Local couple works with city to turn dream INTO reality
Skateboarding duo Jeremy and Cecely Todacheenie, owners of Enchantment Skate Shop, have known for some time that finding a safe and adequate place in Gallup to skateboard is filled with obstacles.
The skate park off Zuni Road and Eighth Street was described by the pair as being outdated and in a general too run down for skaters to practice the adrenaline-pumping, and sometimes high-flying tricks that catapult them into the air.
All of that changes this weekend, with the debut of the Gallup Skate Park. It was a project three years in the making, and local civic leaders shared in their vision to create a new park.
Their sentiment was shared by Gallup Mayor Jackie McKinney, who added that the old skate park was hidden from the community, and its not sufficient for visitors.
“We wanted to do something to support the youth of the community,” McKinney said, during a July 25 interview.
So, the skating community and city council came up with this bright idea: build a brand-new skate park where they could all go to socialize and practice – even show off their skills.
Fast forward to this weekend, the new Gallup Skate Park, east of the Cultural Center, will hold its grand opening skate jam July 28.
Jeremy said the skate park, from brainstorming to design and construction, is a project that won’t be forgotten any time soon.
“[We started] attended city meetings to get the plan on the agenda,” Jeremy said. “[We met with] other skaters who brainstormed ideas for the park.”
The plan took a while to get going, but the skate community and the city remained behind the plan, Jeremy said.
“When we first spoke up [about the idea], it was about how [the new park] would benefit local skateboarders,” he said.
Jeremy also said they were told in one meeting that the image of a passionate skateboarding community in downtown Gallup would reflect better than the number of drunks, which would also helped their case.
The meetings gave Jeremy and Cecely an opportunity to work with city officials on the idea to identify and then focus on the pros and cons of the park.
The original planned cost of the skate park was around $500,000, McKinney said. The skating community started a GoFundMe page and raised about $16,000, while the Southwest Indian Foundation added $100,000, which includes community fundraising efforts.
The park development efforts also gained the support of the Tony Hawk Foundation, whose website states their mission is to develop quality places where skaters can practice the sport that gives them much needed exercise and a sense of self-esteem.
The Tony Hawk Foundation added a grant of $10,000 for construction of the park, in addition to free consultation on how to make the skate park current with skating trends and safety. Hawk is known as one of the best competitive skateboarders in the industry.
Meanwhile, St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and Councilor Yogash Kumar both added $5,000 each to the cause, and the City of Gallup made up the rest of the costs, McKinney said.
McKinney said the initial cost of $500,000 rose about $300,000, when environmental issues at the park site delayed construction for nearly a full year. Chemicals in the ground from historic train activity were the cause.
“But we waited to finish [the skate park] because it’s a good cause,” he said.
McKinney added that he worked with the city manager and the council gave their full support of the park development, and that the council works to support events where the public can enjoy themselves.
“It’s great that we can do this for the community,” McKinney said.
In all, Jeremy said that the skate park idea was discussed through at least five city meetings. Then further challenges arose at one planning meeting at the El Morro Events Center.
“[There were] too many people with ideas,” Jeremy said. “Too many people wanted different things [that we might not have].”
Jeremy said that while they may not be able to accommodate all of the ideas the skaters had, they feel the new park will improve the community as a whole. Both Jeremy and Cecely want the new park to feel like a place that skaters in Gallup can call home.
“[You have] skaters who travel to Gallup from all over,” Cecely said. “We want to provide better facilities, where skaters can help others grow their abilities and [they can] stay out of trouble.”
In that way, the skate park will serve as an extension of Enchantment Skate Shop, which operates out of the Gallup Cultural Center at 205 E. Highway 66. Cecely said that both the shop and the park will give skaters a chance to demonstrate their passion for the sport as well as get noticed and possibly gain sponsors.
Through it all, Jeremy and Cecely never lost sight of what propelled the project forward – the skateboarding community. They have remained supportive of the pair’s shop and endeavors.
In addition, the skateboarding community found ways to raise funds for the park as well as give back to the city. During the monthly ArtsCrawl, local skaters raffle off skateboards and set up an area downtown where they can show off their skills.
Jeremy explained that months of attending meetings, then having to create park designs and then refining those designs, and having to communicate with the people who can help present the best park possible, resulted in a park that is suitable for skaters of all skill levels.
“Now we’re pretty proud of it,” Cecely said.
Jeremy said that the whole process of designing and building the park was a challenge that he and Cecely just fell into out of a love and passion for the sport.
“Motivation led to the skate shop [and park],” Jeremy said. “There was not another shop that was owned by skaters in the area. We’re skateboarders helping skateboarders.”
By Cody Begaye
Sun Correspondent
Sun News
