KENNESAW - For an estimated 16,000 Cobb skateboarders, their present options to safely enjoy their sport are few.

Skateboarding enthusiasts can either pay day fees to use private skate parks in metro-Atlanta or risk being kicked off private property as they practice their stunts in parking lots.

But a grassroots effort led by the Kennesaw Skate Park Committee is raising money and gaining support for Cobb's first skate park to be built at Kennesaw's Swift-Cantrell Park off Main Street.

Committee member Steve Welsh said skateboarding continues to evolve as a more legitimate sport, but often is viewed as a second-tier sport. He said skateboarders are left feeling disenfranchised that they do not have a safe, legal place to skate.

Welsh said a skate park would bolster self-esteem among Cobb's young skateboarders and give them a place to practice.

"Our goal is to get people a place to skate and skate safely," he said.

The plan is to build a 30,000-square-foot facility. But at an average of $35 a square foot to put in the skating surface, the committee needs to raise about $1 million.

The skate park is included in the master plan for the new Swift-Cantrell Park, but not in the almost-complete phase I. Purchase of the park property and construction of many phase I projects, including a walking trail and infrastructure, were funded from a $12 million parks bond Kennesaw voters approved in September 2004.

The skate park committee already has support from several businesses that have donated money, and council members and Mayor Leonard Church said he's supports its construction.

"It's a place for kids to go that's safe and people don't get chased off," he said.

Church and Welch said the committee is working on a design for the skate park. Welch said the committee is getting the word out to the six to 10 skate park builders, who will present design recommendations to the City Council early in September.

Welch said the committee has toured or plans to tour many other metro-Atlanta skate parks, including one in Dunwoody and several in Gwinnett County.

Church said once they actually have a design to show potential donors, it will make it a lot easier to pick up donations.

Lee Elliott, manager at Ambush Boarding Company in Kennesaw, has seen the rise in popularity of skateboarding. He said when his store first opened in 1997, skateboarding was not as popular and the store sold mainly music.

But now, he said, skateboarding is a big deal, and Ambush has moved into a larger location near Town Center at Cobb Mall.

"People skateboard for life," he said. "You get into it and people get hooked."

According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturer's Association, the United States has more than 13 million active skateboarders, with 93.7 percent younger than 24.

With help from events like the X-Games, skateboarding is becoming more of a mainstream sport, and Elliott said its mainstream acceptance has helped lead the push to build a park in Kennesaw.

"It teaches kids how to be competitive, but be individuals at the same time," Elliott said. "Nobody is going to land that trick but you. It builds confidence, determination and individualism. It's friendly competition, achievement and guts all rolled into one."

Elliott understands the frustrations of many Cobb skateboarders who have no place to skate. In the parking lot in front of Ambush, no skateboarding signs hang on the light posts.

"That's like putting up a no-eating sign outside of Brusters," he said.

As another way to promote skateboarding, enthusiasts can visit Ambush today to get autographs from some professional skateboarders as part of the Element Skateboards Tours.

Pro-skaters Chad Muska, Darrrell Stanton, Nyjah Huston, Chad Tim Tim and Jimmy Lannon will be at the store at 4 p.m.

Elliott also said the Skate Park Committee, Mayor Church, and council members are expected to cook hot dogs to drum up support for the park.Church, who said he skateboarded when he was a teen, said he might even get back on a board at the event.

"I know what it's like," he said. "There's a thrill there."

As with other future projects at Swift-Cantrell, Church said once funding is secured for the skate park, the city would move on building it.

Many details of the skate park still are being ironed out including a potential fee structure.

But Church said the skate park would be a skate-at-your-own-risk park, and the city wouldn't assume liability.

The skate park committee also is planning an art gallery and auction in the fall of original artwork from Cobb artists on skateboards.

Welch said they've already had tattoo artists, clothing designers, and graphic artists lend their talents to decorate boards the committee will sell to benefit the park.

ahungerford@mdjonline.com

Comment on this Story