Louisville, Ky., – Surrounded by skaters and bikers, Mayor Greg Fischer Monday unveiled the newly redesigned Dave Armstrong Extreme Park, renamed in honor of the former Mayor who created the popular park in 2002.
“Dave had a vision, ahead of its time, of a world-class facility for skaters and bikers that would become a huge attraction for our city, especially for young people,” Fischer said. “It’s fitting to honor his vision by naming this fresh and re-energized park in his honor.”
The park reopens with new features, including updated street elements and a new version of the popular “snake run”. The bowl and full pipe, which were fixtures in the original design, have been modernized.
Since opening in 2002, the 40,000 square-foot park has been a magnet for users of all ages and abilities, including top names in the sport such as skateboarder Tony Hawk.
“Creating the Extreme Park was a huge step in turning Louisville’s image around from an old-fashioned town into a vital, creative and fast-paced city,” Armstrong said. “It has since drawn people from around the world who have discovered that Louisville is a great place to live, work and play.”
About a third of the Extreme Park had to be closed for nearly a year to accommodate the Ohio River Bridges Project. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet provided replacement funding of $3.6 million to Metro Government for the relocation of the affected portion of the park on property adjacent to the existing park.
Both the original park and the new section were designed by Luckett & Farley of Louisville and Zach Wormhoundt of California.
“The Wormhoudt Design Team is honored to work again on the premier skate park in the United States,” Wormhoundt said. “We have worked on hundreds of public skate parks, but Louisville will always be our favorite, as the park that has raised the bar for all public skate parks.”
