New skatepark could take shape in Winnipeg's Portage Place mall this fall

A new skatepark is ramping up operations in Winnipeg's Portage Place mall to give riders of all backgrounds and wheel types a place to skate year-round.

The Manitoba Skateboarding Coalition, Spence Neighbourhood Association and The Forks North Portage Partnership are banding together to create the skatepark in the old Staples location within the mall.

Once open, the skatepark will be called Pitikw, a Cree word that means "come in" or "welcome."

The skatepark was originally pitched by the Manitoba Skateboarding Coalition, who recognized that there was a need for a place to skate downtown that could be open in the winter as well, said Graham Constant, a member of the coalition who's helping spearhead the project.

"Basically every winter they'd have to hang it up and wait till spring. And we have very long winters here," he said.

There's also a need for somewhere in the city that's more suitable to other types of wheels as well, not just skateboards, Constant said.

"We're trying to reach a larger community where there's a gap [of people] like avoiding the community," he said.

"They didn't really have a space for that for them to practice, so we're hoping to do that here."

LISTEN: Skateboarders band together to bring new park to downtown Winnipeg

The hope is that the skatepark can be open by the fall. Right now, the coalition is fundraising through GoFundMe and with the help of the Spence Neighbourhood Association, and also has some funding support from the The Forks North Portage Partnership.

"I think it's a great fit for the neighborhood and we're looking forward to how this pilot project moves forward and what it can do to shape some of these these ideas for the future of our downtown," said Clare MacKay, chief communities officer at The Forks North Portage Partnership.

The skateboarding coalition is also looking for people who could volunteer their time to build the obstacles within the park.

"We have a big list of community members who are willing to help. There's a lot of people who have experience designing and building ramps," Constant said.

Right now, the plans the layout of the park are still being developed, but Constant said the size of the space should allow for a good variety.

"You can't necessarily put [a]half pipe in there but we can fit in quite a few decent sized ramps and rails and obstacles," he said.

The Forks North Portage Partnership owns the parking lot below the mall, the air rights and the land, while the mall itself is owned by Vancouver's Peterson Group.

However, plans have been in the works in recent years to redevelop the mall, and True North Real Estate Development currently has an option to purchase the mall, the parkade below it and rights to build two new high-rise towers above it.

The company is planning a radical makeover for the space that would transform it into a downtown community campus.

The long-term future of the Portage Place skateboard park is unclear, but Charla Smeall, another member of the Manitoba Skateboarding Coaltion, says she's optimistic that it will fit into plans for the mall.

"I personally think it's a perfect fit for everything we've seen and being proposed in the news so far, so we're very hopeful that something can be worked out," she said.

WATCH |A new skatepark is ramping up operations in Winnipeg's Portage Place mall:

A new skatepark is ramping up operations in Winnipeg's Portage Place mall

1 year ago

Duration 1:48

Work is getting rolling on a new skatepark in Portage Place. A coalition of Winnipeg skateboarders is working on a new, inclusive skatepark. It comes after many skaters didn't feel comfortable using the city's only indoor facility,The Edge. It came under fire for policies discriminating against the LGBTQ community.

Skateboarder Jamen Janzen said he was "really stoked" to hear about the new skatepark, since there isn't a place for skateboarders to go in the winter.

"It's gonna be really tight having a good spot to skate, especially in the heart of downtown," Janzen said.

Erik Penton, who has competed in skateboarding contests, said he drove all the way to Calgary last winter to practice for an upcoming competition.

"We really need somewhere to go," Penton said.

He said having an indoor park could inspire a lot of youth to ramp up their skills and produce skilled skaters in the future.

In the meantime, Pentonsaid he's excited to see how the park turns out.

"I'd like to see a good rail, a good ledge, maybe a stair setand some good quarter pipes," he said.