LAKE FOREST – As hundreds of skateboarders celebrated “Go Skateboarding Day” Tuesday at Etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest, nearby construction crews were hammering and grinding away on elements of the park’s expansion.
The nearly 19,000-square-foot expansion will include features found at famous skating spots including San Francisco’s China Banks in Chinatown and Pier 7 Ledge off the Embarcadero, where many skate videos have been shot.
There’s also a back yard-style pool modeled after one in Riverside popular with skaters in the 1970s. A 16-foot-high by 8-foot-wide cradle is the expansion’s centerpiece feature.
Once complete in early August, the expansion will make the park – at nearly 60,000 square feet – the largest in the nation, according to Nick Gates, the city’s skate park coordinator. About 60,000 skateboarders visit the park annually, he said. Entrance is free, thanks to funding from the city and from skate park programs and camps.
The goal of the expansion, Gates said, was to bring an “Oregon-style park” to Orange County.
“Many skaters seek out skate parks in Oregon because of their organic feel,” he said. “Many of the parks in Southern California are just a repetition of the same thing, over and over again.”
The expansion will also include a new barbecue area for the park’s skate camp programs.
The skate park was built for nearly $2 million in 2003. Initially the city had planned a typical 10,000-square-foot park, Gates said. Then Etnies owner Pierre-André Senizergues, founder and CEO of Sole Technology, stepped into the picture.
Senizergues, a former professional skateboarder from France whose apparel and shoe company is based in Lake Forest, proposed a joint venture between the city and his company. He wanted to help provide a world-class skate park where riders could skate for free on professional-level obstacles, bowls and ledges.
Senizergues helped fund the project and donated money the first few years. With the park’s success, the city is investing more to make it better, Gates said.
“Pierre stepped in and had his Etnies and Emerica pro riders give input,” Gates said. “We have a variety of obstacles and everything is bigger. Because of that we can accommodate official, world class events.”
One such event was skate pro Ryan Sheckler’s second annual Skate For A Cause, which raised more than $100,000 for charity. The park has also hosted other events such as Etnies Goofy vs. Regular skate contest.
Gates said the park’s pro-level features give young skaters an advantage when they go on to compete elsewhere. A few of the park’s hometown skaters – including Mission Viejo’s Tyler Hendley, who consistently ranks high in national competitions such as the X Games – have gone on to become professionals.
That’s the direction Morgan Fisher hopes to head. Morgan, 12, of Foothill Ranch, is one of the park’s youngest and most talented skaters, Gates said. He is a sponsored amateur backed by Active Board Shop, one of the West Coast’s biggest skate shops.
“I can’t wait to skate the A-frame rail,” he said. “I just really love this sport, learning new tricks and skating with the homies.”
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