MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – After months of planning, fundraising, and renovating, a popular Myrtle Beach skate park is set to reopen this weekend.
The Grand Re-Opening of the Matt Hughes Skate Park has been years in the making. Hughes died after hitting his head while skateboarding in North Myrtle Beach in 1998.
The Myrtle Beach skate park, Wedged in between Pepper Geddings Recreation Center and Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium, was renamed to honor Hughes, but after 20 years of use, the park was in desperate need of repair.
Community members have donated about $15,000 to make over the 11-thousand square foot park. The city of Myrtle Beach has also budgeted $100,000, with the money going to new, longer-lasting ramps and equipment.
“This place needs it,” said Terry Grimble, owner of Daville Skate Shop. “The youth need it, the skaters need it, there’s a big surf community so there’s a lot of crossover with skateboarding.”
Grimble and Noel Hughes, Matt’s older sister, are part of a committee working to renovate the skate park.
“Looking down on us I think that he’s really proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Noel said, talking about her younger brother Matt. “And we may not have a multi-million dollar skate park, but what we are getting is going to be a lot better than what we have.”
The new park features a modern, city-scape design in concrete and will re-open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The park features handrails, two-quarter pipes (a single-transition ramp), long flat rails, manual pads and ledges. The improvements allow skateboarders to perform a wide variety of maneuvers.
City leaders and other organizations which contributed to the park’s progressive design will be on the hand for the celebration. The Matt Hughes Skate Park grand re-opening will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, July 28. The skate park is located at 33rd Avenue North Oak Street.
