Saskatoon has been seeing an increased uptake of skateboarding and advocates took to city hall to call for an indoor skatepark in the city.
“Skateboarding is such a powerful tool of positivity. It’s a really great outlet for creativity,” said Sarah Kelly, one of the advocates and also the directing manager for Right to Skate.
A petition was put together over the summer and garnered more than 200 signatures of people in support of an indoor facility.
Bruce Tucker runs the Saskatoon Skateboard Museum and said he’d like to see an indoor facility that not only meets the needs of skateboarders, but also has space for basketball courts and other recreational activities.
The topic was discussed during Wednesday’s planning, development and community services committee.
James McKnight, another advocate for skateboarding in Saskatoon, said this potential facility would be inclusive of roller skates, BMX bikes and scooters, but also potentially other sports like basketball and other recreational activities.
He said the petition was primarily just people in the skateboard community showing their support.
“It does not fully capture the true demand for quality skateboarding facilities and an indoor skatepark in Saskatoon and by Saskatchewan skaters,” McKnight said.
He said with Saskatoon being a winter city, skaters have been advocating for an indoor space for decades.
McKnight pointed out that within the city’s parks and recreation master plan, 86 per cent of people surveyed supported an indoor skatepark.
He said the skateboarding community has found some seasonal spaces, but that relies heavily on donated spaces.
McKnight pointed to Regina’s Heritage Skatepark, saying many Saskatoon skaters will travel down to the Queen City just to use that facility.
Coun. Cynthia Block wanted to know more about how Regina managed its indoor skatepark.
Tucker says he’s been in contact with the people who helped get Regina’s Heritage Skatepark going.
“It positively impacts the community in many ways, keeps the youth off the streets, brings the community together because they can partner with different organizations.”
McKnight said the Regina Skateboard Coalition teamed up with the City of Regina and the Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) to create the space by getting low-cost lease space year-round.
He said the city recognized that volleyball players, basketball players and skateboarders all needed a place to continue their sports during winter months.
Coun. Mairin Loewen wanted more details on what the advocates were looking for.
“This is mostly an invitation for collaboration,” Kelly said.
Kelly said Right to Skate was a not-for-profit that’s been in the community since 2012, and that they played a major role in the formation and operation of the former indoor skatepark that ran from 2017 to 2019.
“We do all sorts of things in the community, we work with LGBTQ2 groups for meet-ups, we’ve done a lot of programming this year with immigrant and refugee youth. We support Indigenous youth and give them gear to use.”
Kelly said they’d be willing to work with the city or other organizations to help provide programming and potential donations.
She said it’s always good to get more youth involved in sports, adding this is something that kids who may not identify with some team sports can get into.
“Skateboarding is something you can do on your own, challenge yourself, learn how to persevere.”
Mayor Charlie Clark asked if any of the advocates had a location in mind.
McKnight said there are several areas they see as opportunities for an indoor space.
He pointed to the anticipated Holmwood YMCA leisure centre, the potential downtown arena, as well as the city’s bus barn.
Clark asked how many people they anticipate to use an indoor skate facility.
Kelly said with current programming they had about 200 skaters this summer through Right to Skate.
She said the retail side of skateboarding in Saskatoon has been doing very well.
“Since 2020, skateboarding has absolutely boomed in the retail sector.”
She said the number of girls who have taken up skateboarding in the past few years has tripled, adding that the number of skateboards sold over the past three years has doubled, and maybe even tripled.
Loewen asked administration if the analysis around leisure and recreation that the city had in its game plan aligned with what was being asked for at the committee meeting.
It was found that skateparks weren’t high on the list, but they were there. The last time community needs were evaluated for the leisure and recreation game plan was back in 2018, but it was noted that every two or three years there is a check-in on leisure needs in the city.
Clark said it’s not easy for a project like this to get underway with the city, but was hopeful they could come up with something through a partnership, adding he used to skateboard when he was younger and that it had a lot of positive impacts for him.
Loewen put forward a motion for more information to come back regarding whether an indoor skatepark would make sense with some of the other leisure developments in the works or if other spaces could be used, which was passed.