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Skate community asks Raleigh to sanction DIY skate park after Graveside demolition
Summary
Multiple speakers, skaters and advocates asked the council to provide a sanctioned site—suggesting JC Park—after the community-built Graveside DIY skate park was demolished. Speakers emphasized community-building, youth mentorship, trade skills, and precedent in other North Carolina cities.
Several members of Raleigh’s skate community pressed the council during public comment to approve a city-sanctioned DIY skate park after Graveside DIY—an 18,000‑square‑foot community-built site—was demolished to allow development.
Speakers included Miguel Magallanes, manager of Endless Grind Skate Shop; Paul Thompson, a commercial general-contractor employee and longtime skateboarder; Nathan Wellish, a photojournalist who documented Graveside; Nikki Knapp, founder of Skate Forward; Aaron Collins and others from the DIY advocates; and Sumit Bridal from Skate Raleigh.
The group described Graveside as a community-built space used for about eight years, funded and constructed by skaters and supporters. Nathan Wellish said Graveside was approximately 18,000 square feet with 8-foot quarter pipes and features built by hand using recycled materials and roughly $20,000 in crowd funding. Speakers argued that a sanctioned DIY would preserve the skills and community that formed around Graveside, teach carpentry and concrete work, and provide affordable, multi-generational recreation.
Several speakers suggested JC Park as a possible site and pointed to successful city‑sanctioned or supported DIY parks in Charlotte, Asheville, Statesville and Kilborn (replacement projects elsewhere) as precedents. They urged the council to provide space or permission rather than city funding alone: speakers repeatedly described the project as community‑funded and volunteer‑built, asking primarily for permission and a long-term site.
The transcript records the public comments and the community’s proposals but does not record any staff response, council motion, or decision during the comment period.
Speakers emphasized public-safety and inclusion benefits, with Skate Forward leaders noting the importance of spaces where women, LGBTQ and new skaters feel safe learning skills. Advocates asked for a clear path to city approval and a location that would allow the community to rebuild a DIY site.
