Only a few short months after opening its doors to local skateboarders, Saskatoon’s newest indoor skate park is facing a crisis that may see it shut down for good.

Located in the City Centre Church in Riversdale and developed by Saskatoon Skate Inc., the free skatepark has faced problems with skateboard axles causing significant damage to the floor. To prevent further deterioration the park took an ongoing voluntary break from operations on Feb. 28, until a viable solution can be found.

Jason Gordon, owner of local skate shop Ninetimes, is heavily involved with Saskatoon Skate Inc. Gordon believes rubber caps might offer a solution to the park’s problem. Putting caps on skateboard axles will hopefully cushion the impact of skateboards crashing down on the floor, preventing further damage. With the caps currently in transit, Gordon hopes the park can resume regular hours as soon as the they arrive.

“If the plan works out, we’ll be open immediately,” Gordon said. “It’s all based on if these caps break, fall off or do their job.”

After opening to the public in January, the park saw a massive influx of local talent looking to take advantage of Saskatoon’s only indoor skate spot during the winter months. In some cases, people even decided to leave due to overcrowding.

“Every night at the skate park, there’s about 40 kids,” Gordon said. “It’s packed within a two hour span. If we had more space and it was open all day, who knows how many kids would come through.”

But given the park’s location and the demands of day-to-day operation, it isn’t feasible for the volunteers of Saskatoon Skate Inc. to keep it open full-time. Although the City Centre Church was kind enough to serve as a site for the park, Gordon said maintaining a skate park within a church presents its own challenges.

“The volunteers have to show up a half hour early and pull out fences, boxes, ramps, obstacles, set up tables and signs,” Gordon said. “[We] set up and tear down a skate park every night.

“We couldn’t be more grateful to the church, but it would be great to have our own space.”

Gordon and his crew hope to bring city officials on board for future efforts. Given the overwhelmingly positive response to the park, the volunteers have high hopes that the city will respond in kind.

“We want to prove that there is a need for [an indoor park] and that there’s people willing to work hard toward it,” Ninetimes manager Dan Watson said. “Hopefully along the way our paths can meet up and start working together.”

Despite difficulties with flooring and manpower issues, Gordon is optimistic that the park will thrive once it reopens.

“This has been some of the most fun I’ve had living in Saskatoon during the winter,” Gordon said, “and I think the same goes for the kids using the park heavily. They’re there every day, open to close, helping us.

“We’re not giving up.”

Those hoping to check out the skate park can keep an eye on Ninetimes’ Facebook page, where up-to-date information is posted as it becomes available.

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Photo: Chris Colewell