Wilmington Skate Project On Halt

If you were to guess what are the four most popular sports in the United States.  I could already imagine football and baseball as numbers one and two.  Then three would be a tossup between basketball and possibly soccer since everyone kid and their mother played soccer as a child.  So could you guess what the fourth is?  Would you be surprised if I told it is SLAMBALL?  Well stay surprised because it isn’t.  I wish it were though and I will always stand by it.  Even though they canceled the league 5 years ago.  Surprise, surprise, skateboarding is currently the 4th most popular sport in the United States. Similar to many areas of the country, northern Delaware has active skateboarders of all ages.  Now that’s a surprise because Delaware is one of the more liberal states in the country.  They should be more empathetic to our young skater citizens’ needs.

Despite the sport’s popularity, this region has no free public skateboarding facility. Quality skateparks have many benefits for cities and communities including, increased tourism and detering crime.

Building a skatepark is an opportunity for the CITY OF WILMINGTON to demonstrate dedication to its youth and show support for a healthy young activity.

For years, The WILMINGTON SKATEPARK PROJECT has been hard at work, first fighting for a public skatepark and then raising money for their approved, future skate-plaza under I-95. Today, they released this message on their website.

“Over the last several months we had hoped that the beginning processes of building a skatepark would have started by this time. However, the appropriated city funding that is intended for the skatepark is delayed. This funding is tied into a bond bill that has been delayed due to various factors including current economic conditions. We hope for these funds to be exercised as soon as possible and wewill continue to monitor the status.

In the meantime, WSP is working with the City of Wilmington Parks Dept. on a feasibility plan for some smaller skateparks at various sites within the city. These smaller sites, if approved would be in addition to the main Skate Plaza location at Maryland Ave. and Linden Streets.”

Keep tuned to the WSP website for news on their progress and messages on how you can help in the planning and construction of these new parks.