Bedford duo to model skatepark after Lynchburg's

Despite cold weather, they show up — skateboards in hand — to find a concrete paradise.

Amazement Square’s Rotary Centennial Riverfront Skatepark in downtown Lynchburg features a bowl-shaped concrete rink. It is a playground for area boarders to tap into a sport that Brian Hilbish believes has spawned nationwide interest that rivals little league baseball.

“There’s skaters everywhere,” Hilbish, a 49-year-old Bedford County resident. “You just don’t see them because they don’t have anywhere
to go.”

Hilbish, who still holds on to a skateboard from the 1960s, is spearheading an effort to bring a similar attraction to Bedford County.

After first negotiating with City of Bedford officials a year ago, he and Michael Stokes, the county’s parks and recreation director, hatched a plan to build a 20,000-square-foot park for skaters on county-owned land in Falling Creek Park.

Hilbish and his sons, 20-year-old Nathan and 14-year-old Jake, have searched far and wide for places to skate. Before the Lynchburg park opened last year, Hilbish went to Roanoke, Salem and Blacksburg to board.

“We pretty much had to travel everywhere,” said Hilbish. “We were putting some serious mileage on our cars.”

But soon he won’t have to go so far.

An anonymous donor gave $100,000 to the Bedford County park project and some other benefactors have contributed as well, raising a total close to $500,000, Stokes said.

The county has put forth the land and will use the money given by donations to hire a firm to build a new park. In a few months it will solicit proposals and hopefully start construction on it by next year, said Stokes.

It’s a good investment for the county, Stokes said, because skateboarding is an answer for young people with little interest in traditional team sports.

“There are more boarders than people realize here in the county,” said Stokes. “This is just another aspect of the population with an interest.”

Stokes mentioned the land at Falling Creek Park to Hilbish and a group of citizens longing for a skate park. They had started a page on MySpace and garnered community interest over the past few years, but Hilbish didn’t even know the county’s park, which is still developing, existed.

With its other amenities, such as hiking and biking trails that have already attracted a steady following, Hilbish said he was convinced that it was the right place.
The underground bowl, like the one that exists in Lynchburg, will attract boarders of all ages, said Hilbish.

Lynchburg’s park is 14,000 square feet and has a visitor capacity of 100. Its membership as of last week was 230, said Tabitha Abbott, director.

She supports the idea of a similar park in Bedford.

“I don’t think you can have enough skate parks, actually,” said Abbott.

Since it opened in November, the Lynchburg park’s attendance has remained steady. By the time spring rolls around, she said it’s going to get even more popular.
From March 24-30, the park will extend its hours and offer a wide range of activities for spring break — a taste of how the summer is going to shape up, said Abbott. It is set to operate every day during those months. “I can see us being a 12-to-9 facility during the summer,” she said.

Hilbish, a faithful at the Lynchburg park, said he has seen several skaters there who come from Richmond.

He is confident the Bedford park will attract similar travelers when it opens.

“I want Bedford to be on the forefront,” said Hilbish. “There’s a lot of potential.”