Dedicated skateboarders from around Northwest Indiana joined community leaders and curious onlookers heralding Thursday’s official unveiling of the $1.9 million Valparaiso skate park.
Kaye Frataccia-Seibert, fundraising campaign chair for the project and the Valpo Parks Foundation, joined others assembled and associated with the long-awaited project for the 48-degree sunset ribbon cutting ceremony.
Director of Valparaiso Parks Kevin Nuppnau said the skate park both stayed within spending for construction and also met the expected timeline for completion.
“Keep on budget and keep on time are the two factors we emphasized and we succeeded,” Nuppnau said, who began his director role five months ago following predecessor John Seibert’s retirement.
“John (Siebert) started this project and then it transitioned to me to complete. This finished project is a skate-able piece of art for all generations to enjoy.”
Tagged as the Valparaiso Next Generation Skate Park project, the 16,000 square feet area is located within a corner area of Fairgrounds Park and is the design of renowned skate park visionary and Valparaiso native Dug Ketterman, who attended the ribbon cutting.
Envisioned as a covered and lighted skate park to extend hours and seasons of use, the landscape is designed as an accessible space for adaptive athletes and features highlights such as a “fish design” bowl structure with fins and ramps for skating feats and a “musical melody pad,” the latter stretch of turf which will emit tunes based on contact with moving wheels.
Ketterman provided the inspiration for the new park area to be dubbed as “Flounder and Friends Skate Park” in tribute to the memory of Ketterman’s close friend and skate enthusiast, the late Ray “Flounder” Wampler, who died in a car accident in 1997.
Until now, Valparaiso’s existing parks landscape had included a skate park option at Rogers-Lakewood Park.
“The original skate park I helped develop back when I was age 17 lasted for a solid 20 years and this new skate park will last a lot longer, as will the memory of Ray,” Ketterman said.
Parents Lizzy and Brendan Hufford of Munster attended Thursday’s unveiling with their skateboard equipped children Evan, 10, Finn, 7, Rohan, 5 and Miles, 3, all eager to don their helmets and board their boards to experience new twists and turns.
The Huffords attended with Angela Klauser and her son Benny, 8, also an eager skater and both families involved with Driftwood, the skating school run by Jeff Zielinski, who also attended the ceremony, with skateboard in hand, eager to celebrate what he described as “a long-awaited new destination for skaters from throughout the area.”
“Jeff (Zielinski) is a big reason why we are all here, besides the fact that there’s nothing even close to skating experience like this anywhere in Lake County,” Klauser said.
“I hope our parks departments back home around Munster and the area are all noticing what’s happening here in Valparaiso and crowds this will draw as a destination.”
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