Centre Co., PA (WJAC) — Plans for a new skatepark in Centre County are taking shape and it's the latest development in decades of roller sports history in the county, a history that has ties to skateboarding making its debut in last year's Olympic games.
The nearly two-million-dollar skatepark is targeted for High Point Park in State College, located off of West Whitehall Road.
“It’s going to bring a lot of attention to the sport of skateboarding, especially in Centre County. We do have a vibrant scene here with Woodward Camp. There are professional skateboarders who have come out of State College.”
Woodward, the legendary sports camp in eastern Centre County, added skateboarding and BMX bike competition nearly forty years ago.
Plans for a Centre region skatepark have been discussed and in the works for more than a decade.
“Skateboarding is growing in a huge way. Society has accepted it more and more. It was generally thought of as an outlaw sport at some point, but that has changed with a big part being skateboarding in the Olympics.”
Skateboarding made its debut in the 2020 Olympics, which were actually held last year due to the pandemic, with the Olympic skateboarding director being Centre County native Gary Ream, one of the founders of Woodward.
For the High Point Skatepark in State College, with hopes of opening next summer, the focus now is fundraising.
“The community fundraising portion of our campaign is to try to raise 50-thousand-dollars to show our bigger donors that there is a lot of support for this.”
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