City of Emporia reveals $500,000 skate park design

TOPEKA (KSNT) - The City of Emporia has released design images for the new skate park that will be built in Emporia.

The project started after an anonymous donation of $250,000 was given to the city for a skate park. The city matched the funds and hired American Ramp Company to make the final designs.

The City of Emporia took feedback from an advisory committee and reviewed designs. City staff will present the design to the City Commission on May 15. The skatepark design features a bowl, a hip, a bump to rail, a down rail, a manual pad, two handrails, a double stair set and more.

In 2021, 13-year-old Maddox Gutierrez started a petition asking for improvements to be made to the Santa Fe Skateboard Park in Emporia. After 27 News covered the story, an anonymous local family made a quarter-million-dollar donation to the Kahola Lake Park Fund with the Emporia Community Foundation.

Since then, the project ran into a problem with the lease on the land. According to the city, BNSF owns the land and leases the property to the city. The lease specified the land only be used for ballparks. Due to this development, the city found a new location for the project.

The skate park construction is expected to begin in late summer 2024 with construction contingent on weather conditions.

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