New Lake Villa skate park 'really nice'
His elbows were bloody, and sweat beads dotted his brow. He had wiped out three times in a row.
Wesley Rothman was having blast.
The 20-year-old native of South Africa got an early look Wednesday afternoon at the new skate park near the Lehmann Mansion, 485 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Lake Villa.
Living in Antioch while working at Six Flags in Gurnee, Rothman took some time to check out the new digs.
He said the Lake Villa park is better than most he's seen.
"Everything is new. There's no cracks, nothing's broken and everything is smooth," Rothman said. "And it's really nice because there's a lot of room between the ramps. It's very nice."
The skate park will be dedicated this Saturday. Festivities start at 11 a.m. and include a demonstration by a professional skater, giveaways and more. Lake Villa Mayor Frank Loffredo will be there along with representatives from the American Ramp Co, the Missouri-based firm that designed and installed the equipment.
The $125,000 skating facility is just one feature in a new 18-acre park that has been under construction this past year. Officials haven't yet formally settled on a name. It's been referred to as Longwood Centre Park and Lehmann Mansion Park so far.
The $700,000 park includes recreational football, soccer and baseball fields along with the skate park. It has a fitness trail with exercise stations that rings the entire complex, and a pavilion. The disc golf course next to the mansion will be moved to the new park as well. In addition, there is an area that can be frozen in winter for an ice hockey rink or used for roller hockey in the summer.
The village received a $300,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources about four years ago. The village added another $400,000 to cover the price tag, Loffredo said.
Plans for the skate park began five years ago. Loffredo said the park was designed by the real experts.
"It was project done by students at Palombi Middle School about five years ago," Loffredo said. "The broke up into different committees, surveyed hundreds of other kids and came up with plan. It took awhile for the money to come through and those kids are seniors in high school now. We are hoping some of them will come to the dedication."