Plans unveiled for skate park in Jackson County

Jackson County has unveiled plans for a permanent skate park in St. Martin that could become the largest in Mississippi.

Local skaters say the park would give them a place to practice and could help bring more public skate parks to the Coast.

Justin Glowacki with the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center shows us what skaters think of the proposed park.

Thirteen-year-old Keegan Schloss has been skateboarding for about two years.

When he saw the plans for a new skatepark in St. Martin, its size caught him off guard. “I was shocked. I mean, I expected it to be nice, but, like, not that big and stuff.”

The proposed park would cover about 20,000 square feet.

Jackson County Project Manager Matthew Hosey says that could make it the largest skatepark in Mississippi. “If it gets built and stays the same size, we would have the biggest one in the state of Mississippi, which we’re very proud of and excited about.”

But the county still needs about $2 million to build it.

For Coast skaters like Elias Carrillo, a permanent concrete park would offer something different from the handmade spots they use now. “We all put our love and soul into it, but love and soul doesn’t give you the pop that smooth concrete does.”

Gulf Coast Skateparks Association Vice President Andrew Buras says the goal goes beyond St. Martin. “It’s just getting these communities to have these free public use parks.”

Buras hopes the project will encourage more communities across the Gulf Coast to build public skateparks.