Swartz Creek Golf Course
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After years of debate, Mayor Don Williamson along with the Skatepark Athletic Recreation Committee of Flint or SPARK opened a skatepark in the city of Flint.
"We want to keep the kids here, keep them safe and we want to keep things for them to do," Williamson said.
The president of SPARK, Brett Pierce says the park has been a long time coming.
"We've tried this for years and it's great to see it happen," Pierce says. "The kids needed a place to go and it should cut down on some problems in other areas of loitering and stuff."
Pieece says skateboarind along streets in most areas is illegal which is why skateparks are rising in popularity across the nation.
"It's such a growing sport," Pierce says. "More kids skateboard than play baseball these days so it's just a fact."
And kids in the city of Flint say it's about time. They needed somewhere to skate.
"Being from Flint, we don't have that many parks," skater Jason Hawk says. "We just have to skate the streets and usually we get kicked out threatened to get arrested and they take our boards away."
Eventually, SPARK wants to make the park located at Swartz Creek Golf Course in Flint permanent. In the future, they plan to turn the park into a cement skatepark. SPARK members have to raise around $500,000 to make that happen.
Lanson and Charlotte are two cities in Michigan who have already adopted a cement skatepark in their communities.
To find out how you can help bring a cement skatepark to Flint, go to the website link below.
