Group aims to double size of Polson skatepark
Organizers with the 7th Avenue Skate Park Association plan on doubling the size of the current skate park, located in Polson. (Photo provided)
Through the years, skate enthusiasts have made a series of obstacles at the skate park in Polson. Now, a younger generation of skaters is joining the scene, prompting the older generation to add to the existing area. (Photo provided)
Jesse Vargas, of the 7th Avenue Skate Park Association. (Photo provided)
Polson resident Jesse Vargas is working with the 7th Avenue Skate Park Association, to raise money to expand the current skate park in Polson. (Photo provided)
Younger skaters will soon have a place to go to learn the fundamentals of the craft.
The 7th Avenue Skate Park Association, a nonprofit organization formed earlier in 2017, has been raising money to expand the current skate park located on 7th Avenue in Polson.
Jesse Vargas, an organizer with the nonprofit, explained that currently, novice skaters don’t have a place in Polson to ride, leaving them to using the streets or private property.
Vargas confirmed that the group anticipates construction by fall of 2018.
Currently, the park is 12,000 square feet, and will be doubled in size.
It sprawls on 7th Avenue West in Polson.
People who ride skateboards, bikes and skates use the park, which has more challenging obstacles.
Those obstacles are sometimes discouraging to newer riders, who need easier obstacles when they are learning their technique, Vargas explained.
“We are trying to give new (riders) something to work up to, kind of a graduated system,” Vargas said.
The group hopes to raise $250,000 for the skate-park project. Vargas said they have received $23,000 through grants and donations in the last five months.
“We are looking for donations; we’re willing to work with businesses for sponsorship opportunities and advertising opportunities,” he said.
Members of the association are working on grants to generate more funds.
In the 1990s, a skate park was built on land owned by the Montana Rail Link, where Vargas said young skaters built the ramps.
The “park” was an old foundation of a building located on the corner of 7th Street East and 7th Avenue East.
Then, in 2002, the park was taken out, leaving people with nowhere to ride.
Former Parks Manager Karen Sargeant saw a need for a skate park, so she began a fundraising campaign for the current park, which was built in 2006.
The skate park hosts the annual Bike Jam, which Vargas said is an informal competition where riders from around Northwest Montana visit and compete.
Then there is the more formal Skate Jam, which has been going on for more than 20 years.
Competitors from the Pacific Northwest journey to Polson, pulling out their best tricks, Vargas added.
For more information on history and donation opportunities, visit www.polsonskatepark.com
Information can also be found on social media websites for Polson Skatepark.