The Happy Valley Women’s Cycling team has stepped up to support the fundraising effort for the planned public skatepark in State College.
HVWC will match every donation received up to $7,000 between now and midnight on Thursday to help make the High Point Skatepark a reality, according to a news release.
“We are here to serve our community,” HVWC President Tanya Campbell said. “We mindfully inspire strength in our community by way of biking. It is not the ‘I’ but the ‘we.’ We accomplish nothing without a team and a bigger purpose. We are thrilled to offer support to High Point Skatepark and help turn this big dream into a reality.”
To donate, visit highpointskatepark.com.
It marks the latest boost to the $1.9 million project, which will be designed to accommodate all skill levels for wheeled sports like skateboarding, BMX biking, rollerskating and scootering. The 20,000 -square-foot, wheelchair-accessible skatepark will be constructed on an unused baseball field at the 6-acre High Point Park off of Whitehall Road.
Earlier this month, the skatepark was awarded a $250,000 grant from a Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Community Conservation Partnerships Program, while in August it received a $30,000 grant from Tony Hawk’s The Skatepark Project.
Other funding includes $500,000 in previous state grants, $200,000 from State College Borough and more than $100,000 in community donations. A fundraising campaign is ongoing, with hopes to begin construction of the plaza-style facility next spring.
Discussions of a public skatepark date back 25 years, but the effort has moved forward in earnest over the past several years with the borough and a volunteer committee working to make it a reality.
Jake Johnson, a professional skateboarder and State College native who opened IQ Skateshop on South Pugh Street last year, and his father, Tim, a professor emeritus of landscape architecture at Penn State, came on board over the last two years to develop the concept for the design. They also enlisted New Line Skateparks to develop final technical designs and construction plans.
A final design was completed in the spring.
“Thank you to HVWC and the entire community for your continued support to make the High Point Skatepark a reality for the youth in our community,” Gordon Kaufman III, a volunteer organizer for the project and State College resident, said.
