Venice skate park to open
Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Geri Lewis and Jesse Martinez will be among the professional and amateur skateboarding aficionados on hand today to christen the new $2.4-million Venice Beach Skate Park with a few ollies and tuck knees.
The long-awaited, 16,000-square-foot facility near Windward Avenue and Ocean Front Walk, rare because it is located on a beach, features rails, ramps, steps and a bowl that resembles the empty swimming pools where Adams and Alva, among others, gave birth in the 1970s to progressive skateboarding in the Santa Monica and Venice areas.
When the city of Los Angeles renovated Venice Beach from 1999 to 2001, skateboarders urged the city to honor their history with an official skate park. Local skateboarders and professionals provided design input, helping to create one of the most challenging arenas around, according to the office of L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl.
Rosendahl will emcee the event, which is open to the public and slated to begin at 11 a.m.
Along for the ride will be as many as 20 pro skateboarders and about a dozen amateurs from the L.A. area.
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