Riley Skate Park breaks ground in Farmington Hills

You can almost hear the sound of grinding wheels on concrete as ground is broken on Riley Skate Park in Farmington Hills. Construction crews have begun work on one of the most innovative skate parks to come around southeast Michigan in a long time.

What makes this skateboarding facility stand out beyond the normal concrete hills, ramps and rails of the standard Midwestern skate park? Riley offers unique features like an 8-foot tall cylinder, that looks like a sewer pipe built into the ground instead of above it. there are also a variety of in-ground pits and ditches, giving the park a “West Coast” feel.

Local officials are also trying to expand the 29,000-square-foot park’s amenities beyond the hard infrastructure and into the technological world.

“We would like to have web cameras, lighting, sound, and other amenities placed throughout Riley Skate Park to provide a top notch experience in a skateboarder’s dream park,” says Bryan Farmer, a Farmington Hills recreation supervisor heading up the skate park project.

Riley will occupy a corner of Founder’s Sports Park at 35500 Eight Mile Road between Gill and Halstead roads near the Farmington Hills Ice Arena. More than 722,000 people come through the park each year. That number is expected to dramatically increase after the skate park is finished. City officials believe the skate park will become a regional attraction, bringing in nearly 200 people each day.

The skate park is named after George Riley of the Riley Foundation who gave $500,000 toward the $850,000 project. For information on the project, contact Farmer at (248) 473-1805 or BFarmer@fhgov.com.

Source: Jill Pines, spokeswoman for Farmington Hills
Writer: Jon Zemke