FTM in the news

from the laconia citizen:

Posted: Monday, September 19, 2011 6:00 am | Updated: 6:26 am, Mon Sep 19, 2011.
By JOHN KOZIOL jkoziol@citizen.com | 0 comments
PLYMOUTH — Seven years in the planning and two months in construction, the town’s first skatepark opened here on Sunday, to the delight of dozens of skateboarders, inline skaters and bicyclists who filled the place and entertained themselves and spectators with a variety of thrilling moves.
Located on Green Street Extension on land that is being leased to Skatepark of Plymouth, Inc., by Alex Ray, founder of the Common Man family of restaurants, the state-of-the-art concrete facility is being built in three phases.
Phase I, which includes a kidney-shaped bowl and a street course, was begun in July and was completed earlier this month.
Phase II entails expanding the street course to its full size, adding things for beginners and younger users, while Phase III would see the construction of a 60-foot long, three-foot wide "snake run"
Open daily, weather permitting, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the skatepark to the south has a nearby “graffiti” park where visitors can “tag” two concrete columns and, one day, it will have a “pump track” to the north for hearty bike riders.
The skatepark — which is expected to cost $170,000 when it is fully built — has the support of the Hawk Foundation grant, which was founded by skateboard legend Tony Hawk, as well as the Town of Plymouth, the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, the Plymouth Police Department and the town’s public schools.
On Sunday, the skatepark also had the backing of Matt Jones, a skateboarder who came up from Nashua for the day and who declared that the long ride north was “well worth it.”
Nashua has a similar skatepark, said Jones.
Jones and his friends Steve Roberto and Zack Noel are not only skateboarders but also partners in “Fix the Metal,” a company that sells T-shirts and other “lifestyle” apparel geared for people who like to shred.
“It’s good that the town finally built a skate park,” said Jones, adding that the facility will be well used, judging by the response to it yesterday.
Mike Currier, who is president of Skatepark of Plymouth, Ltd. and a social worker at Plymouth Regional High School, said more than 100 people – ages ranging from under 10 to over 30 – put the skatepark through its paces on Sunday.
“Anything on wheels can use it,” he said of the skatepark, adding that its users, over time, will ultimately decide how it evolves.


RIDING THE RIM:
STEVEN ROBERTO of Nashua rides the rim of the concrete bowl at the Skatepark of Plymouth, which opened Sunday to critical and popular acclaim. The skatepark is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., weather permitting, and is located on Green Street Extension.