DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Construction has begun on a world-class skate park in downtown Des Moines after years of fundraising.
The Des Moines Register reports that ground was broken Monday for Lauridsen Skatepark. Officials say the skate park will be the second-largest in the country, with 65,000 square feet (6,039 square meters) of skating surface. It covers 5 acres (2 hectares) of riverfront land just northeast of Wells Fargo Arena.
The park was first proposed in 2004, but raising the $3.5 million needed was slow going. A recent $1 million donation from Nix and Virginia Lauridsen and a $400,000 grant from Prairie Meadows helped push the total raised to $3.3 million, and donations are still being sought to cover the remaining $200,000.
The park will have a lower level pedestrian walk, a plaza, a downhill snake run and several skate bowls and pools for skateboarders.
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Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
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