Eagan Skate Park Project Delayed: Will Open Next Spring

EAGAN, MN — A planned upgrade and replacement of an Eagan park for skateboarders will be delayed until next spring. The Eagan skate park near Lexington and Diffley roads had been slated for installation this fall, but recreation staff urged rejection of the bid because of a lack of bidders, price and timing.

“We take the responsibility to live within our means seriously at the City,” Eagan Parks and Recreation Director Andrew Pimental said in a statement. “A new and improved park for skate boarders, and bikers will still happen,” Pimental added, “but just a little later than we had planned.”

City officials believe rebidding this winter and getting the word out to more potential bidders will attract better pricing. It received only one bid at the height of a construction season which has been quite wet in Minnesota, and may have made a fall completion difficult anyway, according to a news release.

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Following community meetings last winter, feedback pointed to the advantages of an all-concrete design, but funding had been established earlier based on a modular approach.

With the popularity of extreme sports, U.S. Bank Stadium was host to the X Games this year. Skate parks are a popular outlet for teenagers and adults not into other sporting activities, city officials said.

Eagan has had a skate park since 2002, but users had offered testimony that the existing park’s metal ramps were rusted and railings had been stolen. In the same way that Eagan does periodic upgrades of its 56 parks, a refresh was planned for the skate park too. Pimental says it is one part of an overall system that strives to balance the varied recreation interests of the Eagan community.

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