A local skate park is ramping up its offerings with a slew of improvements at its Dubuque location.
Olliewood Action Sports is investing $150,000 into interior and exterior renovations at its indoor skate park at 3125 Cedar Crest Ridge. The goal is to increase the number and variety of features available for area bikers, skateboarders and other action sports enthusiasts.
“We’re taking over some additional square footage with this project, and that’s really letting us check off some new boxes with what we can do there,” said OAS Foundation Executive Director Jason Henkel.
Olliewood Action Sports opened in 2015 and since has become a staple in the local skating community.
The Cedar Crest Ridge facility is the only full-service indoor skate park in Iowa and offers a variety of programming for youth and adults interested in action sports, Henkel said.
With the renovations, Henkel said the goal is to expand those offerings even further. Most of the exterior improvements will be around offerings for BMX riders and mountain bikers — such as the addition of a small pump track and jump line.
Indoors, the plan is to add new training features and obstacles for beginning and advanced athletes across various sports. OAS aims to have the majority of the indoor projects completed by October, Henkel said, with exterior improvements to round out next spring.
The improvements will be primarily funded by donations and grants, he added, including a $45,000 grant from the DRA — the nonprofit license holder for Dubuque’s two casinos.
“We’ll be adding some smaller features that will be better for beginners so people don’t come to the park and feel too overwhelmed,” Henkel said. “But number two, we’ll also be getting some really unique features and larger features that’ll make us stand out.”
Once those improvements are in place, the park will be eligible to host regional and national competitions around skateboarding, scooters and/or BMX.
“We’ve already done a lot of smaller competitions, but with the expansion I think it’ll let us bring in more industry and professional talent, and that means bringing more eyes to Dubuque,” said OAS board member Johnny Stevenson.
Stevenson said the park already sees regular visitors from Chicago, Des Moines and other larger Midwest cities. With the addition of larger competitions, he anticipates that sphere of influence could expand even more.
Henkel also hopes the expansion will lead to increased exposure for the local skating and biking community. Already, he said, Olliewood has garnered a following around the tri-state area, and last year the park had visitors from 41 states.
He added that the OAS mission is to use extreme sports to teach participants young and old how to develop and lean into a “growth mindset.”
“The biggest habit shift that we focus on in our programs is that you never say, ‘I can’t do that,’” he said. “At the bare minimum you say, ‘I can’t do that yet,’ and then we work to figure out how to get you there, and that mindset is useful for all parts of your life.”
Over the years, Olliewood also has been able to forge connections with other local organizations involved in action sports either through shared programming or overlapping membership. One such group is Tri-State Mountain Bike Riders, or TMBR.
The group is made up of individuals dedicated to maintaining and promoting mountain biking trails around the Dubuque area, and over the years, the group has engaged in several collaborations with OAS.
TMBR board member Eric Wold said he looks forward to the renovations at Olliewood, adding that the indoor park offers local bikers a way to keep their skills sharp during the snowy winter months.
“Expanding and maintaining those skills and that endurance level is really key for mountain bikers,” Wold said. “Having an indoor option, it gives you that opportunity to keep sharp throughout the holidays.”