Skate park receives $140,000 in upgrade work

Costa Mesa’s skate park has been wildly popular since it opened in late June 2005, and now it’s getting spruced up with some new amenities.

The city spent $1 million to build the 15,000-square-foot park, but it got its name ? the Volcom Skate Park of Costa Mesa ? from the local skate-wear company that agreed to a 10-year, $300,000 sponsorship to cover the costs of running the park.

The park near Arlington and Junipero drives is now in the midst of about $140,000 of improvements.

Workers have added screens along the fence to keep skaters’ arms and legs from going through the bars, more concrete walkways and a pad for bleachers have been poured, and some sod was replaced with artificial turf, city parks program manager Bart Mejia said.

“The park is very popular. It has a lot more use than anticipated, and there was a lot of foot traffic going from the skating surfaces to the picnic shelter,” he said. “It had so much foot traffic the grass just died.”

A contractor is now grading the site and installing irrigation systems.

Bleachers for spectators are still to come. The work should wrap up in about three weeks, Mejia said. The park has remained open during the work.

Skateboarders who lobbied hard to get the park built were involved in planning the new amenities, and that’s a sign of how far they’ve come, said Jim Gray, who owns a Costa Mesa skateboard company and was a leading advocate for the city’s park.

It took a number of years, during which skaters and city officials were often on opposite sides of the issue. They’ve since come together.

“They listen to us and we’ve come to learn how their system works,” Gray said. “The bottom line is they’ve made improvements and they care about the project.”

The City Council hasn’t officially endorsed a second skate park, but the idea has been suggested, and Gray is all for it. A 1999 study listed Lions Park as the most likely skate park location.

“There is a lot of support for a second skate park, and I believe that some of our council members also believe that we need a second skate park,” Mejia said.

Gray said it’s needed ? often between 50 and 70 people are using the park at one time; it was only designed for about 30 people at a time, he said.

He’d like to see another park in Costa Mesa, but Gray said he also wants to continue to press Newport Beach for a park because many of those who skate in Costa Mesa live in Newport.dpt.15-skatepark-CPhotoInfoPK1OV37J20060315ilg00vncMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Jon Jon Bryan sticks a hand plant at the Volcom Skate Park of Costa Mesa last year.