Skate plazas
For the majority of skaters (80% in fact) who consider themselves street skaters, the skate plaza is the ideal skatepark. To those who aren’t as familiar with skating, an intricate arrangement of stairs, handrails, planters, and benches doesn’t match up well with their perceived idea of a skatepark being a collection of ramps and bowls.
For street skaters who have turned urban plazas such as Love Park in Philadelphia and the Embarcadero in San Francisco into iconic skateboarding meccas, the plaza style of skatepark is consistent with their desire to challenge themselves on real-world architecture. Rob Dyrdek, professional skateboarder and a huge advocate for skate plazas, argues “Build a park in which to skate. Don’t build a skatepark” By integrating landscaping and using modern plaza-style design, skate plazas are aesthetically attractive and functional for skaters, pedestrians, and anyone else who would like to enjoy the scenery.
Spohn Ranch has designed and built skate plazas for several communities with existing skateparks that did not offer the kind of terrain that street skaters were looking for. Prior to these innovative skate plazas, the skaters would head to the streets to challenge themselves on the kinds of obstacles they preferred.