Vans on a Roll With Skate Park Projects

Vans Inc. said Friday that it plans to open two more skate centers in California modeled after its popular Vans Skate Park in Orange, bringing to six the number of parks in development. The newest projects will be built in Bakersfield and Milpitas, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bakersfield park could be ready by August. The Milpitas skate center, and a previously announced park in Ontario, should be complete in the fall. The rash of development was prompted by customer enthusiasm for Vans’ first project, a 46,000-square-foot skate park at The Block at Orange shopping and entertainment center. The Santa Fe Springs-based shoemaker said that center should generate more than $1 million in profit during its first year of business. “We’ve had over 75,000 people skate in that skate park since it opened in November,” said Neal Lyons, president of retail for Vans. “It’s unbelievable. We couldn’t be happier.” Vans has also broken ground on a skate park in Orlando, Florida. Two other centers--in Prince William, Va. and Toronto--will be built in about 18 months, Snyder said. Vans is also looking at other possible locations to construct skate parks, including San Diego, the San Fernando Valley and Manchester, England. Vans stock closed Friday at $11.25, down 25 cents, in Nasdaq trading.