Coming soon: A one-of-a-kind public skatepark in Western New York

"It's really supposed to be a community center to bring everyone together"
Food Court Skatepark
Photo credit Brayton J. Wilson - WBEN

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Over the last several years, skateboarding continues to become a very popular sporting event that has reached the pinnacle of becoming an Olympic sport. However, skateboarding has also become a great recreational activity and more for many people across all ages.

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In Western New York, several communities have built local skateparks for residents to be able to gather and skate, rollerblade or inline scooter. However, given the climate of the region, most skateparks are only seasonal, being closed during the winter months.

Meanwhile, there are a few indoor skateparks that would allow for avid skateboarders and others to have fun and be active all-year-round.

However, most of the local indoor skateparks right now are only private spaces not open to the general public. The closest indoor venues that are open to the general public are either open in Rochester, Jamestown or in Toronto, Ontario.

That's about to change with the help of Weldon Jones, who is working to open the first public indoor skatepark in Erie County at the McKinley Mall come late April, early May.

"I've been here for five years, and noticed that the traffic was getting less-and-less every single year. I had noticed that there were large vacancies in the mall, and I figured a skatepark would be a fantastic thing to bring to the Western New York area," said Jones, who currently runs the Zumiez store inside the McKinley Mall. "At the time, there were no indoor skateparks at all, and it is definitely something that was super, super necessary for our whole community."

At 35-years-old, Jones is an avid skateboarder himself, finding inspiration in the sport ever since the first edition of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game came out in 1999. In his years of skateboarding, he knows that it's more than just about going out, being active and being willing to try something new.

"It brings entire communities and groups of people together," Jones said. "Now we really can only do it in the summer on good days, not when it's too hot. The weather is just so agreeable for this area to do this, but it's just a really, really fun and great form of exercise, and it really builds communities. I've made lifelong friends from skateboarding, and I know a lot of other people have done the same."

Born and raised in Buffalo, Jones has chosen to start the soon-to-be Food Court Skatepark at the McKinley Mall in the old Mattress Firm located near the Bed Bath and Beyond. He feels opening the skatepark inside the McKinley Mall is a prime location to start a business.

"I think we all know now based on the current trends and economy that malls have got to pivot from retail-based to a mix of entertainment and retail. You notice that going on at the Galleria, you notice that at every successful mall there are activities to do," Jones explained. "I know that there was a lot of space here, and I know that a skatepark requires a lot of space. Me working here for the last five years, I knew that there was something that has to bring customers in. We need fresh traffic. So, I mean, it was just a no-brainer. Utilize the space here to bring something that is entertainment-based to the mall, and just bring a whole fresh crew of people in."

While Jones and his crew are at the tail end of demolition, he says they are in a good spot in the process of getting operations up-and-running on schedule. As he is getting set to finish cleaning up from demolition and resurfacing floors, he's also anticipating the arrival of the ramp builders coming from California to help set things up for business.

"The group that is actually building the ramps are called 'ramp carnies'. They are from San Diego, they are actually packing up in a car - five guys in a car with all their tools - and driving from San Diego to here on Thursday. They'll be here next Saturday, and they're going to start working on Monday," Jones said.

When it comes to the design of the skatepark, Jones says it's designed to be among the top premier skateparks in the region.

"These guys aren't just average ramp builders, they build ramps for major contests like the X Games, they build ramps for Tony Hawk. They build ramps for all the training facilities," he said. "If you're a company, a skateboard company, you have a special facility that your team goes to to practice and train. Nike has a facility, Converse has a facility. These guys build the facilities of the pros."

Jones adds he and his team spent several hours straight walking the space they own at the mall, making sure everything flowed and everything worked going forward. He also wanted to make sure the ramps they are implementing have different features for all skill sets.

While the approximately 16,000 square-feet of space will be used by skateboarders, rollerbladers and scooters alike, not all of it is going to be utilized for just that.

"I realize that there are a lot of people in the community that like to do a lot of different things," Jones said. "We have a dedicated space for spectators, and just a dedicated community space where we can host different events that aren't skateboard-related at all. There's stuff that won't even put you in the middle of the park, they'll put you on the outskirts of the park in our own designated area, which is awesome. We plan on doing events like paint nights and yoga in the park. There's a lot of other things you can do that aren't strictly skateboard, roller skate, inline scooter related. It's really supposed to be a community center to bring everyone together. We're open to all different crazy ideas, so if you have an idea, you want to pitch, if it makes sense and it's really good for the community, we want to do it."

When Food Court Skatepark is set to open for business, there will not only be pay-to-skate sessions for the public, Jones says there will also be skate sessions and other curriculums and lessons for all ages to sign up for.

"f you're interested in getting [into] skateboarding, we understand it's super intimidating and it's difficult, so we're going to offer lessons - both group lessons, private lessons. Once we get up and established more, we will offer skate camps," he said.

In the years spent working at Zumiez, Jones has realized that a lot of parents often ask about where they can get their kids to skateboard and learn how to skateboard after they get their kids into the sport. He knows this will be a perfect outlet for parents to get things started on the right foot for their kids.

"Up until this, it's really kind of just been you gotta find someone who can teach you somewhere on the Internet, or just go out in the streets and learn the hard way," Jones said. "We will have really, really well-planned out lessons for all skill sets. We're going to offer different events that aren't skateboard related, and we're going to have a small shop where we'll sell Food Court Skatepark clothing and apparel, stuff like that."

So where can you find out more about Food Court Skatepark, and how to get early access before the doors open to the public?

"We currently have up a Indiegogo right now for the next 30 days, where you can check out a few of the things that we have to offer, and we're selling them at a discount right now. That's basically to get us up and help give us some working capital while we're in here doing all this work and the park's not generating any revenue," Jones said. "We have limited edition shirts that we're only doing for that campaign, and you can pre-purchase your passes and lessons at a discount. That's on our Indiegogo. You can actually link to that from our website, which is foodcourtskatepark.com. And we're also on Instagram and Facebook, both of those are Food Court Skatepark."

Weldon Jones
Photo credit Brayton J. Wilson - WBEN
Featured Image Photo Credit: Brayton J. Wilson - WBEN