Following a March 25 design meeting for the Seattle
Center’s
long delayed SeaSk8 skatepark, John Merner—the Center’s director
of productions—approached Ryan Barth, chair of the city’s
Skateboard Park Advisory Committee, and asked what he’d think of moving
the proposed park from the Center’s pavilion site to a larger, more
family-friendly location in the Fun Forest.
While the Center’s sudden generosity was shocking enough, Barth’s
reaction was even more unexpected: He turned Merner’s offer down.
“We’re not comfortable trying to go down that path,” Barth says.
“[We’ve] gone a really long way… to turn back now.”
Skaters have been pushed around the Center for more than a year now
[“Compromising Positions,” Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, Nov 8, 2007]. Last
August, the city council finally designated the pavilion space on the
south side of KeyArena for the new skatepark and—despite the less
than optimal location and incredibly high costs associated with the
site—skaters got to work planning the park. Skaters, worried
about another long delay or another change of venue, don’t want to move
again. “We have a great set of designers,” Barth says. “We don’t think
gaining additional square feet is going to make this park go from a C
to an A-plus.”
So why was the Center suddenly making an offer so late in the
process? Simple: The Seattle Center is in trouble. The levy measure to
fund the Center’s makeover has been pushed back to 2010, and without
the money to redevelop, the Center can’t replace the pavilion
building—used by festivals—when it’s demolished to build
the skatepark.
It’s understandable that the skaters aren’t jumping at the offer for
fear of losing what they’ve already got, but the Fun Forest location
may actually be better for everyone. According to Seattle Center
spokeswoman Deborah Daoust, the Center’s big festivals could keep the
skatepark closed as many as 51 days during the prime summer months. The
Fun Forest site would also give skaters 50 percent more space to work
with, and be more accessible on the Center campus.
After repeatedly being screwed by the Center, skaters have gotten
politically savvy. Barth didn’t leap at the chance for a spot at the
Fun Forest because skaters already have the pavilion site—which
has been guaranteed by the city council—and the Center’s offer
could end up being a bait-and-switch to nothing. In fact, according to
Daoust, the Center was only “feeling [things] out” with the skaters,
and the Fun Forest site hasn’t officially been offered. Moving to the
Fun Forest could also delay construction for another year, and skaters
just aren’t willing to wait any longer. “We’ve already been without
this park since December 31, 2006,” Barth says. “Every year that we
lose, it’s a whole crop of young folks who aren’t going to be able to
use this park.”
Seattle Center director Robert Nellams says he would only make an
official push for the Fun Forest site “if the skaters backed [the plan]
and the council said they’d like to hear more about it.” The Fun Forest
deal could happen, but the skaters can’t go it alone. Nevertheless,
Nellams refuses to make the first move. “I’m not a spokesman for the
skateboard community,” he says. 
