Superior skatepark work underway; pool drive still alive

Skateboarding entered a golden age in the past five years and the industry is flourishing like never before.

It has become so popular that this was the first time in history that skateboarding was a sanctioned event in the recent Tokyo Olympics.

According to researchers, the skateboard market will be worth $2.4 billion by 2025, but those estimates were made before the recent boom. Its recent spike in popularity has to do with the pandemic where it skyrocketed after social distancing became a reality.

The skatepark in Alberton is solid evidence of this trend as it has had constant activity from the first day with locals and fans driving from Missoula and Spokane.

The success of that skate park may have been the catalyst of the final push for Superior, because over the past three years, there has been a fund-raising effort to build one there. Now, skaters must drive 30 miles one way.  

“The Town Council and other community members have been wanting a safe place for skating activities. Letters requesting donations were sent out multiple times and generous donors agreed with the plan and ponied up. 

I wrote and submitted the grant applications,” said Brenda Schneider, the town clerk and treasurer for Superior.

Schneider has been behind the scenes of many projects in the area and one of those that has come to fruition recently, is the new skate park being built where the old swimming pool was for over 50 years.

“It has taken three years to raise the funds,” Schneider said. Billy Coulon and Richie Conklin of Evergreen Skatepark and Jeff Ament, Pearl Jam, designed the skatepark, along with input from the Montana Skatepark Association, local kids and others with a completion date of mid-October.

The total cost, which includes construction of the skatepark, landscaping around the finished grounds, and demolition of the old pool and building came in at $315,000 and like the one in Alberton, this will be a poured-in-place finished skatepark.

The skatepark can be used by skateboards, skaters, bikes, and scooters as a new and fun recreational opportunity for the youth of Superior and surrounding areas, free of charge.

Skate connoisseurs will be delighted in the surface and shape since it’s a ‘cousin’ to Alberton’s but in a different design and layout.

The old swimming pool at Eva Horning Park in Superior was removed in December 2020 after years of constant costly annual repair. The decision was made that the upkeep became too expensive, so it has sat vacant for the last few summers. A bittersweet decision it was because so many people living here grew up swimming there as children. Then their children learned to swim in the same pool and even grandchildren. It was the hub of summer activity for several decades providing laughter, amusement and family enjoyment.

To replace it will be over $2 million but there is a committed group, Pool in the Park, who are researching and applying for grants as well as holding fundraising activities for matching funds that will be required when they do hit the jackpot.

When that day arrives, the new pool will be located east of the tennis court in Eva Horning Park. They are working with the Mineral County Community Foundation.

Many driven people are doing their best to build a new swimming pool as it is sorely missed by many.

“I took swim lessons at the pool. I did swim some, but I lived out of town and did not get there a lot,” remembers Schneider. “But the local kids are excited to have their own new skatepark,” she said.

With the playground at the east end of Eva Horning Park, and the skate park at the west end, parents will be able to sit at the picnic tables in the middle enjoying the shade of the huge Douglas firs and watch their toddlers and teenagers at the same time.