Skateparks in Calgary

Mar 4, 2017 | Activism, CASE News, Indoor, Skateboarding, Skateparks

CASE is not directly affiliated with any skateparks in Calgary. We advocate for new skateparks and skateboard friendly policies and legislation in Calgary on behalf of the Calgary skateboarding community, but we don’t own or manage any skate facilities.

Downtown:

• Shaw Millennium Park – Calgary’s oldest skatepark is located on the site of the old Mewata Stadium, on the west side of downtown at Bow Trail/9th Ave between 14th and 11th Streets. It’s Canada’s largest at 75,000 square feet. The skatepark is open 24 hours a day; the greenspace surrounding the park adheres to regular park hours (5AM-11PM). Read more about it on the city’s skatepark site.

South East

• Deer Run – 2223 146th Ave SE, next to Deer Run Community Centre. 2016 construction.
• Midnapore – Midlake Blvd SE, next to Midsun Community Centre. 2016 construction.
• New Brighton – 130 Ave SE, east of 52 St SE. Opened Summer 2016.
• McKenzie Towne has a small modular park with mostly steel-framed ramps. View the park details here. It’s located at 200 McKenzie Towne Gate SE.

South West

• CKE Skate Spot is about 5,000 of plaza style terrain located at the corner of Elbow Drive and 73 Ave SW.
• Southwood – Sackville Drive SW, next to Southwood Community Hall. Opened Spring 2016.
• Westside Rec Centre, located at 2000 69 St SW has a smaller modular skatepark that is open during the spring and summer months. The set up includes various street obstacles and a 40 foot wide mini ramp with a bank and two distinct sections. Read more at this link.
• Woodcreek, a small modular skatepark built by area Community Associations separate from the Skateboard Strategy.

North East

• Genesis Centre – skatepark is in the design process

North West

• Huntington Hills – Centre St at 64 Ave N. Opened Spring 2016
• Bowness – skatepark is in the design process

Mobile Skateparks

The City of Calgary operates the Mobile Skatepark Program during the summer months, generally starting in late June. There are a few parks that travel to all quadrants of the city. Check out this link for dates and locations.

Calgary Region Skateparks

There are a number of free outdoor skateparks in towns close to Calgary.

• Airdrie,
• Cochrane,
• Chestermere,
• Langdon,
• Okotoks,
• High River,
• Strathmore

Skateboard Amenities Strategy

In spring 2017, the City will be moving into the construction phase of the last 2 parks of the first eight, as outlined in the Skateboard Amenities Strategy. You can read about how the initial skatepark sites were selected in this report. The City’s Skatepark Development website has some more information on it regarding these future skateparks.

Indoor Skateparks

Currently, Calgary has one indoor skatepark, The Compound, operated by Riders on Board Snowboard Club.

The city has had nearly a dozen indoor parks come and go, however. Places like Skatopia, All Skool, Four-O-Three, Skateworld, and Skate Jungle were all privately operated. It’s been proven that private indoor skateparks cannot exist in most cities. High overhead/operational costs combined with insurance costs make indoor parks a tough go financially.

CASE has submitted proposals for indoor skateparks on two separate occasions. The first was for a location in Inglewood, the second for the former Science Centre building downtown.

CASE is working constantly towards an indoor facility. We live in a city that is unskateable nearly half of the year. We hope to follow the models of parks like Le Taz in Montreal or the Regina Indoor Park. The cost of running a skatepark cannot be supported by user fees alone; a partnership is required. For example, a donated building.

Skatelife operates a temporary indoor skatepark every Tuesday night at Dalhousie Community Church. More info on their website: