CASE would like to send our sincere condolences to the friends and family to the skateboarder who was killed while riding his skateboard in the community of Millrise on August 28th. The Calgary skateboard community grieves with you at this incredibly sad time. Read more here from the Calgary Herald.
The City is accepting proposals for design and construction on several new rec centres. The one that will be located in the southeast community of Seton will include a skatepark. From today’s Calgary Sun:
“The city is ready to dive into the development of two brand new rec centres.
Proposals from companies looking to work on the design, procurement and construction of the Seton and Great Plains facilities are now being requested.
They are two of four new centres — the others planned for Quarry Park and Rocky Ridge — that are estimated to cost $480 million
In June, council approved carrying an additional debt load of $250 million to pay for the projects after $100 million of federal funding fell through last year.
Ald. Shane Keating, whose Ward 12 will eventually be home to two of the new facilities, said the city has not scaled back plans for the facilities despite having to shoulder a much bigger financial burden than was initially expected.
“All the facilities and all the amenities are still going to go ahead,” said Keating.
“We have to go ahead and bite the bullet, spend the money.
“People are out there and just don’t have the facilities — we can’t have that.”
Listed in the request for bids on the Seton and Great Plains project are details about what the new centres will offer.
Proposed at the Seton site — a recreational hub expected at 18150 56 St. S.E. — is a 52-metre, 10-lane competition pool, which Keating says will be one of the only pools that size in the city and useful in training competitive swimmers, plus a dive tank, recreation pool and play features.
Also included are plans for two ice rinks, three gymnasiums, a large, state-of-the art fitness centre, outdoor play structures and a skateboard park, a library, and arts and cultural spaces including a theatre, studios and workshops.
There will also be multi-purpose rooms, day care space, food services, a pro shop, physiotherapy centre and medical clinics.
Meanwhile, the Great Plains centre, at 5749 76 Ave. S.E., will be a competitive tournament facility with a focus on team sports including ice, sledge and ball hockey, ringette and lacrosse.
The facility will have two standard ice rinks, a fitness area and multi-purpose rooms and space for food services and a pro shop.
Work on the Seton centre is expected to run March 2015 to December 2017 while the Great Plains site should be under construction by December of next year and finished in April 2015, according to project timelines.
Have you heard about the company Urban Ambush? If not open your ears because they have been supporting some major Calgary skateboard and artist talent. Current Calgary locals on their team are Eddie Merrier, Steve Rohl, Rob Aguirre as well as frequent Calgary visitor Joe Buffalo. Urban Ambush is a Montreal Based Skateboard company that is 100% owned and operated by skateboarders. Their mission is to promote skateboarding and original art by local artists. They produce quality skateboard decks, wheels, and apparel manufactured in Canada.
They recently released an Eddie Merrier aka Crazy Eddie deck which features some great original art from local artist and tattooist Teika Hudson. If you like wider boards this one is perfect at 8.5” wide and rides great! I have not tried their wheels yet but they look to be good and come in 51mm and 55mm..
The new skatepark in Sylvan Lake is officially open as the landscapers finished their work yesterday. A fence surrounds the park to keep people from walking on the new sod until the roots catch, but you can ride the park no problem. For more photos and directions to find the park go to Skateparktour.ca.
Check out this recent posting Community Mobile Skateparks ready to roll out on The Calgary City News Blog. It gives details on the City of Calgary Recreation Community Mobile Skateparks. It also speaks about the Skateboarding Amenities Strategy that CASE worked to create, which details how the City of Calgary plans to build permanent skateparks and skatespots across Calgary.
The skatepark at Westside Rec Centre is opening for the season on May 1. Click the photo below for more info:
