More Parks Equals More Patrons

Teenagers, especially boys, eat prodigious amounts of food. It makes sense, they’re going through the greatest muscle mass gain at that age. Now imagine the teenager is a skater, girl or boy, burning an extra 600-800 calories during a ”shredding” session. Now imagine you’re a cheap eats business in close proximity to the skatepark. Do you hear “cha-ching”? We do too!

You’ve probably heard, we’re trying to get a skatepark in Newark. If we succeed, residents will see improvements to the quality-of-life in Newark. However, residents aren’t the only ones that will benefit from this skatepark. The business community will see an increase in economic activity, especially in the Lido Faire Shopping Center, the Rosemont Square Shopping Center, the Raley’s Shopping Center, and the Safeway Shopping Center/Newark Marketplace.

Friends of Newark Skatepark identified a skatepark site: Community Center Park at Newark Blvd. We recommend this site because it has the ability to service the users with cheap eats, among other reasons. Midday and evening skaters, particularly the foodies, will likely choose the healthier options: Taqueria Los Gallos (gotta get the chicken burrito!), Del Taco, Mi Pueblo, Togo’s (oh, wait, they recently shut their doors), or Jane’s Subs, but the majority are gonna go for the super-convenient, go-to meals offered McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Popeyes, and Panda Express.

The teens accompanied by parents probably won’t dine at sheek Simply Thai, but teens often pull that notorious plea for one more hour of play, resulting in a compromise that involves the parents dinning out while the kid skates out that last hour. Those parents would prefer to get a bite to eat at Simply Thai, Venus Tam Cafe, or Nguyen Vu (damn good pho!). Now if the parents decide to remain spectators instead, the entire family will likely dine out at Chipotle, Wingshop, or Dino’s Grill. (Our grassroots group of families prefers to make the short trek to Sinodinos, but that’s our personal preference.) If that same family also has a toddler, they’ll surly go to Kids’ Castle (awesome place!), if they can locate the signage.

What about the weekend morning skaters? This is a smaller user group than the former. Teens don’t like to get up early. However, pre-teen skaters do. Pre-teens are typically beginners and their parents (and skate instructors) prefer to avoid the crowds. Another group that likes to avoid the crowds are college students. Devry University students that live in the Devry dorms are big-time skaters, and they’re excited about the prospect of a skatepark. Yes, they’re in Fremont, but they might as well be in Newark. If they ”hit” the skatepark in the early morning, they’ll likely grab a quick bagel at Delicious Donuts & Bagels or Safeway or a breakfast sandwich at McDonald’s. The grandparents with pre-teens will likely hit up the Starbuck’s or perhaps IHOP.

Some residents don’t think we’ll get out-of-town visitors: after all, people don’t come to Newark, right? We disagree with that extrapolation. We’ve polled the skaters at the Fremont Skatepark, and many of them aren’t from Fremont—they’re from Berkeley, San Francisco, San Jose, etc. Granted, Fremont Skatepark is a regional skatepark, and we’re focused on a local skatepark that meets the needs of our skaters first and foremost; but, skaters of driving age like to ”switch it up”, and so it’s not a stretch to think that they’ll visit us—there’s such a thing as skate tourism.

The biggest winner in this proposed skatepark is the 76 Station. Skaters told us that they desire access to vending machines. Why? Because they like to drink sports drinks and bottled water as evidenced by the numerous bottles at the Fremont Skatepark. Bingo! There’s a convenience store across the street! A small percentage will use the drinking fountain, which was also on their skater wish list, but most will go to the 76 Station. Lastly, drivers (parents mostly) need gasoline, and some will fuel-up. It’s nice to be 76 Station!

85C Bakery Cafe and Ranch 99 don’t need any more business, but they’d certainly benefit from a skatepark because currently there’s some narly ”shredding” going down on those mall sidewalks. Isn’t it safer (and less liability for store owners) to have the kids skating in a park?

Skaters add a nice vibe to our community, so let’s bring them out of the shadows and give them and their families something to do. Let’s shift the number of families spending money in Fremont, as they often do when they visit the Fremont Skatepark, to money spent here! Yes, teens litter (we have solutions for that), but the litter is further evidence that they like cheap eats—and that you’re making money.

Angela, Newark Resident

Facebook: Friends of Newark Skatepark or Instagram: @newarkskatepark

Donate: http://tiny.cc/FundNewarkParks

Sign up for News & Events: http://tiny.cc/SignUpWithNewarkParks

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/skatepark-for-newark

Email: Angela at info@newarkparks.org

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http://patch.com/california/newark/newark-blvd-they-noise-0

Skatepark for Newark Kids, Not Screen Time

http://patch.com/california/newark/skatepark-newark-kids-not-screen-time-0