11.0. PRSR 03-12-1997 WEDNESDAY,FEBRUARY 12,1997 t� x � �' KATE
x � 4 � 3r s � ITEM 11.
' SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS a Y a' k a ��. ` + CONTINUED FROM ID
is { a a'• a H °' i� afti,,-
,, ?
ti, s k f � '� ° � f addressing "alternative emerging
v a ' a F, 1,k , recreation trends.,,
,y . ' iK .c. �+ r r _ ' gip, - ° In an interview this week, Greg
,- ' $ t ∎ ; , R ?, * _ said he d like to see an indoor park
¢fir, , ' f �' /` £q " ` somewhere close to his family's
T F, h , ., „-61,„-,:,--.40-,,,,-,:-.-:, - • home on Summit Avenue, where
` }h, a 4 ' " he skates indoors in the winter-
>k,A 4,'a '. , i v,``,1‘ r y at ,.,.Y. nt time. ..., ..
-a"` + n "31 .?. r`f " '0' ,`; '4 In the summer'he tries to skate
x� �, ja' r 5k"r' r ra�`x` t r r
rr 1. k F y � ? on steps and railings of public in
:l+d'i "-'''''',77,..-"),l''',14'.,- _ •, % Y $" °K Y yF {, Sy f
; '� stitutions, but nearly always gets
y.4,,04,74,1:,4.-,,;.,,..'„,` z .' °, " ` '' � Y shooed away. At the park he pro
y� K'
t �` k - poses, I want them to have stuff
1 �;} � fi `� x' ,� ' like ramps and rails and curbs,
''''''';:r'54''''''::''''.175'';14'''' yM ° .i!n =•2 'fir -M3 ?' ,>
, h~u7 � �, i rxm q "�1x,&} +� - just like they would at a campus,
L �} � t �4 he said. "There's a-lot of skaters
, ,x s��,,�,„� �i ,�� , �';��"�� around rand Avenue, St. Thomas
r 72--' ,, '''';‘-,'-',4-191,', a < ? x s u ' , a*yk i cx�� :� ' �«k� , "7,4 � t � I, .41,4: University and especially Macal-
s , s,, #�, ester College that's one place
,-A where they really get madl
�8'M 6'�' , , k Aggressive skating developed on
�4'.-0 ,., . f the streets of several U.S. cities
� r ,' , about seven years ago, and the' . 3�'xg .'Y' Twin •Cities area has more than
,,,,,,40M%'," ':-•;',,,t. rt " 1 !' �; ,' � % r t 5 000 enthusiasts second only to
,,•, t t a t . s 1� Chicago, according to store owner
4.--3.31'.'�" >s ' k ,i , µY 4 Ban Squillace, 27. He opened the
' � k a 'x£-c
wt , - f „,. Green Gecko near Macalester Coi
r ' ' ! t, a t -4fr .4. x lege 18 months ago.The merchan-
`° ,, i - ` ' dise catering to mostly young,
r"" �����.� ,, � j 6 4 � �-� �> g Y Y g,
r s ∎, � ' x' 3 mostly male_.customers, with• skates, .skateboards, wide-leg
3 jeans, hooded sweatshirts and
x ; � T-shirts with industrial logos.
§t 1.i ,'n' �` ' :.. �'* _ Indoor rinks with ramps, rails
•
. , ash
' y 1 - � 4 r .c and vertical pipes for aggressive
¢ ,! , skaters and skateboarders have
�� � t opened recently in various Minne-
f sots communities,including one in
Mankato last fall and another in
}� .� �y _
South Minneapolis this month.
Skaters sign agreements to.skate
, , at their own risk.
�4 �iti�a.. , 41 '. , The Twin Cities
x�. °��. ,� � a� � r = h� ',.''.,:'• area has more than ,
. .'r 4 ,`�? ." Itk = t s 5,000 aggressive
'..'ill',-4.''
.`:`4 '.L' , ,yy� ; , `- - `<TAN ` ',f, -'1.-z j r ° skating enthusiasts,
_ � , � . �< .., ro; .. B , . ; .-.. , second only to
BILL ALKOFER/PIONEER PRESS
Twelve-year-old Greg Paulus practices"aggressive gating"in his basement. Even in summer,he is usu- Chicago.
ally shooed away from the steps,ledges and railings of the college campuses where he likes to go. by.Greg's family applauds his hob-
'
"Yes, I think it's very danger- i
For an EnghSh` ANN BAKER STAFF WRITER ous;" said Greg's mother, Fatty
assignment, A Paulus. "Greg's• always been a I
seventh-grader /'� 12-year-old who lives to skate — on railings, ledges and concrete steps— risk-taker. This is something he
will appear before the St. Paul Parks Commission tonight asking city officials just loves doing." Greg's father is
Greg Paulus to develop a indoor park devoted to his sport. It's called "aggressive skating." nationally known composer Ste-
wrote to the "Dear Members of the City Council: How would you like to get fined $35, phen Paulus.
yelled at, kicked out and harassed for Greg's grandmother, Vonnie
City of Ili
having fun and doing some- Stutzman, will drive him to the
St. Paul thing you love?" Greg Parks Commission meeting at 6:30
asking for Paulus wrote in December. p•m. tonight in Langford Recre
"Us so-called `aggressive ation Center.She,too, approves of
�tdoor skaters' or `trick rollerblading' the sport that has crptured the
for are the ones who slide across enthusiasm of her grandson and
`aggressive ledges,jump stairs and jump onto hand rails and grind down them on our his friends. "I figure if they can
skates. I do not know of any place that doesn't kick you off, and I've been to find something to keep busy,th is
skating.' The City about 30." the main thing."
parks commission The letter, which Greg wrote for a seventh-grade English assignment at St. 1
Paul Academy, made its way to the parks commission with a note from City ._-_--j.„
will discuss his Council Member Bobbi Megard observing that the city's parks plan calls for
proposal tonight.
SKATE CONTINUED ON 7D ■
• -
S KAT E events this year. And while there
are no firm plans, officials have
talked with Ultra Wheels which
sponsors in-line skating at the
•CONTINUED FROM 1B Oval and will contribute $12,000
toward the park — about "going
• - infield surface — far more than indoors" during the cold months.
Roseville to get park. of has offered the past two summers., ment on order include a launch
Plans are to have the park com- box, wedge box, ground rails, a
for aggressive skaters Pleted by May 14. pair of hips, a pyramid, a beef
g "There is nothing in the Twin box, a half pipe and two quarter
Cities we know about that is of the pipes. The its - which can be
magnitude we're talking about," moved around — are used for
LINDA OWEN STAFF WRITER • I Roseville Parks and Recreation launching, "grinding," "vert skat-
Director Bob Bierscheid said. ing" and other moves.
Roseville officials hope to turn the John Rose"Oval this ' The closest to what Roseville Grinding involves jumping up on
s skaters, has in mind may be a private Min an object and then sliding down it,
summer into a magnet for a daring breed of o in-line
youngsters who think nothing of "dropping in" from the top of neapolis facility, Third Layer, and explained Mills of Power Rollers.
an 11-foot-high "half-pipe" ramp. I a proposed 10,000-square-foot out- "There are a million different
The city is i "half-pipe"
what is 1 door skate park for which a types of grinding," she said.
largest "aggressive ordering expected to be the Twin Cities' Burnsville nonprofit group is try- "Sometimes they'll jump up and
g " ggressive skate park," a $60,000 set of ramps and ing to raise money. stall on the coping, do a 180 and
boxes where in-line skaters can learn and practice such spec- in."
tacular moves as flips and spins. Aficionados say aggressive skat- drop back in.
Appropriately, for a facility that boasts the nation's largest ing is on the upswing, with travel- In other moves, "They'll go up
artificial ice sheet, the Oval is getting "probably the biggest ing competitions and growing pars off the ramp into the air and do
size" skate park sold by Power Rollers of Fairfax, Va., ticipation among boys and girls flips, 180s, 360s."
spokeswoman Shane Mills d said. alike.The sport's biggest appeal is The park could also be used by
It
spokeswoman an cover 15,000 square feet, or one-third of the Oval's for youth ages 10 to 20,said Bren- skateboarders and -BMX bikers,
da Aarsvold, manager of Rolling she said. Bierscheid said it is de-
Soles skate store in Minneapolis. signed for in-line skating, but the
SKATE CONTINUED ON 4 ► P g g+
• B But the only place for most of city's plans include skateboarding.
them to skate now is"the streets," Officials are talking to several
Get ready to roll at the Oval where adults look askance at their groups about how the program
in the warmer months,in-line baggy costumes and police some- might work, but Bierscheid said it
skaters will have access -, x times threaten to take their skates will include instruction. "It's a
to a variety at new • �� , Fa away, Aarsvold said highly structured unstructured
ramps and fur"t 0, '. , +, -' �f ° x Y+
boxes at the ' ' "It's not safe and it probably sport, he said. "You can only go
John Rose Ovaj;% -�• ' does limit them because of (lack on certain equipment when you're
` : ' ' of access and instruction," Bier- certified to move on."
In Roseviltee' 1 ,�� 1 The proposed Burnsville Skate
' ' � �R Scheid said. P P
Park has farther to o before it
- ..� `�' - ' Roseville officials are so im- can o en this summer, said Dick
�; ;K, `1 pressed with the revenue potential P
▪5 rc , Manley, a management consultant
�.,- c j.,,,,,.\,, from aggressive skating that the who is shepherding the project on
,� ' city has decided to buy the equip a volunteer basis.
'� % 4 ment and operate the park itself.
Under an earlier proposal a local The facility will be in Civic Cen
' ter Park across from the city's
youth association would have put- administrative building, n land
Area of ▪-,,"' • � chased the equipment and shared leased from the city for$1 a year.%detail '� { in the profits. Students in the Burnsville area de-
" Y„ <k � <: Bierscheid estimates park user signed the park, an engineering
I . fees will not only pay for the firm and architect donated their
i -- _ -� . .,4;� `r equipment and insurance over five services and a construction cam
pput, w "" EountyRd"C ears,but also generate$10,000 to an e
} r y pany employee will manage the
Ms.: i' d y," 'ta $14,000 a year in profits during project for free, Manley said.
"( R O S E V I L L E that time The revenues will help Students so far have raised
patch the hole in the Oval's oper- about $5,000 of the $25,000 cost,
E. x County Rd.B2 ating budget, which is'running in which includes $15,000 for materi-
Source:City of Roseville N '._ 1 ',, the red.• als and $9,000 for insurance, he
I. f The estimates are based on said. The nonprofit partnership al-
PIOwEER PRESS 5,000 uses of the park throughout so is seeking public and private
the summer,he said. The city also sponsors to donate $200 to $5,000
hopes to land some competitive for ramps.
SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS
SATURDAY MARCH 1, 1997