Scoop: Lauridsen Skatepark gains certification
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Lauridsen Skatepark. Photo: Courtesy of Polk County Conservation
Lauridsen Skatepark is being certified with USA Skateboarding during a public event Sunday, Polk County and Catch Des Moines officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: The designation means the facility will be a regional skateboarding hub and likely attract more Olympic-qualifying events, Laura Jass, director of sports for tourism advocacy group Catch Des Moines, tells Axios.
Catch up fast: Lauridsen Skatepark is a nearly $7 million project that opened in spring 2021 along the DSM River downtown.
- It hosted the Dew Tour soon after opening, a U.S. qualifying event for the sport's debut in the Tokyo Olympics that summer.
Of note: The 88,000 square foot facility is free to the public and remains the largest skatepark in the nation.
State of play: USA Skateboarding is a governing body of the sport.
- Polk County government, which owns and operates the park, sought the group's certification to help promote the facility and the sport, county spokesperson Jessica Lown tells Axios.
Zoom in: Factors like safety and levels of difficulty are considered as part of the designation, Norm Sterzenbach, president of Skate DSM, tells Axios.
The intrigue: DSM police previously had a "three-strikes-and-you're-in-jail" policy to discourage public skateboarding.
- The 1998 arrests of two skaters were cited in support of a bill in the legislature that year that exempted cities from some liabilities linked with the sport.
- Groups like A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy (AMOS) then led nearly two decades of organizing and fundraising that resulted in Lauridsen Skatepark.
If you go: Sunday's event at the park from 11am-2am includes appearances from professional skateboarders.