New urban skate park christened ‘the coolest place in Macon’

Skateboarders and skaters have a new place to test their moves near downtown Macon.

Dozens of young people took a spin on Macon-Bibb County’s new urban skate park Friday morning in Central City Park.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Seth Lloyd said after rollerskating up the ramps and hopping on railings and concrete benches.

Macon-Bibb County leaders cut the ribbon on the skate park as part of $3.7 million in improvements to Central City Park in the second phase of SPLOST projects.

Lloyd and other local skateboarding enthusiasts flocked to a meeting when the county was asking for suggestions on how to spend the special purpose local option sales tax approved by voters in 2011.

They were vocal about what they wanted and got it.

Kenna Scragg, vice president of operations for ICB Construction, said they had a tough time keeping skaters out of the park while it was being built.

“Everybody kept coming. We couldn’t work because folks were here all the time,” Scragg said at the ceremony. “That just goes to show how much the community appreciates what we’ve done here in this project.”

In 1998, the city sanctioned a skateboard park inside building No. 10, but when recent plans were announced to demolish dilapidated buildings at the park, the skaters were offered a space outside.

Their response was overwhelming to politicians used to lackluster attendance at public hearings.

Former Macon City Councilman Theron Ussery, who serves on the SPLOST committee, said, “I think this will be probably the most heavily used place in the whole park.”

In recent months, the county demolished nine buildings at Central City Park, installed underground power and sewer lines and added 31 new RV spots for a total of 72 in the park, according to a news release.

New pavilions were built closer to parking lots to make hauling picnic items easier and new bathrooms were added.

Four new multipurpose ball fields will allow for football, soccer and lacrosse.

The first phase of improvements from the total $6 million in sales tax earmarked for the park included restoring the Round Building and Bandstand.

The Parks and Recreation offices also were painted and upgraded with fiber optic lines and new electrical systems.

Macon-Bibb County still plans to add a competition bowl to the skate park, light the multipurpose fields, rebuild softball fields and enhance parking and sidewalks in the next phase of improvements.

Lloyd and the other skateboarders reluctantly took a break during speeches before the ribbon cutting, but were back on the concrete course before the scissors were put away.

“It’s pretty awesome that the city actually thought of us and gave us something so great,” Lloyd said about the skate park. “It’s really fun to skate everyday.”

He proudly posted the grand opening of “our skatepark” on his Facebook page.

A nationally known skate park designer was chosen for the project, said Richard Smith of Vaughn & Melton engineers.

“I think we’ll be hosting events here. This is going to be a revenue generator,” said Smith.

He noted that this is the only park of its kind in Middle Georgia.

Smith also told the crowd that Commissioner Larry Schlesinger has a new-found appreciation for skate stunting after watching a televised X Games championship on a rainy day.

“I declare this the coolest place in Macon,” Schlesinger said from the podium.

This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 1:13 PM with the headline "New urban skate park christened ‘the coolest place in Macon’."