The grand-opening of Ann Arbor's new skatepark is a month away, but news that skating legend Tony Hawk will be at the opening has the skating community freaking out. President of the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark Trevor Staples says Hawk and several other professional skateboarders will give demonstrations as part of the opening event.
It's hard for Staples to put into words what he thinks of the new park, but he is overwhelmingly happy.
Staples is also excited that Hawk will be on hand, because a guide to building public skateparks created by the Tonk Hawk Foundation served as an important tool as the effort to build a skatepark in Ann Arbor got going. He says the announcement has also led to more interest from potential sponsors for the grand opening. This is helping the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark as they look to raise an additional $50,000 to fully fund the skatepark endowment fund.
Staples hopes the park will open a couple of weeks early. However he asks skaters not to try to sneak in while construction continues because they could damage the facility.
The grand opening is set for June 21st, which is also International Go Skateboarding Day.
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— Andrew Cluley is the Ann Arbor beat reporter, and anchor for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him acluley@emich.edu.
