Hello all, im thinking of investing around 20 grand to open a skate park either a the top of the lisburn road (2 minutes walk from Methody) or in the Kings hall. Im just putting out the idea at the moment to see if there is any interest. If your interested and you knew your mates would be up for it, reply to this post. Im aiming to open in Feb 2007 if I get enough interest.

Peace, Love and extreme sport!

well.. sounds cool i live in worcester so im miles away but are there actaly many skaters near you.

worcesters packed with skate parks i usl dont no which one to go to. lol

Not wanting to sound too negitive but:

Either things are VERY cheap in Northern Ireland or you've not looked into the cost of a park..

For 20K you'll struggle to get premises of any decent size for any period of time (industrial warehouses are very expensive and don't forget the electricity and rates bills)..
Then the ramps cost a lot. A decent mini ramp is going to set you back at least 1K.. That's just one basic mini ramp... Not a spine fest jobbo like they have at Rampcity..

it depends.

he may allready have a warehouse but is looking into different buisness to make some moe.

Running a Skatepark is a non-profitable business, i believe.

yeah that's a real help ricky, cheers

hijackd i'm in belfast at the mo. and i know tons of people trying to do what you're doing and they always end up at a brick wall. insurance.

there is demand for one but trying to get insurance is next to impossible.

go over to http://www.bogginzine.com loads of peeps there trying to get one setup. also if you want to invest some money into a park, these guys are trying to get one built in ballymena. they're doing pretty well so far >> http://www.acusa.co.uk

Good idea man, sounds pretty sugar-sweet!

I can just remember the day Rampage in Bangor was given to BMXer's. I wasn't there, Oh, no, but i felt the pain in my heart.....

Back to the point, good luck,it may take a hell of a while to get everything sorted out but look what happens to good people doing good things. They either Die, or they succeed.

Meh...

Trust me it can be profitable

Yeah the works has made loads! the owners got like 3 porches and a nice house from the profits!:) But i agree that 20K is a very very steep buget for ramps! you want about 70k for a big nice skatepark! Will help in the long term better and bigger built park= more skaters = sponsorships from companies to help oput with costs = demo's from bigger companies = more kids packed in to see there favourite pro's = bigger profits!!!

not sure if he is planning on doing it all himself, but it does say 'invest' which could also mean hes putting money in with others.




erm, i think adam has forgotten to delete a quote...

oops sorry! loving your sig. by the way spice rack!!

Thank you all for your feedback it is very useful, just to clear a few things up:

I have thought things through!

I have been quoted a good price from insurers
I am in the middle of discussing a VERY resonable price for a annual rent of premises of 2000sq feet.
I have a group of builders that will be willing to build my skate park for very little cash.
I have an architect that has a lot of skate boading experience, to design the park.
I am not running this park as a profit organisation.

I am 21 and I am a Chritian, I belive that there are no opportunities for young people to develop the skills they have been given. This includes skateboarding and graffitti art. The purpose of this skate park is to build a community of skaters that have respect for each other and can help each other develop their skills.

Peace, Love and Extreme Sports
Hjackd

2000sqft = 185 sq metres... That's 18.5 x 10 meters.. WTF do you think you can fit in that space??? one mini ramp and one grind box??

That will only cost you £1500 to build at most so you'll be fine...

And who's this skateboarding architect? I know of 3 in the whole of the UK.. More info please.

2000sqft = 185 sq metres... That's 18.5 x 10 meters.. WTF do you think you can fit in that space??? one mini ramp and one grind box??

That will only cost you £1500 to build at most so you'll be fine...

And who's this skateboarding architect? I know of 3 in the whole of the UK.. More info please.


Hes an architect and has a lot of skate boarding experience, i didnt say he was a specific skatepark architect.

That is one of my locations that I am looking at, starting small at first then if it takes off, look for a big place and put in some monster ramps.
There is another location that is massive with very high clearance but it will cost more like 70 grand to build, dont want to bite off more than I can chew to start with.

Have you seen the episode of viva la bam when he converts aprils house into a skate park, that kind of idea maybe to start off with.

i met a 2 skaters at oxford who are architects there are a few in london too

sounds like your park is tiny, but that doesnt mean it wont be fun! we worked on what i regarded as a small park and that was 30,000m2 but we happily got a spine miniramp and decent street course in there (Heysham) your only going to fit a mini in there, probably a bowl would work, and if your thinking of moving/expanding id bare that in mind and use more screws than nails for the easy dis-assemble afterwards. if you need help with that kind of thing, id gave Dave a call at The Boardroom skatepark, he has a bowl there about the size your talking about he is on 01162537198 http://www.theboardroomskatepark.co.uk/ he is a proper good guy, he will help you out for sure.

sounds like a great starting point, best of luck

ps: i saw that episode your talking about, beware of doing "quirky" stuff, as it limits the park in most cases (like that stupid grind bar gap at meanwhile!)

Hope it goes well and you can set it up =)

i was in a skatepark in blackpool its about the same size it doesnt have much in it but there was loads of space

Ramp city?
if so theres loads of ramps, and the space you have is too use the ramps.

Ramp city is 22000 square feet.. That is more than 10x the size you have.

ok, so not the overwhelming level of positivity that you [Hijackd] were looking for!
don't give up though. skaters, generally, are a jaded bunch when it comes to skateparks [too many council parks designed by retarded lemmings with no ability]
there are many poor parks, several good parks and a [very] few great parks.
so, more power to you in this endevour, hope it goes well....

BTW i would SERIOUSLY look into making the park profitable in some way, so that it will give you a better springboard to open a bigger place.



[i wouldn't go touting your religion here, some ppl may take offence. not me, i've nothing against Chritians, Chrit was a good bloke in my book ]

not ramp city some park in stanley park

This might be my concussion talking but definetly , go for it, theres 300 skaters in Belfast, It would DEFINETLY be appreciated

Ahahahahaha.
Fuckin' hockey player.

so when do you plan to start building if this will ever happen

Well NI ain't had the best of luck with parks over the years (It's prime being Rampages first attempt in my eyes*reminisces*) but there have been attempts!
I've just started to skate again after a two year absense (This week being my first back) and am incredably surprised at the lack of local interest in getting something parkwise set up.
I'm going to give a metaphoric pat on the back for Hijacks interest, and willingness to even try a build, as I'm sure it will go down great the Northern Irish skaters here, as when i think back to my time in the skating world, any word of any park was great news.
I really wish there was alot more media attention thrown towards the "extreme sporting" community these days, but everyone has to face it over here, it is an underground sport to alot of the country.
Ignore my babbling, and I'm glad to be back in the thick of everything skating.
And good luck my man HIjack, and hope to see development =]

hey dude i am an ex skater and have now taken to designing parks and i was wondering what type ur aiming for is it a vert style or a street. And i leave close by to ur site where abouts is it becos id be most intrested in helping out i have some experience with project management so anyway just saying good luck and if u need help id be more than willing

Lets see some of your stuff then.

Guys u need to google bogginzine and sign up to get da latest info on skateparks in the city, Popey is lookin for volunteers to fund raise at the moment and he is trying 2 open his own in Belfast, also there is talk of one being built at New York.. which would be sweet

New York = Confirmed £260,000 build I heard. All concrete and outdoor. Possibly free too!

(^ not to sure about information above though, bogginzine.com may not be as holy as I think it is...)

Aye, free admission is what I heard too.

Sounds pretty good to me?

Now, why can't buses be free too?

Any of you guys watch gadget show?

About 5 minutes ago this guy off it got a free computer...from http://www.freecycle.org

Free cycle is where people give unwanted items away for free...
Site dosen't work for me, work for you?

works for me, now lets see if i can get a free skatepark hmmmm

Freecycle.....JUST WORKED.

I'm going to get everything I can get my hands on...

EDIT: Go on the United Kingdom site, might help a lil'...

gadget show i watched that 2

Har-de-har

Getting me a free guitar speaker cabinet...

and a skate ramp.

Definitely agree with you there. Don't aim high at the beginning. I mean 20k is by no means a small amount of money, if you went for a 70k park and it didn't hit off then you've wasted one hell of a lot of money. I would say that if you wanted to expand later on perhaps you should find some way of making money out of this park you want to build but thats just a suggestion. If the skaters who come to this park are decent then theyll appreciate what you've done.

For a starters, at least you've done your homework unlike councils who do bugger all and end up building the most crap parks you could ever think of.

Zappa, how old are you? lol I hope your park designing skills are better than your spelling....

What the hell you expecting Hijackd to do? Wave a magic wand and make 50k just appear? Thank god Hijackd has made some effort to do research before building a park. (No offence) But all those who have commented negatively don't even live in ireland for a starters and come from places where parks are of a decent size with a good amount of obstacles so your not used to the idea's of small parks, even if your original park started out pretty small.

Start small then work your way up to a bigger park, it's a safer way of doing things. I mean nobody starts learning the most advanced tricks in skating as a learner do you? Don't see skaters doing 900 airs on a 50ft vert after a month of skating? You start small and work your way up, same applies to parks, especially when we are talking about money in the 5 figure region...

Wait a minute...how did talking about building a skatepark in Belfast wander on to talking about the Gadget Show and Freecycle?

haha