LANSING, Ill. (May 21, 2024) – The Lan-Oak Park District celebrated the grand opening of its new Skate Park and BMX Pump Track at Park Plaza on Saturday, May 18.
Glide Plaza skate park is designed for every skill level and includes a quarter pipe, grind rail, and a standard bowl to drop into.
The park district first announced the project in 2021, and it was completed last fall.
Lan-Oak Park District Vice President John Kelly said the project was supposed to launch in 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19.
Skating in the sun
The sun shone brightly as the Lansing community gathered Saturday morning to enjoy music, fun, and food to celebrate its new skate park.
The park district partnered with Royal Skate & Apparel to provide entertainment at the event. Attendees watched skateboarders, rollerbladers, and BMX riders perform various tricks while enjoying coffee and donuts from the Chicago Donut Co. courtesy of the Lan-Oak Park District.
Royal Skate also held a game of skating and gave away prizes after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Ribbon cutting
The official ribbon cutting for Glide Plaza happened shortly after the event started at 10:30 a.m.
Vice President Kelly said the skate park is the latest addition to the Lan-Oak Park District’s 20-plus parks.
“As the skate and bike culture has grown so have we,” said Lan-Oak Park District Senior Superintendent Sharon Desjardins. “Every day we come by I see kids as young as 7 years old and we have one day that older adult men come out so we are serving so many different age groups.”
“We are excited about it and we hope you guys are excited about it,” she continued.
Representatives from the Village of Lansing, L.A.C.E., and the American Legion attended the event as well.
Glide Plaza is located on Ridge Road and Grant Street, south of the Lansing Clock Tower, and east of the American Legion.
For more information on the Lan-Oak Park District and Lansing’s parks, visit lanoakparkdistrict.org
