'Dream' becomes reality as Portsmouth's first indoor skatepark and community hub opens

The Pitt Street Skatepark, located at the former Commercial Road Sainsbury's north of the city centre, threw open its Clarence Street doors to the new community hub. The large park boasts ramps, rails and ledges with enough variations to hold competitions alongside day-to-day use. There is also a cafe, restaurant, skate shop and bar on site with seating areas to safely watch the action.

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BMX riders, roller bladers, scooter riders, skaters with quad boots took to the skatepark after a ribbon cutting ceremony announcing the opening. Portsmouth City Council bought the former Sainsbury’s building as part of its regeneration plans. The council has let the building to the Pitt Street Skatepark to support the exciting community project.

Skateboarder and founder of Pitt Street Skatepark Jacob, 33, said he first had the idea to have a skatepark when he was aged 15 and admitted he was ‘proud’ to have finally achieved his dream. ‘I’ve been working for this moment for half my life. It’s a mixture of emotions…when you’ve worked for so long and the day finally comes it’s hard to describe but I feel more chilled than I thought I would be,’ he said.

‘This has taken over our lives…this is my full-time job now. There’s good pressure - I want to do it properly.

‘We’ve always needed an indoor skatepark in the city. There’s never been one for the public. It’s a nice size…people can come and enjoy honing their skills and learning new stuff. We want it to be a community hub that inspires people. Skateboarding can be scary at first but once you’ve overcome that it is the best.

‘It’s been five years in the planning and there have been many obstacles. We’re proud we’ve finally done it.’

Councillor Steve Pitt, boss for culture, leisure, and economic development at Portsmouth City Council, cut the ribbon after helping the project come to fruition. He said: ‘We needed to find a use for this site and repurpose it. We decided to do a skatepark and after looking for quite a while when this site came up it was the obvious thing to do with it.

‘You need big space so it made perfect sense. So we’ve been involved supporting wherever we can with bits of money.’

Those present on the opening day were impressed by what they saw. Kate Swint, 44, travelled from Brighton with her two boys George, 11, and James, nine, after helping out with the crowdfunding project. She said: ‘It’s awesome. On cold days like this in the winter it is a great place to come. It’s important to have a place where kids can go and is welcoming for all. It’s good the council has done this. I wish we had one in Brighton.’

Portsmouth skater friends Stanley Martin, 13, Gene Tyler, Hugo Brooke and George Wheeler, all 12, were happy with the rink. ‘Before we had to go to Waterlooville or the outside skatepark at Southsea but now we have this,’ they said. ‘It’s good to be able to come here. The rink is smooth and has a nice base.’