Bethlehem Skateplaza

[Hefeweizen]

Ya, I'll cruise over to the fantasy factory later on. Oh wait, you're already there.

[christo]

yeah umm,  asdhiwgfhdyurejdd,  time to log out killer.

[killthegnar]

supporting skaters and bmxers.

great. heres a tip: SPERATE FUCKING FACILITIES.

stop crowding us with the dudes we hate.

would you put a basketball hoop at the end of a football field and call it "mixed use?"

no, because its fucking stupid. as is building parks where bikes are allowed.

haha seperate parks? on the east coast we're lucky to get a pre fab park to be shared with skaters, bikers, roller blades, rip sticks, unicycles, or basically anyone on wheels. if we get the clearance for a concrete park, we dont complain about who uses it as long as it gets built.

[Homebase610]

Thanks Jen and everyone who's been standing up for this project.

Obviously for people who haven't been involved with this 8 year process its hard to really believe that something like this is happening- its still a bit surreal for myself.  All the "concerns" people are showing here have been addressed to our best abilities rest assured- and yes, I except the fact that we may not get the funding we need and obstacles like getting through the first year once the plaza is built will be something we as a skate community and as a community will need to address as well.

I believe in the scene here in the 610- any who's come through and spent time here knows that the people who skate here are down to Earth and love skating for the simple act of skating not careers and sponsorship.  I also respect our BMX scene being that we've all coexisted and rode together for years and years at spots without fights and bickering other spots get into.  One of my good friends also owns the local BMX shop and we've met many times to figure out ways to prevent petty issues from sprouting up.  As far as co-existing, I'd rather ride with BMXers in a street setting than a bowl/ traditional skatepark setting any day.  Metal edges and coping will dent and chip but Bethlehem is a steel and iron town- luckily for us we have lots of materials on hand with the possibility of being donated in order to maintain the plaza.  But that's neither here nor there yet- just like our contingency plans to hold fundraising events to continually raise money for the plaza.  Just like a private skatepark, we have the ability to use the space to throw events to supplement the costs of maintaing the plaza.

Now let's talk about funding.  We are not dependent on tax dollars- we have no tax dollars.  We have donations and state grants given to cities for parks projects.  Thankfully, the State of PA sees the value in our project and has awarded us almost half a million dollars which will help us get phase 1 off the ground by our goal deadline- July 2010.  The rest of the funding will hopefully come from an aggressive campaign locally to bring into donations from locals, local business, local corporations and national corporations.  Some promising corporations are very interested in this project given the success of phase 1.  Companies that could possibly help fund the remaining phases but again- that's neither here nor there yet.  One phase at a time and I know most skatepark projects don't get past the first phase but hey, as long as I've been invested in this project- I can wait.

From the inception of this project to how we've worked with our parks department to how the skate, BMX and community at large have backed this project as a unified group- I can only be optimistic about the outcome. 

A lot of the information about the history of this project is on our shop website: www.Homebase610.com and I am working all the info and background of the project together for people to read.  Like Jen said, we're looking for support for anyone with an open enough mind to that even in these uncertain times- something like this might be possible to create and people that might see that not every skater hates BMXers and not every BMXer's sole purpose is to destroy things skaters value.

Its taken years to do it locally but we've been able to round up the support from the mayor, the police commissioner and the community.  I'm sure it'll take an equal amount of time to convince nameless message board users to see whats positive instead of simply trying to be the person who knows exactly why everything will fail.  But then again, I guess unless you live in our area then it really doesn't matter if you believe in the Bethlehem Skateplaza anyway right? 

I guess only time will tell and I appreciate anyone that shows us support because it can only make skating on the East Coast better.

For more info:
www.Homebase610.com][url]www.Homebase610.com
www.BethlehemSkateplaza.com[/url]
www.Facebook.com/Homebase610
*Search our City of Bethlehem Skateplaza Supporter Fan Page

[Hefeweizen]

Shit, I wish the fantasy land crack was more thought out now.

[elastic back]

i definitely plan on hitting it up on a trip to vegan treats in bethleham...or that the other way around? i got the check out the rendering of the final product at the focus show and andrew stopped by the naysayer booth to give us the lowdown too. we have to deal with bikes at most of the park in nyc and it sucks, but it happens. i usually don't skate parks enough to where it bothers me, so when i do go, i can cope. if i skated it every day, that would be another issue.

and as bailgun posted a couple months back (http://www.thrashermagazine.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=53&topic=375.msg89966#msg89966), it is rad that you guys aren't letting any of that funding go.

[Watermelon]

Keep bikes out of SKATE parks. It's a very simple concept.

[Woo Fuckin WHOO]

supporting skaters and bmxers.

great. heres a tip: SPERATE FUCKING FACILITIES.

stop crowding us with the dudes we hate.

would you put a basketball hoop at the end of a football field and call it "mixed use?"

no, because its fucking stupid. as is building parks where bikes are allowed.

AGREEDED! ive get sideswiped by bikers every fuckin time i go skate the park.

[killthegnar]

supporting skaters and bmxers.

great. heres a tip: SPERATE FUCKING FACILITIES.

stop crowding us with the dudes we hate.

would you put a basketball hoop at the end of a football field and call it "mixed use?"

no, because its fucking stupid. as is building parks where bikes are allowed.

AGREEDED! ive get sideswiped by bikers every fuckin time i go skate the park.

Like I said. If the township is ok enough with letting us make a skatepark, we're not gonna complicate it by adding more rules or asking for a second park.

[asdhiwbbghio]

HELP THE BETHLEHEM SKATEPLAZA WIN $250,000!

Vote for us on The Pepsi Refresh Project. You can vote multiple times, anyone can vote, it costs you nothing. Let's do this! Please help spread the word now because we will only have 1 month to get our votes in- STARTING IN MARCH. Just click on Vote for this idea.



*oops i forgot the link

http://www.refresheverything.com/bethlehemskateplaza

[elastic back]

done.

[Homebase610]

I've complied over a year's worth of stories about how we got to where we are with The Bethlehem Skateplaza on our shop website.  The stories cover fundraising events we have done to keep the skaters involved with the process, comments from Chris Cole, local media coverage, fighting City Councilman Leason, Groundbreaking Day, current progress on the construction and how need everyone's help to win $250,000 of Pepsi's money.

Check it out if you have some time: http://homebase610.com/?page_id=3847

Thanks for your continued support- even if you're not psyched on the BMX thing.  Unfortunately, it wasn't our choice.  We're trying to make the best of it and hopefully it'll all work out in the end.

[asdhiwbbghio]

!VOTING STARTS TOMORROW! We need all the help we can get.

[asdhiwbbghio]

http://theberrics.com/dailyops.php

Part 1 The Berrics Field Ops on Homebase & The Bethlehem Skateplaza is now on www.TheBerrics.com. Don't forget to get your daily votes in and help the skateplaza. WE NEED EVERY VOTE WE CAN GET. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

[asdhiwbbghio]

Phase one is complete. Grab your boards.

Friday July 16th
4:00PM: Ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor John Callahan & The City of Bethlehem.

Once the ribbon is cut the skateplaza will be open for all skaters and BMXers to ride for the first time.

4:30PM: Benefit concert with The Sandlot Heroes and B104’s Cap Cee.
Open skating and BMXing will go on til the sun goes down.

Saturday July 17th:  An All Day Skateboarding Grand Opening Event

* We’re requesting all BMX riders not ride on Saturday and all skateboarder not skate on Sunday for the opening weekend.

Open skateboarding til 12pm.

12pm- 1:00pm: Demo and autograph signing by 5Boro Skateboards and other guest pro/am skaters

1:00pm-3:00pm: Regional Skateshop Team Contest.
- Register at the Homebase table before 12pm
- Registration fee is $30.  The money will be pooled and the winning shop will take the cash.
- Sponsors and judges to be announced.

3:00pm til 8pm: Open skating and performances from local bands and Cap Cee

Benefit Raffles & Giveaways: Prizes will be given out at the Homebase table on the Raffle Wheel for a donation to the Bethlehem Skateplaza.

Benefit Food & Drinks: Will be sold by the City of Bethlehem to raise money for the skateplaza as well

Sunday July 18th:  An All Day BMX Grand Opening Event