DYK there is an Olympic skateboarding hopeful from right here in the Upstate? His name is Clay Kreiner, and he is a X Games medalist, and we may just see him on the world’s most prestigious stage in Tokyo.
Clay and other pro skateboarders like Tony Hawk, Beaver Fleming + Boo Johnson have voiced their support of a skatepark in Greenville. Spartanburg, Asheville, Columbia, and Hendersonville, NC have one, but once Poe Mill is redeveloped, Greenville skateboarders won’t have a home.
The Upstate SC Skatepark Coalition hopes to change that and wants to take the empty space under the Academy Street bridge (across from The Children’s Garden at Linky Stone park and to the left of the SRT) from this…
To this...
The above photo is of Lot 11 skatepark in Miami. You can take a full tour of Lot 11 here to get a better feel of what the coalition is proposing.
The proposed ~15,000-sqft skatepark would be supported by The Skatepark Project (formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation). Apart from Poe Mill, currently the only place to skate in Greenville is The Board Ryders Club. This indoor facility is only 11,000 sqft and services ~300 skaters a week that range in age from 2 to 60.
In addition to daily skate sessions, the club also hosts tournaments (like they did this past weekend) and GVL Skate Church — a program that serves, feeds, and unites ~100 underprivileged youth in the area. According to the Coalition, skating requires just a board and four wheels but can unite folks of all backgrounds.
The team’s next steps? Finalize renderings with their design coordinator, and present those renderings and plans to the City of Greenville. What can you do? Follow their journey on their website or Instagram or sign up for their emails.
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