By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
Community members and skaters attended the ribbon cutting on Saturday for the new skate garden in the San Felipe area.
The Del Rio Skate Garden had its big reveal at 708 W. De La Rosa
St. at 10 a.m. More than 100 people attended the event, including community leaders and local skaters, who were skating in the park before the ribbon cutting ceremony began.
Peter Ojeda, city communications and marketing director, hosted the event and talked about the process the project went through, adding, “This wouldn’t be possible without the push of the skate community, words into the council’s ears and staff getting to work to make this possible.”
W. De La Rosa St. Gonzalez talked about how much fun he was having skating and being with
friends during the ribbon cutting at the Del Rio Skate Garden. “It is good to see old friends too,
because a lot of people stopped skating. I feel like the new park is going to bring out a lot of
people,” Gonzalez added.
The new skate park was designed by Skate Ecosystems, LLC, a skate planning, design and construction firm based in Austin, Texas. Skate Ecosystems had the first input meeting for the skate park on April 16, and official construction on the park began on Sept. 18.
Shane Yee, chief design officer of Skate Ecosystems, LLC, talked about the positive experience he had working with the city of Del Rio, adding, “This was the best team that I ever worked with.”
The park is referred to as the Del Rio Skate Garden because is the first skate park in the country to combine architectural elements with an eco-friendly site plan.
“The thought behind this design of the park was to make it a sustainable project – a skate garden, which is a novel concept that popped up when a lot of people were thinking about sustainability,” Yee said.
the San Felipe Area near the Del Rio Joe Ramos Center. Trey Elias, a local skater, said the Del
Rio Skate Garden is designed both for new skaters and more experienced skaters. Elias and
more local skaters attended the ribbon cutting of the skate garden, which has been under
construction since mid-September.
Workshops early in July were held for locals to give feedback on the designs for the park. Yee mentioned how the park was completed according to the original plans, with several additional changes to the appearance to fit the surrounding areas, which include the historic Brown Plaza.
Bobby King, principal of Skatepark Ecosystems, LLC, thanked the city of Del Rio for creating a skate garden that he believes will attract people from “far and wide.”
Yee spoke with The 830 Times and said the park incorporates a cornucopia of native drought-tolerant plants, including agave (century plant), live oak, Mexican sycamore trees, Italian cypress trees and a variety of cactuses. Mexican beach pebbles, Mexican River rocks and Texas limestone quarry blocks also surround the park.
chief design officer of Skate Ecosystems, LLC, pose for a picture during the ceremony opening
the Del Rio Skate Garden. Skatepark Ecosystems designed the park, and Yee expressed how
the completion of the park was everything he imagined and more. King noted the park has
different terrains and ramps for new skaters to practice on.
Yee said the skating surface of the park is 8,100 square feet, and the overall size of the park with trees and sidewalks is 11,000 square feet.
Yee thanked Austin-based horticulturalist Brandon Kent for collaborating on the landscape design and donating plants to the garden. Yee said he took inspiration for the design of the Del Rio Skate Garden from the Big O Skatepark, which Kent’s father, Art Kent, designed.
Festivities continued all day with food provided by Paco’s food truck, and music provided by DJ Jay Jay and local band Youlogy. Yee also held several competitions with cash prizes, including a speed competition around the park, best trick/stunt and highest-air trick off a surface.
Austin-based skateboard wheel shop Cherries Wheels made the drive to Del Rio to sell skateboard wheels at the park. Cat Tamez, owner of Cherries Wheels, said their company is the first female-owned skateboard wheel shop, and she said Yee invited them to the event.
Skate Garden located at 708 W. De La Rosa St. The Del Rio Skate Garden is the new skate
park in the San Felipe area, combining architectural designs and eco-friendly features, and the
ribbon cutting for the park took place on Saturday morning.
Throughout the day, many skaters filled the park playing on each ramp and section. Trey Elias, a local skater whose friends say is the “best skater in Del Rio,” attended Saturday’s ribbon cutting and expressed how much fun he was having.
“Seeing the attention (the park) is getting is really well, and you can tell right off the bat that a lot of people showed up today. And just for an opening, a lot of people showing up means a lot, and that says a lot about the community,” Elias said.
Orion Gonzalez, a local skater, talked about how he liked the final outcome of the park. He said how beneficial the park is for the community.
“I’m glad the city supported the community, and it feels like the (need for a) skate park was always pushed to the side, so it is good to see it happen,” Gonzalez said.
Initial story about the then proposed skate park can be found here.
The story about the initial meeting can be found here.
