Steve Van Doren, Vice president of Vans, got tired of everyone telling him about how great everyone’s bowl was. In 2010 he decided the Vans Combi Bowl in Orange, CA needed a face lift in order to make it the best. Steve Van Doren called Joe Ciaglia, owner and CEO of California Skateparks and told him to come work his magic on the Combi Bowl. Skateboarding legends Lance Mountain, Jeff Groso, and Steve Alba worked together with California Skateparks to create a brand new masterpiece. Completed in April, the bowl just hosted it first major event, the 2010 Pro-Tech Pool Party. Check out the video of the highlights from the very first event featuring the new bowl.
“Before it felt like you were riding on ice with egg shaped wheels, now it feels like your floating, and its perfect”, stated Rune Glifberg – Professional Skateboarder
With the temporary closing of the legendary Brooklyn Banks, the skaters of New York have been maximizing their time at the new Maloof Cup Plaza in Flushing Meadows at Corona Park. The plaza opened in June of 2010, hosting the first Maloof Money Cup in New York. Resurrected on the remains of the Astral Fountain, the project has also been highlighted in Landscape Architecture as New York’s premier skate park. The skate park is a mix of some of the best skating in NYC, including copies of the nine-stair rail from the Banks, the handicap rail from Union Square, and the renowned grate and ledge from the Unisphere to name a few. Built by California Skate Parks with much design input from NYC skaters and Professional skaters a like.
Get your boards ready because November 4th marks the Grand Opening of the Bukolt Park Skate Park in Stevens Point, WI. The park is getting all of the final touches before the long anticipated grand opening which is only 2 weeks away. The residents of Stevens Point have worked very hard to get this park and the grand opening is planning to be an amazing turnout. The FaceBook page for the Skate Park has over 1000 people posting pictures and planning for the big day. Stay posted for more pictures of the skate park and more specific details about the grand opening.
Address: Bukolt Park – 100 Bukolt Ave Stevens Point, WI 54481 @ 4:30pm!
With the Grand Opening of the brand new Ojai Skate Park built by California Skateparks, this years Ojai Day was a major success. “I think there were more people than ever at this year’s event,” said event organizer Jody James. An estimated 30,000 people were on site as well as over 200 vendors. Once Aaron Nelson, Mayor for the Day, cut the ceremonial ribbon it was time for the kids to hit the park. The 11,700 sq. ft. park is a concrete oasis with different style features for all types of skaters. The park features 2 street sections complete with different size stair sets for both beginner and intermediate skaters. The bowl and mini half-pipe give a different style of skating for kids who prefer transition skating over street. Site Design Group provided the design for the park and by the looks of the grand opening all of the skaters really enjoyed every aspect of their new skate spot.
California Skateparks has just completed the first world class skate park in Louisiana. This 20,000 sq. ft. skate park sits on 52 acres of park in Baton Rouge, LA. This is a very special project to us at California Skateparks. The park is a long time in the works and it feels amazing to see the kids taking full advantage of their new skate spot. The massive size and detailed design makes this park stand out in Louisiana and is sure to bring skaters from all over the state wanting to check this new park out. Complete with a beginner section with small features for younger skaters to practice their tricks. This section flows into a street section with more advanced features for intermediate skaters. A favorite among skaters is the awesome flow bowl and snake run section with a back yard bowl style pool close by. Color banding was used to create sections of different color concrete throughout the park and add to many aesthetic features. If skating is not your thing be sure to check out the rock climbing wall or the cycling track that is also on the 52 acres of park in beautiful Baton Rouge, LA.
House of Vans Opens Saturday Night to Packed Crowd in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint Neighborhood
Public Enemy and Mos Def Help Christen Vans’ New Event Space
Brooklyn, NY – (October 18, 2010) – Vans opened its new, state-of-the-art event space, the House of Vans, this past Saturday night with 900 of our closest friends in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood in an evening filled with food & drink and highlighted by surprise performances by Mos Def and Public Enemy. The House of Vans is a 25,000 square foot renovated warehouse featuring an indoor concrete bowl & outdoor street course, a permanent stage for concerts and enough space to pretty much do anything our imaginations allow. The House of Vans will be Vans’ East Coast hub, with two full-time employees to start.
Festivities began Saturday night with the opening of the bowl & outdoor street course. Nearly all of the Vans skate team was on hand including Tony Alva, Steve Caballero, John Cardiel, Geoff Rowley, Jeff Grosso, Tony Trujillo, Dustin Dollin, Omar Hassan, Anthony Van Engelen, Johnny Layton, Gilbert Crockett, Andrew Allen and Curren Caples. Other Vans team riders in attendance included Joel Tudor, Zac Marben, Ryan Guettler, Robbie Morales, Chase Hawk and Dakota Roche. Built by California Skateparks, the design of the bowl & skate park was led by Lance Mountain and Brian Pino.
John Cardiel and Tony Alva led off the music for the evening with DJ sets as artist Mike Giant began creating a custom piece on the back wall by the bowl. Gilbere Forte followed up with a rap-infused set as the crowd began to grow in anticipation of an appearance by Public Enemy. Mos Def then quietly took to the stage and quickly stole everyone’s attention in a surprise performance. Chuck D, Flava Flav and the Public Enemy crew then turned up the energy another notch in the highlight of the evening. The Blackouts, Atiba and Ako Jefferson, then eased everyone into the night with a reggae-infused mix.
Thanks to everyone who could come out to make the night so special. Please keep your eyes peeled for future events!
House of Vans Venue Highlights:
- 25,000 square feet; 15,000 indoors and 10,000 sq. ft outdoor enclosed patio and skate plaza
- raised indoor flowing concrete bowl with numerous contours, shapes, banks & transitions
- outdoor skate plaza with steps and railings
- permanent, removable professional stage, lighting and sound system
- performer “green room”
- installed custom art by Mike Giant
- will serve as Vans’ East Coast marketing headquarters with two full time employees at launch
- home to Vans’ East Coast touring RV
UPLAND, CA (October 15th 2010) – California Skateparks, the worldwide leader in the design and construction of skateparks and bowls, has completed the build out for “The House of Vans” in Brooklyn, New York. The grand opening will be this Saturday, October 16th.
After great success with the Vans Combi Bowl in Orange, CA, Steve Van Doren, commissioned California Skateparks to build a second private indoor skate facility. The unique designs incorporate 10,000 sq. ft. featuring a flow bowl and a street course that doubles as a sound stage to host events and music venues. The bowl and street course is being built inside an old warehouse. Skateboarding Legend, Lance Mountain, is the lead design consultant on the project and Brian Pino was the project manager.
Ojai Skate Park Grand Opening
Saturday, October 16th
UPLAND, CA (October 15th 2010) – California Skateparks, the worldwide leader in the design and construction of skate parks, has completed the build out of the Ojai Skate Park. The grand opening will be this Saturday, October 16th as part of the Ojai Festival celebration. The unique design incorporate 11,000 sq. ft. of diverse combination of terrain including a Pier 7 Ledge, Fun Box, 6 stair with rail, ledges and an “Ameba” bowl. The plaza was designed and constructed using new methodologies and techniques and ingenuously integrated into the overall foot print of the park.
Perkins Road Skate Park Grand Opening
Saturday, October 16th
UPLAND, CA (October 15th 2010) – California Skateparks, the worldwide leader in the design and construction of skateparks, has completed the build out of the Perkins Road Skate Park. The grand opening is will be this Saturday, October 16th. The unique designs incorporate 20,000 sq. ft. of diverse combination of terrain including stairs, rails, ledges, half-pipe area, bowl, flow course, bank to bank gap and a beginner skate area. The plaza was designed and constructed using new methodologies and techniques ingeniously integrated into the overall foot print of the park.
Friday, November 5th marks the Grand Opening of the Bemidji Skate Park in Bemidji, MN. An 18,200 sq. ft. skate park which is already being called the best in the state by many local skaters. California Skateparks was contracted by Spohn Ranch to complete all shotcrete and specialty concrete work in the park along with setting coping and rough grading. The design was provided by SITE Design group and features both street and vert skating features designed with community input. The community truly made this skate park a reality with years of hard work and dedication. Fund raising started 10 years ago, since then over 300,000 dollars has been raised and there are only 10 days left until the grand opening. The grand opening ceremonies start at 3:30 and open skate at 3:45!
Towards the end of every project, one very important question must be addressed … Who should get to skate it first? Of course it has to be tested, and any excuse to get to skate is always a good one. Typically, the first run goes to the designer, but why not the project manager? This is a very real, and sometimes difficult question to answer. Often it comes down to the flip of the coin, or a heated battle of rochambeau. The House of Vans project went down in a completely new fashion. After all the hard work Brian Pino, California Skateparks project manager put into the job, Lance Mountain didn’t feel right about jumping in front. Leaving Brian alone to take the first run and Lance Mountain waiting on the edge of the coping to drop in the second he had a chance.
The Grand Opening of the House of Vans is this Saturday October 16th in Brooklyn, NY. Be sure to keep checking back as we will post picture of the completed project soon!
Vice President of Vans, Steve Van Doren with Brian Pino and his sons. All thumbs up!!
Bill Minadeo, Dann Carerra and Brian Pino in a triple run
Inaugural Year of Street League DC Pro Tour Fueled by Monster Energy Ends With Resounding Success
Street League Skateboarding announces 2011 expansion plans on the heels of its final event
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 12 – The inaugural year of the Street League DC Pro Tour Fueled by Monster Energy has come to an end, forever changing the face of competitive street skateboarding with an unprecedented $1.2MM in prize money distributed to twenty-four of the most elite professionals in the sport. With its proprietary format and Instant Scoring Experience™ technology, skaters, for the first time, had to utilize strategy in order to win and viewers knew exactly what place every skater was in, at every moment of the event.
Each tour stop came down to the last two attempts with Nyjah Huston, Sean Malto, and Shane O’Neill battling the toughest competition in skateboarding history to each take home first place honors. In the concluding moments of the finale in Las Vegas, Street League Skateboarding™ creator, Rob Dyrdek, handed over the championship trophy to Nyjah Huston who won the overall series.
In its first year Street League has built a loyal audience of skate fans and non-skate fans alike, with more than 1.5 MM people tuning into the comprehensive coverage on ESPN2. With robust content on theberrics.com, international distribution in over 198 countries, and online re-airs on ESPN.com/action, the Street League DC Pro Tour Fueled by Monster Energy has already counted well over 400 million impressions worldwide.
In stop one, Huston’s “kickflip out to frontside boardslide” on the kinked rail shot him into the top spot. O’Neill’s final trick of a “switch three sixty-flip” missed Nyjah by only one and one tenth of a point and fifteen year-old Huston grabbed his first win since the age of thirteen.
In stop two, it was Chaz Ortiz who needed only two points to over-take Sean Malto on the last attempt of the contest. As Chaz fell to the ground on a missed “crooked grind” the crowd went ballistic and Malto took home $150,000.
In the series finale, Chris Cole met a similar fate and missed his last attempt of the finals allowing Shane O’Neill to “backside lip-slide” his way to victory. By taking second place in the first stop, winning the Zumiez 24/7 award, and landing a league record of five best-trick bonuses ($5000 each); O’Neill’s Street League winnings-to-date stand at an outstanding $262,000 – making him the highest grossing pro in the historical series.
Over the span of the three events, more than fifteen thousand fans filled the seats to witness their favorite skaters compete on real concrete skate plazas built inside an arena setting. The Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, AZ, the Citizen’s Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA, and the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV were transformed by California Skateparks into authentic city-like skate plazas. All featured landscaping, beautifully designed concrete structures, and multi-color design patterns that raised the bar for professional sporting event aesthetics.
Presenting partners DC Shoes and Monster Energy commented on the success of the series. ”We’re very proud of the long standing relationship we have with Rob and the opportunity to partner with him on the first Street League Skateboarding™ tour,” said Kelly Magrath, DC’s VP of Global Marketing. “Rob is redefining the professional skateboarding platform and we’re excited to be part of its future.”
“Rob is a leader in skateboarding and continues to be the driving force for the future of competitive street skateboarding with the success of the Street League Skateboarding™ series,” added Bruce Stjernstrom, Monster Energy’s VP of Sports Marketing. ”Monster is proud to have him on our team and support him in his efforts to raise the bar and preserve the authenticity of street skating in a unique arena format where spectators can follow the action trick by trick to the very end.”
The 2010 series is just the beginning of what is sure to become the cornerstone of competitive skateboarding. “The second year will mark a nationwide expansion of the series with additional stops of the series, exclusivity with its pros, more prize money, and an even more exciting format,” says Street League creator Rob Dyrdek. ”We will work with our riders, industry heads, and partners in the upcoming months to ensure that our on-going commitment in growing the sport of skateboarding world-wide is undeniably achieved with this series.”
Final look at the bowl
How pumped are these kids!
Thanks for all the hard work!
