Oak Creek Skate Park Grand Opening: From Foam To Concrete

OAK CREEK, WI — To celebrate the completion of the Oak Creek Abendschien Park skate park, a grand opening has been planned. Dan Mancina, a professional skateboarder who has been going blind since he was 23, will be the highlight of the grand opening, a city official confirmed with Patch.

Food and music will also be featured at the grand opening event, which is scheduled for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Aug. 21. The redesigned skate park features a half pipe, quarter pipe, box jump, launch ramp and rails. The park is already open for skaters looking for a new spot.

Mancina will be the guest of the day at the park as he shows off his unique skating skills and strategy. Mancina told skateboarding magazine The Berrics that he started to lose his vision when he was 23 due to a disorder called retinitis pigmentosa.

Regardless of his vision problems, Mancina has continued to skate. In a video by The Berrics, Mancina can be seen using his white cane as he rides along on a skateboard and performs flips, jumps and more.

From Construction To Today

The Abendschien skate park started its makeover in 2018 when a complete redesign of the whole park was initiated. Local skateboarders and city officials met through the years to decide on what would be right, according to Leslie Flynn, communications director for Oak Creek.

The process for local skate parks tends to be one of great community involvement. In neighboring Greenfield, a long forgotten skatepark was dug up years ago. At the time, local skateboarders had a field day. The sudden realization sparked for a new skate park in its place, which is being realized.

Oak Creek's skate park was not dug up like an archeological site, but the redesign was one of community involvement. New features and a generally rehabilitated park are the results of the construction.

Contractors from Hunger Skateparks and Newline Skateparks started work with huge pieces of dense foam. They cut down the foam into shapes then laid rebar on top of them and finally concrete.

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"We could spend every summer happily building in Wisconsin, enjoying Lake Michigan, random pop up beer halls everywhere, and the skate spots all over the Milwaukee area." Hunger Skateparks said on its website. "Great build, thanks Oak Creek!"

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As foam is cut and laid, the general shape of a skate park emerges. Leslie Flynn visited the construction as it was happening. The builders had skateboards of their own as they worked, Flynn said.

After foam, rebar and concrete is laid for new park features, it becomes usable. The park has been open for some time now.

See a professional, blind skateboarder and get to know the new redesigned park at the official grand opening, scheduled for Aug. 21.

The park is located at 1311 Drexel Avenue in Oak Creek.