They're Stoked! Brandon Skate Park Officially Opens (VIDEO)

The grand opening for the Brandon Skate Park at Providence Park East in Riverview, just north of Bloomingdale Avenue and Providence Road, took place under clear and sunny skies May 12. Skateboarders of all ages waited eagerly for the formalities to end, itching to test and hone their skills 11,000- square-foot park.

The video posted here is rough footage of the skateboarders in action, minutes after the formal ribbon-cutting, attended by Hillsborough County Commissioners Al Higginbotham, Ken Hagan and Sandy Murman, as well as Mark Thornton, director of Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation; Bill Hand, the county's project manager; and Sam Haslet, the skate park's manager.

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What do skateboarders think about the park?

In a word, when asked, a whole bunch of them replied: "We're stoked."

In other words, they're "completely and intensely enthusiastic, exhilirated or excited." Noted as well, in the online Urban Dictionary: "Those who are stoked all of the time know this; being stoked is the epitome of all being. When one is stoked, there is no limit to what one can do."

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From an earlier report:

The 11,000-square-foot park was funded with impact fees and general revenue dollars. Team Pain, a company owned and operated by skaters that for 30 years has been creating custom skate parks for communities and skateboarders worldwide, worked under Hennessy Construction Services Corp. as a member of the design, permitting and construction team.

The Brandon Skate Park is the first skate park built with taxpayers' dollars.

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According to county officials, the park cost $499,501 and is best described, according to a Brandon Patch interview with Team Pain foreman Chris Berry in January, as a "street course," featuring a bowl, "like a swimming pool, 9 feet, 6 inches deep."

The Brandon Skate Park is at 5720 Providence Road, in the Greater Brandon community of Riverview.

Included in the course are radius ramps, stairs, rails, ledges, banks and pool coping, which is the term used to identify the stone, or in this case, concrete material used to cap the bowl shell wall.

Team Pain has built skate parks throughout Florida, including in Tampa, New Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton and the soon-to-open park in Apollo Beach.

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Brandon Skate Park Grand Opening Particulars:

• Entrance to the park will be free throughout the summer.
• After that, the skate fee is $4 per day. The cost for an annual pass is $150.
• Hillsborough County has a reciprocal agreement with the City of Tampa. Annual passes will be honored at all Hillsborough County and City of Tampa skate parks.
• All skaters must wear helmets and complete a waiver.

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Brandon Skate Park Features:

Bowl:

• An intermediate/professional bowl with rounded walls, two hips and two general depths. The shallow end is 6 feet deep and just under-vert; the deep end is more than 9 feet deep, with 1.5 feet of vert. The entire bowl has pool coping and tile.

Obstacle Street:

• Consists of two main levels that split the park into two sections.
• The lower section has a few street-plaza elements, including a granite bench set at an angle; curved ledges; a cone-pole jam; a manual pad; a small, but long, set of four stairs; a brick-stamped bank with a flat bar on top; and a handrail and flat rail. The area also sports a very wide quarter-pipe, with steel coping, including a 12-foot pool coping extension; a smaller pyramid with a bull-nose flat rail; and a steep bank and hip.
• The lower section is connected to the upper section with a series of banks, including a step-up that links to an escalating transition hip.

Transition Elements:

• Six-foot corner quarter-pipe leading to a long and low A-shaped quarter-pipe, ending at a series of moguls located throughout.
• A third level takes skaters to the bowl, an area also connected with quarter-pipes and more moguls, ranging in height from 2.5 to 5 feet.

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