SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Skaters ollied over the blue ribbon at the new skate park before Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass officially cut it, marking the official opening of the renovated space. “This marks a big milestone and highlights the importance of skateboarding in our community,” said Bass.

The renovations to the park have been a long time in the making with plenty of community support. John Stark, director of parks and recreation, fondly remembered his own youth skating and surfing in Southern California as he addressed the crowd. “It was a lot of fun to work on this project, and the community engagement was outstanding.”

The skate park was added to the budget through public engagement surveys and participatory budgeting, then was funded through both the American Rescue Plan Act funds and general funds.

Stark thanked city council, the parks and recreation commissioners, Mayor Pro Tem Bass, and gave a special shoutout to community members Elias Blood and Josh Tompkins, who were particularly involved in the process. He also pointed out the innovation of the designers, who utilized and recycled parts of the old basketball court and roller derby area to build the new structures.

“It’s taken a while for cities to get on board with building skate parks,” said Bass. “And one thing I’ve heard and really feel is that skateboarding is not a crime. It’s a great sport and amazing exercise, and this is going to provide a lot for the youth here.”

Bass also stated that he hoped that the city would continue to work on the Bijou Area Plan, which would provide more coverage for an even larger skate park in the future.

John Carlson, a city employee, said he didn’t know that the park was even being built, but that he was excited it was complete. “It’s been a long time since they made plans for it and it’s nice to see that it’s here now.”

Other skaters said they were stoked to have an expansion to the old skate park, which was built 30 years ago by skaters Airick Valenzuela and Shon Baughman. Valenzuela and Baughman were present at the ribbon cutting, even holding the ribbon for other skaters to jump over.

“It’s cool to see the torch passed and I’m excited to see possible future builds,” said Baughman.

Valenzuela agreed, saying, “They did a good job. I’m glad the city got on the bandwagon to build this.”

The two skaters previously raised $23,000 over the course of four years to build the original skate park, through grassroots efforts, donations and punk rock shows.

After they got the funds and the land, they got volunteers to build the skatepark in about three months—Baughman called Valenzuela “the brains of the operation” as he helped design and build the structures. The park was then renovated in 2008, but Valenzuela felt it had held up “pretty well” over the years.

One skater said his interest in skating started because that park had opened. “The first day I brought my BMX bike, the next day, I got on a board.” The new skate park is likely to pique the interest of would-be skaters who now have an expanded space to practice tricks in.

Baughman watched the skaters with his own board under his arm. “What Tahoe really deserves is a world-class skate park,” he said. “A world-class park for a world-class place.”

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.