After a four-week journey down the Mississippi River, the Red Bull Mississippi Grind's floating skateboard park has not quite found the welcome it expected in New Orleans. A group of skate enthusiasts built the floating skate park in Minneapolis and filmed its travels, gifting the $150,000 park to the city at the end of their journey in October.
The original idea was met with enthusiasm from skateboarders in New Orleans, which has no city-owned skate parks, but city officials are more wary as they decide whether to accept the gift, an issue that will be put to a vote at the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission meeting in February.
The city recognizes the need for more youth activities and the demand for a skate park - New Orleans' City Park has included a skateboard park in its master plan but has not yet been able to find funding and is reluctant to commit to the costs associated with installing the Red Bull park, estimated to be between $235,000 and $300,000. If approved, the park would likely find a new home at Lafitte Greenway, but the cost to install the park and where the money would come from are still an issue.
Further, skate park advocate Joey O'Mahoney questions the quality of the equipment used in the park as well as the appropriateness of the design. "The Red Bull skate park is prefabricated and doesn't have hybrid terrain," he told The Times-Picayune. "Every skate park should be unique, and New Orleans should have a world-class skate park that really fits the city."
The prefabricated design also doesn't take into account user demand and would likely require additional pieces, further adding to the final cost.
The park has been dismantled and is currently in storage until the February vote; its fate should the city vote not to accept the gift has not been discussed.
