it's only one of the largest and coolest world class in ground skateparks in the US!!! i think its going to be incredible to have this in houston...although it seems to be finished in may the grand opening seems to be june 1st 2008...from pics, it looks to be nearly completed for the most part except landscaping and perhaps some sort of building if they decide to build one for events etc... skaters from all over the country will come here to skate and hopefully lots of events and competitions will take place here! Taken from Houston Chronicle Feb 2008: Feb. 7, 2008, 11:10PM SITE NEAR DOWNTOWN Skaters are eager to flip, spin and slide Still being built, skateboard park has a spot for all experience levels By ROBERT CROWE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Standing near the construction site like a couple of eager 13-year-old boys, Jason Kendall and Richard Sellers could not contain their excitement upon glimpsing the epic skate park developing near downtown. "It's absolutely incredible; it defies description. It has so many features," Kendall, a 37-year-old Houston native, said Wednesday while his buddy used a cell phone to snap photos of the smooth concrete bowls, ramps and pipes. These old-school skaters, with a sprinkling of gray hair, stopped by the site Wednesday to sneak a peek after hearing that the 30,000-square-foot park, one of the country's largest, is starting to take shape. Houston already has six public skate parks, but the seventh will be in a league all its own. "I'll be here opening day," said Sellers, 36. "This is world-class without a doubt. ... This is what Houston needs." Construction on the Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark on Sabine Street near Memorial Drive could be complete by the end of May. A grand opening is set for June 1, weather permitting. The state-of-the-art park was funded with $2.5 million in private donations. Construction began in October after attorney Joe Jamail donated $1.5 million to the Houston Parks Board in honor of his wife, Lee, who died last year. For all experience levels Three years in the making, the park started as a grass-roots fundraising effort by the nonprofit group Public Use Skateparks of Houston. The Parks Board donated an estimated $4 million worth of land situated along Buffalo Bayou in the shadow of Houston's skyline near jogging trails and a disc golf course. "We expect this thing to draw people from all over the country," said Trent Rondot, Parks Board project manager. The lighted park will include five areas with concrete terrain for all experience levels. A street skating area will greet skaters before they approach a series of bowls and half-pipes that become more complex, with some steep drops of 9 and 13 feet. The 20-foot cradle, a spoon-like structure that extends from the expert bowl area, is the largest in the world, Rondot said. Outshines the rest With its bold design, expansive size and skyline views, all other skate parks in the Houston area pale in comparison, Sellers said. "The thing about a concrete park is it's all about the flow," he said. "You can drop in once and never have to get off your board. You'll be able to surf this concrete." Nearly half of the construction is finished. While peeking inside the site, Kendall and Sellers noticed scuff marks that some skaters have left on the lips of the bigger bowls. "That's from the designers," Rondot said. "They get to test out the park." Sellers said that because he does not have health insurance he rarely skates now. That will change when the park opens this summer. "My wife won't let me skate so much," he said. "I think she's gonna have to live with this one. I'm gonna have to do something to pacify her because I'm probably gonna live here until next Christmas." robert.crowe@chron.com
awesome thanks for the updated pics! i drive by there everyday and its great to see an overview instead of a side or through a fence view!
