Building a Home for Charlotte Skateboarding
Starting from Scratch
Dream it.
Over the past year the Charlotte Skate Foundation has established relationships with people in positions of influence within the city. Through nonstop advocacy we have arrived at a point where we now have access to a blank canvas with infinite potential. The end goal for Kilborne DIY is to have a completed skate park that serves the very skaters who built it. This will be an ongoing and organic design/build process that will not happen overnight. It may take years to build it up to completion, but the community will be involved in every step along the way. We envision an oasis where skaters can ride hassle-free in a controlled environment, at their own risk, on obstacles that they helped bring to reality.
Build it.
The advantage of a DIY skate park is that it will be built piece by piece. This method of construction offers many benefits that a one-shot skatepark through a contracted construction company cannot. Each obstacle can be crafted with meticulous care and attention to detail since no tight deadlines are in place. The flow of the park can be determined in an informed manner based on the layout of the features as they are completed, an advantage that designing an entire park on a computer cannot offer. Donation money can go much further towards a completed park due to labor being volunteer based as opposed to hiring contracted workers. Each feature will be designed using the most democratic process possible, catering directly to those who step up and get involved.
Grow it.
Our mission does not stop at Kilborne. We envision a more skater-friendly future for the city of Charlotte, and will advocate tirelessly for it. With the success of Kilborne DIY becoming imminent, we may seek to expand to other sites throughout the city and build a network of DIYs to supplement the incoming city built skate parks that will roll out over the next several years. We plan to establish partnerships and sponsorships that will generate revenue to be put directly into our parks. We also plan to provide our process to the public eye so that it may be replicated in other cities that need legal DIY spots and skate parks.
Current Mission: Kilborne DIY Project
Kilborne DIY Skatepark is an initiative by The Charlotte Skate Foundation (CSF) to provide skaters in Charlotte a new home in the wake of Eastland DIY’s demolition. The park will be located on a pair of repurposed tennis courts inside of Kilborne park, only 5 minutes away from the former site of Eastland DIY. CSF has worked with Charlotte Mecklenburg Parks and Recreation to establish terms and conditions that will allow this DIY to exist legally and permanently, the first of its kind in Charlotte. Charlotte Mecklenburg Parks and Recreation is currently preparing to lease the site to CSF for $1 per year and give the community free reign to build as long as we respect the terms of the lease. We will be able to begin building and skating at the spot no later than July 1, 2023.
Also worth noting: CSF is looking into the costs of repaving the surface. The current surface is skateable as-is but there are several rough patches and large cracks. The image attached to this campaign is one person’s concept render, and is not meant to be interpreted as the final design. The design of each feature will be decided in the most democratic manner possible using input from the skate community and observing safety guidelines required by both Charlotte Mecklenburg Parks and Recreation and the insurance company.
The lease requires CSF to hold its own liability insurance on the property. After shopping around many insurance companies the quotes provided have revealed insurance could be as much as $8000 per year. While unfortunate, this is how much our counterparts at Asheville Foundation pay yearly, and they have been able to sustain their spot for many years. Charlotte Mecklenburg Parks and Recreation have donated the land and given their permission to use it, but they are not able to help fund the project at this time. In order to succeed, the park must be self-sustaining.
Just like many other DIY skateparks, this park will be funded by the very community that uses it. To pay for the liability insurance and the materials needed to build the park, donations from the community are crucial. The Charlotte Skate Foundation is a registered 501-c3 non-profit corporation, meaning all donations are tax-deductible. We are not yet in GoFundMe’s charity database, but we can provide the necessary legal info to whoever donates and wishes to write it off on their taxes.
By choosing to donate you will be directly helping a rich, diverse, and resilient community establish our permanent home.
Help Us Take Action
We want to make it happen for the Charlotte Skateboarding community.