The Fonticello Skate Park opened on July 28, 2013. It was the first public skatepark in the City of Richmond. It is maintained by the Department of Park, Recreation, and Community Facilities.
ABOUT THE SKATEPARK
The skate park features three quarter pipes, a back-to-back ramp with rail, a single ended ramp, and an elevated flat with curvature, two banks and a stair box. These features all have steep coping and a fixed rail. There are also movable rails and construction barriers usually found on site.
The skate park was originally located on the park’s tennis courts. It was constructed by local skateboarders in conjunction with the Former Director of Parks and Recreation, J.R. Pope, and boasted over 14 different features. After an injury in September 2012, the city ordered the removal of four features that were over four feet tall (Style Weekly). Then, after continued noise and loitering complaints from some neighbors, the city threatened to take down the wooden features on the tennis courts. From there, a months long back and forth between the city, neighbors and skaters ensued (RVA News). Eventually, in early February 2012, the Department of Parks and Recreation posted a letter on the tennis courts letting skaters know the park would be dismantled.
Due to continuing neighborhood complaints about late night use of the skatepark and that many of these skateboard ramps are unsafe for many users, they must be removed from the Playground by Wednesday, February 15, 2012. Failure to remove this equipment will result in these items being disposed of by City Parks and Recreation Staff. Thank you for your cooperation.
During 2012, the former Friends of Carter Jones Park and local skateboarders consulted with city officials to build the concrete park at its current location. Several community meetings were held and eventually the park was opened in July 2013 in its current location.
The current conceptual plan and recent community surveys have all advocated to prioritize an expanded skate park. At the meeting held on September 14, 2022, the city stated there was no funding to move it forward, and that the community would need to raise funds for this expansion.
As part of the FOFP’s work to advocate for funding for the park, the inclusion of an expanded skatepark has been a top priority/
Credit: Google Maps
PROPOSED EXPANSION
With the allocation of $1.75 million from the City budget for master plan implementation, the FoFP paid $1200 to have CAD plans drawn. This was done in collaboration with Maury Blakenship, Venue Skateboards, and Alan Joseph, skater and former board member. The first set of plans (shown below) were presented to the PRCF construction manager. The city worked with a contractor to get a rough estimate of cost for the expansion, and the quote came in over $1,000,000. The design team has gone back to the drawing board to revise the plan to bring the cost down to $500,000 or less.
This image (left) shows the current skate pad and the yellow box is what designers are including in their revised CAD drawings.
We will continue to work with both the City and skateboarders to prioritize the expansion of the skatepark. If you are interested in getting involved in this work, please let us know on the form on the Get Involved page.
FRIENDS OF FONTICELLO PARK 