Learn and Skate with the Pros at the New Scott Adams Memorial Skatepark Opening & Dedication

The City of Kingsport will hold a grand opening celebration for the new Scott Adams Memorial Skatepark on June 24.

A park tour and skate clinic will begin at 4 p.m. with the dedication taking placing at 5:30 p.m. The event will also include professional skate demonstrations, a skate jam, music and prizes, and open skating times. The new skatepark is located in Brickyard Park (2017 Brickyard Park Drive).

To encourage new riders or riders that maybe need help learning a trick, professional skaters Kanten Russell and Brandon Turner will be attending the opening celebration. Russell, professional skateboarders for more than a decade, is a lead designer for New Line Skateparks of California and has lead the design process of over 300 skateparks across the country.

Turner became a local legend in the skateboard world as a kid and rose up the ranks, touring the globe and performing crazy and fearless stunts on the board. In 2019, he joined the coaching staff at Healthy Life Recovery where he meets with members and uses skateboarding and camaraderie as a resource for healthy living.

Kingsport’s original skatepark opened in November 2005 and was named after Scott Adams – a 13-year-old who was struck by a car while retrieving his skateboard on Stone Drive. The Adams family, in coordination with the city’s parks and recreation department, created the skatepark at Cloud Park is his honor.

To help accommodate Domtar’s $300 million renovation and expansion project, Kingsport agreed to relocate the skatepark to Brickyard Park. Construction on the $1.86 million skatepark began last fall and wrapped up earlier this spring.

Designed by Russell, the new skatepark is roughly the same size as the original one, but with modern features and made from more durable materials while offering better flow for skaters and bikers.

The skatepark includes two bowls (backyard bowl and a flow bowl), a four-stair set with up-down rails, two quarter pipes, an up-down hubba ledge, a five-stair with a down rail and a pyramid, among other features.