| Skater
Continues Pursuit |
By Katie Murphy
Observer Staff Writer |
| Steve Jefferson said he hates that there is no legal place
to skate in Sterling and that skaters are often thought of
as punks that destroy property. So he created the Loudoun
County Skate Project, an organization whose goal is to support
and promote the Loudoun skateboarding scene. |
| Although he is far from the development of a skate park
in Sterling, Jefferson said he has prospects in Ashburn and
Purcellville about which he is excited. |
| An old warehouse located near the intersection of Loudoun
County Parkway and Shellhorn Road is the proposed Ashburn
skate park site. Jefferson said he was contacted by Rocketown,
a youth center based in Nashville, Tenn., and Kelley Hagood,
an Ashburn resident who used to work with Rocketown, presented
him with information about the warehouse. |
| Jefferson said Rocketown is a 40,000 square foot non-profit
entertainment facility that consists of an indoor skate park,
a coffee bar and three stages, and Hagood thinks the Ashburn
site could be the next Rocketown. Jefferson said they are
currently negotiating with the owner of the warehouse. |
| Jefferson has also teamed with Purcellville resident Dolly
Stevens, whose son is a skateboarder. He said local skaters
and their parents, the Purcellville Chief of Police and other
community supporters formed a skate committee to look at building
a skate park in the town. He said they discussed the need
for a skate area and began presenting the Purcellville Town
Council and general public with possible options. |
| Jefferson said the projects in Ashburn and Purcellville
are great, but he still wants one in Sterling. The 18-year-old
Park View High School graduate has been actively pushing for
a skate park in Sterling since 2005. He collected more than
1,000 signatures in November 2005 from parents and businesses
that were eager to see the skateboarders congregating in an
established facility, and not in front of shopping centers.
|
| He recently launched a Web site, www.loudouncountyskateproject.com,
for the project, and he has coordinated three fundraising
events called "Skate in the Center" since December
2006 at the Sterling Community Center. He has raised about
$1,000 at the events, which are indoor skating competitions
with wooden ramps and rails that Elite Board Shop in Fairfax
donated to him. |
| Jefferson said he is currently planning a summer music concert,
which would be a family-focused event with a combination of
music. He said he has been working with other fundraising
groups in the area to combine efforts and is always looking
for volunteers and supporters. |
| He said by raising the money, he is showing Loudoun County
that he is determined to get Sterling a skate park. |
| He said size does not matter. The park could be as small
as 3,000 square feet, he said. |
| The most important requirement for his skate park is that
it is as accessible as the street is, meaning it has to be
free for everyone to skate when they want to, just like park
benches and curbs are now. He would also like his park to
be styled in a street fashion with stairs, benches and creative
architecture. His grand plan is to build a complete cement
park that would require no maintenance. |
| Jefferson said he has his eyes on three Sterling locations:
an abandoned gas station off Route 7; a concrete slab located
behind Burlington Coat Factory; and the four tennis courts
at the Sterling Golf Club. |
| He said the tennis courts are not often used and the owner
said he was interested in the skate park. However, the owner
wanted to make a profit off the facility and Jefferson said
that is not what he wants. Jefferson said he would prefer
to have skate companies sponsor the construction of the park,
which he expects would cost about $100,000, and offer free
use of the facility to skateboarders. |
| "I"ve seen it done before and companies will have
their name on a rail or something," Jefferson said. |
| Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) said, "I wish
him well, but we had looked for seven years for five acres
for a police station, much less a skate park." |
| Delgaudio said Jefferson would have more success if he opened
a for-profit park, like the rock-climbing establishments.
He also said he was extremely concerned about the county"s
liability if the skate park became part of Loudoun"s
parks and recreation facilities. Delgaudio said skateboarding
is an extreme sport with extreme risks, and one bad fall could
cost the county millions in liability. |
| He said the county has a mandate in place requiring the
county to accommodate the needs of established youth sports,
such as baseball, football and basketball. However, he said,
skateboarding is not sponsored by any school and there is
not a county league, so skateboarding does not fall under
that category. |
| "Good luck on the journey and best wishes," Delgaudio
said. "To get from where he is now to where all the other
sports leagues in less than at least 10 years is impossible,
and it is not even proper to be a public interest." |
