“If they would dump even a little money in there … to revamp the skatepark, then more power to them in renaming the park.”
While they’re mostly indifferent to the new name, skateboarders who practise their kick-flips and grinds at what was until recently called Millennium Park hope a new corporate sponsor can breathe new life into the aging amenity.
Officials from Penny Lane Entertainment and Cowboys did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. However, at a press conference on July 5, officials from Penny Lane said they intend to revitalize the space with year-round community events, more live music performances and improvements to the park’s infrastructure.
Starting in 2025, the park will host the annual Cowboys Music Festival.
“I’m really happy that the Cowboys organization has decided that they wish to activate this space so it continues to live on,” Mayor Jyoti Gondek said at the announcement.
“They’ve breathed new life into it, and we’ve got something on the west side of downtown that is going to be tremendous.”
‘People grew up calling it ‘Mills’ ‘
But some local skateboarders are wondering what the arrangement will mean for them: at 75,000 square feet, Cowboys Park is still Canada’s largest outdoor skatepark. The sprawling collection of concrete bowls and ramps has been a hub for Calgary’s skateboarding community for nearly a quarter-century.
While the inner-city skate spot was only scarcely populated on Tuesday morning, a handful of skateboarders said they were pretty indifferent to the name change, but agreed they’ll continue to skate at the park no matter what it’s called.
Nick Richards, a 28-year-old skateboarder who has frequented the park since moving to Calgary as a kid in 2004, said he doesn’t really care about the new label.
“People grew up calling it ‘Mills,’” he said. “I don’t think people are going to call it Cowboy Park, except for maybe what the signs say.”
Richards’ colleague Ryan Dodds agreed the name is a non-issue. While he would like to see Cowboys invest more in fixing up the aging skatepark, he acknowledged there likely isn’t much of a business case for maintaining a free amenity.
He predicted it’s been six or seven years since the ramps and bowls received any kind of facelift.
“There are massive cracks everywhere,” he said.
“If they would dump even a little money in there … to revamp the skatepark, then more power to them in renaming the park.”
‘Maybe Cowboys will do better’
On the other end of the park, skateboarder Jeff Thorburn said he tuned into news coverage of Millennium Park’s renaming last week and was disappointed the skatepark went unmentioned.
That begs the question of what the amenity’s future holds, he added.
“It seems they’re going to do all these repairs, restorations and updates to the music venue, but nothing to the skatepark,” said Thorburn, who lives in Inglewood.
Thorburn, 39, argued the skatepark hasn’t received much upkeep since it first opened in 2000, and the potholes and debris that litter the bowls present safety hazards.
He criticized the former corporate name-holder for underinvesting in the amenity over the years.
“Shaw hasn’t done anything for the skatepark itself in 24 years,” he claimed.
“Maybe Cowboys will do better, but I don’t know. They can’t do worse unless they get rid of it.”
‘That’s just the name we gave it’
At the nearby Ninetimes Skate Shop just off 12th Street S.W. in the Beltline, employee and skateboarder Evan Podilek said he doesn’t expect a new name to change the culture of Calgary’s largest skatepark.
He compared the situation to the MNP Community and Sports Centre, which has been named after various sponsors over the years, including Talisman and Repsol, and is often referred to interchangeably by facility-goers.
“Most skaters in town call it ‘Mills,’ which I don’t think will change,” Podilek said. “That’s just the name we gave it and it stuck.”
While he agreed the skatepark could use some better upkeep, Podilek said it’s hard to keep up with the wear-and-tear of a popular outdoor skatepark, particularly in Calgary’s tough climate.
And though the skatepark itself is “pretty neglected,” he added the rest of the park seems to be fairly well maintained, citing recent additions like three bouldering walls.
Podilek added the yearly blues and reggae festivals also attract thousands to the park each summer.
“It’s actually a nice park and it seems pretty underused,” he said.
— With files from Hiren Mansukhani