Bay Skatepark Initiative (SBSI) announced today that they have crossed the halfway mark in raising the $405,000 needed to build a public skatepark on the west side of the city.
SBSI Skaters
The group has now secured more than $200,000 in gifts and pledges to date. The total project cost for the 10,000-square-foot, poured concrete park is set at $405,000. SBSI Co-chair, Matt Dixner Young, is grateful for the outpouring of community support the park has received. He credits the success of its fundraising efforts to the involvement of the kids.
“These kids have worked so hard at art auctions, car parking at triathlons, an electronic recycling day, Side Pork Fest, Middle School dances, hot dog sales, YMCA youth skate clinics and many other events,” says Young. “They’ve been working at this for almost two years now and they haven’t given up. They’ve kept the energy going.”
Laurel Hauser, fellow co-chair agrees. “It’s been a primary goal of ours to have the kids, mainly 14 to 16 year-olds, involved in every aspect of the effort and they’ve really taken ownership of it. They’ve made presentations to the City Council, they’ve contributed their ideas for the design plans and they’ve even visited with major donors. We want them to understand that it takes a community to make something of this scale happen and they have many people to be grateful to.” Young adds, “Skaters will spend hours working to perfect a ‘trick’ on their board. They understand that if you want to ‘stick that trick,’ it takes dedication. All of our members are putting that same dedication into manifesting this skatepark.”
Upcoming events to benefit the Sturgeon Bay Skatepark include the 2nd Annual Skateboard Art Auction. Skatedecks painted by professional and amateur artists will be on display at Glas, the Green Coffeehouse in Sturgeon Bay as well as two new locations: the Southern Door Middle School and Czarnuska Soup Bar in Ephraim. This year’s show will include artwork from Sturgeon Bay High School’s AP Art Class, Southern Door’s 5th and 6th grade Art Class and several promising students from Gibraltar. Bidding will run from April 5 to April 28 at all 3 locations.
A Middle School dance is scheduled at the Jaycee Hall on Saturday, March 16 from 7 – 10 pm. All area middle school-aged kids are welcome. Skaters and bikers will be participating in the Sturgeon Bay St. Patrick’s Day Parade earlier that day. SBSI will also be the beneficiary of the Wild Tomato of Fish Creek’s Donation Creation pizza during the month of March. The next meeting of SBSI is Thursday, March 7 at 6:30 pm at the Sturgeon Bay Moravian Church, 323 S. Fifth Ave. All are welcome to attend.
SBSI has been working in partnership with the City of Sturgeon Bay. The park will be located on the corner of W. Spruce St and Green Bay Rd and will be open to skaters and BMX bikers alike. Design plans for the park were created by Grindline Design of Seattle, WA, one of the country’s top skatepark design firms.
Sturgeon Bay Skatepark Initiative is a fund of the Door County Community Foundation. Contributions may be sent to DCCF, P.O. Box 802, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 or made online at www.doorcountycommunityfoundation.org. For updates on SBSI progress, please email Clay Bonin, SBSI treasurer, at claybonin@gmail.com. Watch for “www.sbskate.org“in late March. Like us on facebook at “Sturgeon Bay Skatepark Initiative.”
