Skatepark Ready for Construction
Skatepark Ready for Construction
Ellicottville Officials and local skateboarding advocates host groundbreaking ceremony
Pictured L-R: John Burrell, Mayor of Ellicottville; Brian McFadden, Executive Director, Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce; Ben Slotman, Village/Town Engineer; Doug Anderson, President, Rotary Club of Ellicottville; Brenda Perks, SK8EVL advocate; Chris Perks, SK8EVL advocate; Skip Wilday, President, Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation; Nick Sciara, SK8EVL advocate; Sean Lowes, Village Board Trustee/Parks Commissioner; Greg Cappelli, Rotary Club of Ellicottville.
ELLICOTTVILLE - A groundbreaking ceremony for the “New Car Dealers of WNY Ellicottville Skatepark” took place Friday, July 8th at the Ellicottville Village Park. The ceremony, attended by many local officials, community members and skateboarders, celebrated the culmination of the efforts of local skatepark advocates (SK8EVL) to fundraise for the construction of a $500,000+ permanent, concrete skatepark in the village of Ellicottville.
Since 2019, skatepark advocates with SK8EVL raised $250,000 through the Ellicottville Skatepark Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation to fund the park’s construction, with that total being matched by The Skatepark Project and Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.
The skatepark will be named the New Car Dealers of WNY Ellicottville Skatepark in recognition of the contribution of the park’s lead sponsor, the New Car Dealers of WNY Charitable Foundation, which donated $100,000.
The park was designed with input from area residents and will be built by internationally renowned skatepark design/build firm, Grindline of Seattle, Washington. Grindline has designed and installed skateparks all over the world, in locations from Alaska to Philadelphia, Hawaii to Copenhagen, Denmark. Ellicottville’s skatepark construction is expected to commence later this month with completion this fall. The skatepark will then be open to the public and free to use.
“We are thrilled to finally be able to celebrate the installation of this skatepark after three years of hard work,” said Brenda Parks, lead advocate with SK8EVL. “Thanks to the generous support of so many individuals and businesses in our region, this skatepark is going to provide a dedicated, state-of-the-art facility for those that love to skateboard and roller skate for many years to come.
CRCF Executive Director Karen Niemic Buchheit praised the efforts of SK8EVL advocates to take this project to the finish line. “Raising $250,000 is no small feat for a group of volunteers,” she said. “This was a major fundraising effort, and CRCF is proud to be a supporter of SK8EVL’s work.”
“I think we can all agree that getting our kids outside and active is so important,” concluded Perks. “Public concrete skateparks are going up all over Western New York, and the country! The sport of skateboarding is growing, and these public parks play a huge role in providing our youth with safe spaces to skate.”
Donations can be made to the Ellicottville Skatepark Fund at CRCF, 301 North Union St., Suite 203, Olean, NY 14760 or online at cattfoundation.org.
The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is the area’s supportive, responsive and trusted community foundation. Established in 1994, CRCF is growing good by connecting donors to the causes they care about most in the region. Grants from the foundation support many areas, including education, scholarships, healthcare, the arts, community development, human service, and youth development. To learn more, call 716-301-CRCF (2723), email foundation@cattfoundation.org, or visit online at www.cattfoundation.org. CRCF is also on Facebook (facebook.com/cattfoundation) and Twitter (@CattFoundation).