Macon-Bibb County and California Skateparks, Inc. will hold a public forum to discuss the Central City Skate Park’s Phase II Design. It will take place on Monday, December 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the Recreation Department’s Administrative Conference Room at 150 Willie Smokie Glover Drive. The forum will be held via video conference, and California Skateparks will show the first designs they have developed so they can collect feedback from the skating community and people who use the park regularly.
 
In July, the Commission selected California Skateparks to design the next phase of the skate park, which will include a competition size bowl. Construction is being funded with $550,000 from the voter-approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. This phase is expected to be complete by June 2018.
 
“When we held forums for how to improve Central City Park using SPLOST funds, the skating community really came out to say how important this was to our region, that there really was nothing like it in the entire region,” says Recreation Director Robert Walker. “Since opening, it’s been used almost every day, and we expect that, by adding the bowl, we’ll be hosting regular tournaments here.”
 
The first phase of the skate park opened in April 2017 and instantly became a hit with the skating community. The first competition there drew hundreds of skaters from around the country, and it is used on a daily basis by amateurs and professionals, alike. Click on the links to see MaconBibbTV feature video of the opening of the first phase of this project.
 
The first phase was part of a $3.7 million SPLOST-funded improvement project at Central City Park that also included new trails, putting wires underground, building new multi-purpose fields, renovating and adding bathrooms, adding new pavilions, installing RV hookups, demolition of nine dilapidated buildings, and more. In addition to improvements to Central City Park itself, the SPLOST is funding construction of the new Elaine H. Lucas Senior Center ($2.7 million) and major improvements to Historic Luther Williams Field ($2.5 million) to prepare it for Opening Day of the Macon Bacon.