OCEAN CITY- The mini-ramp at Ocean City-s Skate Bowl, closed since November after damage to the surface was revealed, is expected to be re-opened by February when a new and improved surface material is installed.
The mini-ramp was closed in November when flaws in the surface were revealed, making it potentially dangerous and a liability. The ramp’s surface is layered with a plywood base topped with a steel deck, but the deck had become rusted, allowing water to seep through making it unusable, while the underlying layers were largely intact.
As a result, the mini-ramp has been closed since late last year while plans were made to replace the surface. The Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department explored a variety of options and chose to replace the mini-ramp surface with Skatelite, a super-durable paper-composite material designed to stand up to the daily punishment inflicted by skateboards and BMX bikes.
“The ramp will be safer and the Skatelite will provide a smoother surface for skateboarders,” said Skate Park Manager Daniel Reed.
With the underlying plywood sub-surface intact, only the mini-bowl’s decking needed replacing. During Tuesday’s Ocean City Recreation and Parks Commission meeting, Recreation and Parks Director Susan Petito said replacing the mini-bowl decking was a top priority for the department and the funding for the project was readily available without a special request from the city’s budget.
“The mini-ramp surfacing project was paid for from the Recreation and Parks budget,” she said. “We’re hoping for delivery of the surface materials in the next two weeks.”
The Ocean Bowl Skate Park has been renovated over time due to the wear and weather. The park opened in June of 1976 and currently holds the title of the oldest operating municipal skate park in the United States. When it first opened the facility consisted of a four-foot deep asphalt bowl that proved so successful that a larger bowl was quickly added. In 1984, the “big bowl” was structurally weakened by successive tropical storms and was removed the following year. It was succeeded by an eleven-foot high, twenty-eight foot wide metal-surfaced half pipe, which served not only to replace the lost bowl, but also to respond to the changing demands of skateboarding and the huge popularity of vertical ramps at the time.
The ramp and the small bowl stood for another ten years until 1997 when the park was again in need of renovations. After long hours of planning and many meetings, the city council together with a Skate Park Committee composed of local skaters, businesses, politicians and parents, came up with the resources to build the park that exists today. The old bowl and ramp were torn down in the fall of 1997 and the new park opened in July of 1998
Since the park reopened it has been busy with traveling demos, tours and skating contests as well as skate camps and clinics with professional skaters. Prior to the current repairs, the most recent renovations occurred in 2011 when the Bowl and Vert Ramp received a complete resurfacing.
Although the mini ramp is currently closed, the remainder of the Ocean Bowl is fully operational and the hours and fees have remained the same. The Ocean Bowl Skate Park is currently open weekdays from 2 p.m. to sunset, closed Wednesdays, and open on the weekends from 9:30 a.m. to sunset. A weekly daily pass costs $12, a weekend daily pass is $15, a weekly pass is $42, an annual pass is $110, and a resident annual pass is $60.
