Ft. Lewis, Washington Officially Under Construction!, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Our 16,000 square foot design/build skate plaza in Fort Lewis, Washington is officially under construction. The custom bump-to-bump is being shaped and painted to replicate Mt. Rainier, which will serve as the skate plaza’s beautiful backdrop.
Stay tuned for updates from the Spohn Ranch Skateparks build crew!
Dew Tour 2011 – Las Vegas, Nevada “Skate Street”, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Final design for the 2011 Dew Tour Skate Street Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada. Located inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino’s “The Joint”, this unique venue will host the “best of the best” from this year’s professional skateboarders. The venue’s existing stage created our main elevation and will also showcase the talents of rap artist 50 Cent immediately following the finals.
Stay tuned for photos of the course build and updates from the qualifying rounds of action!
Final Design for Holland, Michigan – Smallenburg Skatepark, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Our second skatepark for the City of Holland, Michigan is officially under construction as of this past Monday! Spohn Ranch’s latest design/build project is an 8,000 square foot neighborhood-style skate plaza artfully integrated into Smallenburg Park.
Our design process involved collaboration with a local landscape architect, as well as design workshops with the local skaters who we’ve come to know very well through our work on Holland’s David Dirkse Skatepark.
Stay tuned for construction updates!
City of Sylvania, Ohio – Final Skatepark Design, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Our project in Sylvania, Ohio is officially under construction in collaboration with A.A. Boos & Sons General Contractors. Spohn Ranch’s 8,000 square foot space was heavily influenced by input from local skateboarders who drew inspiration from local skate spots and nearby public skateparks. Spohn Ranch’s project scope includes conceptual design, public design workshops, construction drawings and construction management
While Spohn Ranch advocates for the efficiency and accountability of design/builds, local regulations prevented us from building the park that we had designed. Thankfully, Spohn Ranch is handling construction management to ensure that no corners are cut and that Sylvania’s skatepark is built with the highest standards of safety, durability and skateability. Stay tuned for updates on the fall grand opening!
City of Oskaloosa, Iowa – Final Skatepark Design, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Spohn Ranch is proud to announce that construction is officially underway on the first public skatepark in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Selected as the skatepark design/build contractor in the winter of 2010, Spohn Ranch joined an integrated team of engineers and landscape architects who were drafting a unique vision for a redevelopment project in the heart of Oskaloosa’s downtown district.
As the centerpiece of Oskaloosa’s new Urban Park, Spohn Ranch’s designers envisioned the skatepark as a vibrant and colorful space that could be proudly displayed as a community showpiece. Working through the Mahaska Community Recreation Foundation, Spohn Ranch also facilitated thoughtful community involvement by engaging with local skateboarders and BMX bike riders on the park’s design.
While the majority of Iowa’s skateparks feature metal ramps on old tennis courts or large expanses of dull concrete, Oskaloosa’s new action sports space stands alone. With an innovative sculptural quality and a diversity of aesthetic enhancements, the resulting design is arguably the most progressive skatepark in the State of Iowa. Often resembling more of an urban plaza than a traditional skatepark, the park features a dynamic colored concrete pattern, integrated granite collages and a host of cantilevered obstacles that double as architectural focal points.
Brought to fruition with donations from local businesses, youth fundraising and a grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation, this contemporary park also boasts a state-of-the-art lighting system, spectator seating and an aesthetically-inviting landscape design.
Dew Tour 2011 – Portland, Oregon Street Skate, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
As the Dew Tour rolled into Portland, Oregon with the first “Skate Street” event of the season, our goal was to create a modern, street-inspired course that would continue to complement the Dew Tour’s unique contest format – a combination of a timed run and an organized jam session.
In line with the street plaza movement, concrete is an integral part of this course and allowed the design to transform into a work of urban architecture. The course features the defining elements of a downtown plaza, while maintaining the perfect kind of flow that makes the Dew Tour events so fun to watch. With an innovative circular flow, free from any dead ends, riders are able to easily cruise up and down through the course and really let their style shine as they go from one feature to the next.
Anchoring the center of the course is an extra-wide staircase supported by concrete hubba ledges and a handrail, both inspired by real-world scale found in the streets. Landscaped planters and grass gaps add to the architectural aesthetic of the course, while providing exciting opportunities for big, crowd-pleasing tricks. An array of hips, ledges, manual pads and smaller hubbas and handrails round out the course, creating a near infinite number of lines and combinations.
Spohn Ranch crews arrived in Portland yesterday and are currently working hard on the construction of both the street course and concrete bowl. Follow us on twitter for the most up-to-date news!
Final Design for McBride Skate Plaza – Long Beach, California, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Construction of Spohn Ranch’s Fifth Skatepark for the City of Long Beach is Underway at McBride Park
Since skateboarding first made its way to Long Beach in the 1970s, local youth have consistently earned a reputation for approaching skateboarding with an unmistakable level of passion and commitment. Taking a stand against the social and economic issues that challenged their daily lives, the skaters of Long Beach have wholeheartedly embraced skateboarding – both as a vehicle for bringing people together and as a way to maintain a positive, healthy lifestyle.
With a background story this inspiring, Spohn Ranch is proud to honor the spirit of Long Beach skateboarding with the design and construction of the City’s most vibrant and well-rounded facility to date. The project was also chosen as the Tony Hawk Foundation’s spotlight project of the year, with a “Stand Up For Skateparks” event held in October to raise additional funds for the park.
As we approached the design phase of the project, our goal was to create Long Beach’s first true skate plaza. More than just another place to ride, we wanted to create an engaging public space that would resemble an urban streetscape and give local skaters a sense of place and community. Putting ourselves in the mind of an average Long Beach skater, we asked ourselves, “What would it take to create a park that would keep me excited to come back here every single day?”.
A close up view of the park’s entrance
Reflecting today’s modern style of skateboarding, this 9,000 square foot design focuses less on traditional ramps, bowls and half-pipes and allocates more space towards features one would find in a common urban setting – benches, stairs, handrails, etc. A few of the main attributes of this design include:
The famed Belmont Planters during their last days
By far the most compelling and significant aspect of this design is the inclusion of the letters “LBC” in the banked wall. By increasing the width of this feature, we were able to set these larger-than-life letters into the piece and allow them to rise up out of the park. With a sculptural quality not found in any other skatepark, these letters singlehandedly elevate this skatepark to iconic proportions.
A close up view of the park’s “LBC” letters
When this skatepark appears in professional magazines, videos and local user YouTube videos, these letters will become an instantly recognizable symbol of Long Beach’s dedication to quality skateboarding facilities. Empowering the local skaters with the knowledge and pride that their community is special, these letters will further unite Long Beach’s skaters and cement the City’s place in skateboarding history.
Oregon, Illinois – Park West Skate Plaza Design, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Fresh off the overwhelming success of our new concrete skatepark in Aurora, Spohn Ranch is proud to present the final design renderings for our latest Illinois design/build skatepark project in Oregon, Illinois.
At roughly 6,000 square feet of skateable concrete, this innovative plaza design balances unique lines, colored concrete and a sculptural aesthetic to create a one-of-a-kind skateboarding space. Construction began this week, so stay tuned for updates!
Los Angeles, California – Hansen Dam Skatepark, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Our home City of Los Angeles, California has been blessed with an explosion of public skateparks over the past few years. While few are complaining about the 20+ parks available to ride, the recent wave of skatepark construction has been focused almost exclusively on plaza-based terrain, similar to the stairs, handrails and granite benches found at our Ambassador Skate Plaza in Wilmington. This push for plazas has left many skaters begging the question – what about bowls and transition?
With Spohn Ranch’s latest Los Angeles design/build project at the Hansen Dam Recreation Area, we are coming full circle with a well-rounded space that balances plaza and transition in a flowing fashion. Riding the plaza wave, this 8,800 square foot concrete skatepark features integral colored concrete, granite-capped ledges and brick stamped banks. With a 2,500 square foot flow bowl, the park also speaks to a somewhat neglected LA action sports subculture – BMX riders.
Since breaking ground in early June, Spohn Ranch crews have been busy with site preparation, including rough grading, re-routing of utilities and installing drain lines. Early next week, construction will charge ahead as the bowl area is excavated and formwork begins on the street features. Stay tuned for construction updates!
North Laurel, Maryland, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
As construction charges ahead on North Laurel, Maryland’s new 45 acre multi-service recreation center, we are proud to unveil the final design renderings for the park’s 12,000 square foot concrete skatepark.
Collaborating with local landscape architects, Mahan Rykiel, our design process combined public design workshops and social media interfaces for a robust dialogue with the local skateboarding community. Our final design speaks to a diverse set of stakeholders, including up-and-coming street skaters, seasoned bowl shredders and community members who can appreciate the park’s sculptural and aesthetic quality. This unique venue features a complex bowl, an array of ledge combinations and three large skateable boulders!
We are also proud to announce that in the last week, Spohn Ranch’s latest East Coast design/build project has begun construction – with completion anticipated for mid-July. Stay tuned for updates as Spohn Ranch crews make progress on the ground!
Final Design for Woodland Park, Colorado Skatepark and Freestyle BMX Dirt Track, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
The fenced-in lot with cheese-grater asphalt and dilapidated wood/metal ramps that Woodland Park’s skateboarders and BMX bike riders used to call home, will soon be no more. Thankfully they will have a new place to go – a bigger, more challenging and more aesthetically-pleasing place in fact.
Since 2008, Spohn Ranch has worked hand-in-hand with the City of Woodland Park, Colorado to develop a state-of-the-art facility which would replace the cramped and outdated metal ramp park built by a local contractor in the late ‘90s. After assisting City officials with a Colorado grant application, we hosted community design workshops with local riders to find out how their ideal skatepark session would come together.
These meetings revealed that the community’s skaters preferred a vibrant, street style concrete park, while the BMX bike riders favored dirt terrain. As pioneers of both skate and BMX course design, we pushed ahead with an all-inclusive action sports park, broken up into separate facilities for the different disciplines.
The skatepark features roughly 8,000 square feet of concrete terrain, defined by plaza style features and a colorful aesthetic. Integral colored concrete and a diversity of sculptural features complement the progression of skateboarding – inconceivable at the time of City’s original metal ramp park. The freestyle BMX course features 16,000 square feet of dirt skillfully shaped into table-top jumps, rhythm rollers, spines and hips.
After a groundbreaking ceremony at Red Mountain Park on May 6th, Spohn Ranch crews will now mobilize to begin site preparation, grading and form work. Both the skatepark and BMX dirt track are expected to be completed towards the end of June. Click the photo above for the full set of renderings!
The Dalles, Oregon, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Final Skatepark Design for Rialto, Californi, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
From everyone at Spohn Ranch, we are proud to present the final renderings for our design/build project in Rialto, California. With construction just getting underway, we are blessed to watch the countless visions, ideas and sketches that had captivated our minds for the past several months finally transform into a tangible concrete masterpiece. The result of rigorous analysis and collaborative community engagement, Rialto’s Fergusson Park will soon be home to one of the Inland Empire’s premiere skateboarding landscapes.
Working alongside RHA Landscape Architects, we were presented with an under-utilized 16,000 square foot roller hockey rink as our canvas. Inspired by the passion of a local family who had spent years advocating for a skatepark, we embarked on a design process aimed at creating a state-of-the-art facility that would serve both transition and street skaters in a harmonious way.
Spohn Ranch President and Founder, Aaron Spohn, tapped into 20+ years of industry experience and led multiple design workshops with the local skateboard community. These workshops garnered valuable feedback; from the general – the ratio of plaza to transition terrain, to the specific – dimensions of handrails and style of pool coping. With the local inspiration in hand, we returned to the drawing board and developed a unique concept that would make efficient use of the existing slab, while maintaining a sculptural and aesthetic quality. The final design features aspects of both modern urban architecture and traditional backyard pool skating. Stay tuned for updates as construction moves forward!
Click the image above to see all of the views.
As construction gets underway, the Spohn Ranch design department has completed the final renderings for our latest design/build project in Titusville, Florida. Artfully integrated into Marine Park’s waterfront recreation complex, this 6,500 square foot skate plaza boasts a diversity of modern street terrain, as well as a 4’ butter-smooth concrete mini-ramp. With a unique layout and decorative colored concrete, this vibrant plaza is the perfect complement for the seascape views that frame the park.
As an added bonus, we were able to up-sell the County on adding hipped banks onto the mini-ramp and a China wall to connect the pathway and upper plaza.
For the passionate local touch, we’ve collaborated with Florida-based Misiano Construction to execute the build portion of this project. With two professional crews on the ground, construction will swiftly move forward as anticipation from the local skaters mounts. Stay tuned for updates!
Orizaba Park Skate Spot – Long Beach, California, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
We’ve put together the final design for our new concrete skate spot at Orizaba Park in Long Beach, California. Our fifth skatepark for the City of Long Beach, this 3,500 square foot park will be welcome addition to Long Beach’s diverse and growing skatepark master plan. With a small site and budget, this unique space will provide the local community’s up-and-coming skaters with a great space to progress before moving on to the City’s larger and more complex parks. Construction starts in early February!
Aurora, Illinois Concrete Skateparks (Skate & BMX), originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Click the photo above to see the final designs for Aurora, Illinois’ two new skateparks, designed and built by Spohn Ranch. Collaborating with Naperville-based landscape architects, Design Perspectives, our team developed unique concepts for integrated skateboarding and BMX spaces in Phillips Park. Designed within a unique footprint, the designated skateboarding facility offers 8,000 square feet of distinct plaza terrain. With tinted concrete features such as the Pier 7 manual pad, sushi dish and earthquake gap, this park is the modern street skaters dream.
With a footprint of 4,000 square feet, the designated BMX facility offers flowing transition, spines and sub-boxes perfect for a BMX dream session. Sited adjacent to one another, these two facilities will collectively transform the City of Aurora into a thriving hub for Central Illinois action sports. Construction starts next week!
Suffolk, Virgnia – Final Design for Lake Mead Skate Spot, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Recipient of the Tony Hawk Foundation’s $10,000 skatepark grant, the City of Suffolk will soon be the home of two concrete skate spots, designed and built by Spohn Ranch. The City was originally considering one concrete park and one modular steel park, but with our industry expertise, we were able to steer both parks toward concrete – ensuring the long term success of these facilities.
At roughly 6,000 square feet, the Lake Meade site will become a vibrant community space where skaters can enjoy modern plaza terrain. By incorporating landscaping into the park, we helped regulate the traffic flow and made the space feel much bigger than it actually is. At the smaller Bennet’s Creek site, we designed a horseshoe bowl that simultaneously functions as a mini-ramp and rounded out the spot with same basic street features. Construction begins in 2 weeks!
The Dalles, Oregon Skatepark, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
In summer of 2010, Spohn Ranch was selected as the highest-ranking respondent to a request for proposals for the design/build of a state-of-the-art skatepark in The Dalles, Oregon. Today, we proudly present our final design for the new concrete skatepark to be located at Thompson Park.
After engaging in a thoughtful and collaborative design process with an integrated team of engineers, landscape architects and skatepark advocates, we emerged with a unique vision tailored towards the needs of The Dalles’ skateboarding community. Overcoming unique site constraints with sustainable design methods, we integrated the skatepark within a designated footprint, as well with a master plan that is planned for the overall park.
Sure to become a recognizable icon of modern skatepark architecture, the final design features a wide diversity of terrain aimed at all styles and skill levels. With basalt rock incorporated into the heart of the skateable terrain, this park will remain a vibrant community space for generations to come. Also, as part of a phase-2 project, we will return to the park and incorporate a fully-enclosed concrete bowl.
Dalton, Georgia Skatepark, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
Here’s the final design for Dalton, Georgia’s new concrete skatepark. At roughly 5,600 square feet, this small plaza-style park will be a valuable addition to Dalton’s diverse collection of recreational facilities. With a design/construction budget of only $90,000, Spohn Ranch worked with the local skateboard community to develop a design that would accommodate a wide variety of skating styles and skill levels.
Construction starts next week!
Dalton, Georgia’s Community Skatepark, originally uploaded by spohnranchskateparks.
This past month Spohn Ranch was chosen as the design/build contractor for Dalton, Georgia’s new concrete skatepark. With successfully building an action sports facility in Dalton, Spohn Ranch will continue the line of work we began in 1992 – building world-class skateparks for both community users and professional skaters. In the past five years alone, we have built over 300 skateparks – from micro-skate spots to national destinations like our recent Daytona Beach project.
There’s a great article from the Daily Citizen describing Spohn Ranch’s design process and first public meeting with the local skate community. Stay tuned for updates as the design takes shape!
