Hi guys,
I’m new to the forum, carrying out some research as I’m putting facts and figures together to building/opening an indoor skate park around my home town
When you go to the skate parks, whats your biggest pet peev? What would you change if you could.
Also if you were to go to an all day skate session what sort of price would you be willing to pay for a day pass? Bare in mind it would be a lot bigger and better than your standard park
Thanks in advance
Urgh, don’t get me started on researchers down the park. All snooty with their clipboards and lab coats and hard hats. Bloody nightmare.
That and the police I suppose. Angry dads.
The park trying to serve skaters, scooters and BMX lot with too much crammed into a small space in the middle of a muddy field.
Indoor parks are a nightmare if there’s no skate only sessions because it turns into a scooter kids crèche whilst mum and dad head into towns to do the shopping. Worst example XC Hemel, Best example of a park that does this is Aberdeen’s indoor park - no scooters allowed .
£10/15 all day if it’s a banging park but kids won’t pay that unless there’s an unlimited membership offer.
Teenagers on scooters who don’t understand park etiquette - don’t drop in across people, don’t sit on or hang the scooter over the coping, don’t snake people etc.
Little kids on bikes and scooters are annoying as well but you just have to accept that because it’s hard to direct an excitable 6 year old
Agree with the first part, or ones that focus on one section a bit too much and the rest ends up shite. Parks that have no real flow/layout are grim too. Even the accessibility of the different areas, for example Dynamix used to have the worst entrance where you’d walk through this tiny corridor and it’d just put you straight out infront of a flatbank, that and the fact you have to awkwardly get your way through the park to get to the bowl.
As an extension of the first part, parks that have no clear plan and just focus on one bit while the rest falls into disarray. I love Dynamix bowl but they’ve dumped so much money on the BMX part of it whilst the roof over the bowl has been leaking for years at this point, the deck of the ramp is some awful chipboard type stuff with holes in it, etc. It’s always had a bit of a shit rep as a park but it’s good to have in the winter, I hadn’t been since about 2014 up until last winter and I thought “I wonder if it’s got any better” - nope, still a half built cowboy builders type of job.
Thanks for the feedback so far guys, from my own experience of skating I agree that scooters and bikes don’t mix well and would frustrate me,
I’m hoping to get a unit big enough to section off areas. Primarily it will be a skateboard park and catered to boarding mostly than bmx and scooter so majority will be designed for and by skaters
Bmx will be more jump ramp areas and a small vert.
Scooter is something I’m unsure about so far but as a business understand it does need to cater. But there will be an age limit and no young children will be allowed on the floor during peak times.
As for etiquette I’m thinking of park monitoring, so people are not sat around on ramps or getting in the way, a dedicated seating area and food area, plus locker rooms etc.
Its only an idea at the moment I’m trying to build up my business model and then put numbers together
Thanks for your feedback
Ah! You don’t skate. OK. You’re asking in the right place anyway.
Skate park toilets always end up looking like the one off trainspotting.
You’ll have to have something that will make people come in the height of summer sun. The summer of 2018 was terrible for the XC , literally no one in at all and were only taking money from the climbing wall and kids birthdays.
I pretty much only head to indoor skateparks when it rains or it’s too dark for a street sesh.
Parents at the skatepark. The ones that drop little Billy off then proceed to set up camp on a block or some other area that makes something unusable whilst they are there and also put themselves at risk of a grade A shinner or worse.
Yes I do skate, I’m hoping to open my own park because of my love of skating
thanks for you feedback, I’d be making a designated seating area/food area. Probably a high level mezzanine so they can keep an eye on little billy from a distance, but saying that it would not be during peak times as little billy causes too much risks to people going hard at speed
I agree. It will have a “wow” factor installed before any opening. Something attractive. And something bigger than anywhere else lol. Its pnly info gathering for now to see if its a pliable business
Totally agree with the points about Dynamix, that gap in the floor that’s ben there forever with a bit of metal over it. Just fill it in.
Some ideas:
No parents/guardians on the park.
Dedicated scooter area if you have to have scooters at all (which you probably do from a financial viability perspective). Those little bastards seem to love spines do entice them in and keep them there with a couple of those.
Park etiquette briefing (a bit like you get at one of those indoor trampoline places).
Rush in Stroud has employees who skate around the course and keep an eye on things (ask people to change their behaviour if they’re doing something dangerous or annoying, assist with first aid situations etc.). Works well.
Maybe an area that prioritises groms but it is not exclusive to them (see The Mini House at The House in Sheffield).
Some new lights wouldn’t go a miss either, first time there in years went to just push in the “street” section and slipped on water where the roof had leaked.
Excellent. Important to be flexible.
Also private hire - all night sessions would be fucking amazing. Haven’t had one of those in years . Latest has been 2 am. Would be great to have it till the morning , sleep there etc.
Clean toilets.
Video lounge
