Parks department shows first renderings for new Oxford skate park, requests community feedback

Oxford skaters and bikers can anticipate having access to a new skate park behind the TRI Community Center off Fairfield Road by next year, Director of Parks and Recreation Chad Smith said.

The Oxford Skate Park on the TRI grounds was officially closed by the parks and recreation department in September 2025 with a plan to convert the space into pickleball courts, according to previous reporting by the Oxford Free Press.

The wooden skate park was a fixture of the community for more than 20 years, but several professional assessments completed last summer found the park unsafe and beyond repair, Smith said.

“It had never been professionally engineered or designed, so it was sort of like a volunteer project,” Smith said. “The wood was just rotting. It had been out in the elements 365 days a year (through) the freeze and thaw cycle. … It was in bad condition.”

Smith said, over the years, prior parks and recreation staff had attempted to rehabilitate the skate park with quick repairs, but, “It was just fighting a never-ending battle.”

During public input sessions at the TRI in September and October 2025, members of the Oxford community said they were unhappy with the park’s closure and suggested other ways its condition or announcement of its closure could have been handled.

With the knowledge that the park is “very in demand,” Smith said, the plans for new amenities are already underway. 

The initial design renderings by the American Ramp Company, a firm based in Missouri hired to create the design concept for the new park, were presented to Oxford residents during a community input session at the TRI on July 16.

Tara Pitts, who attended the session and gave pointers on what she would like to see at the new park, said of the project moving forward, “I think (the parks and recreation department) did a really beautiful job in listening and seeing the value behind (the skate park) because not every town will do that. … I’m encouraged.”

The park will be funded through a Community Development Block Grant for more than $131,000, as well as some capital improvement funds from the City of Oxford budget. The total budget for the new construction is $225,000. Demolition of the former park was completed in-house.

Smith said the department anticipates going out to bid on the project this winter and is hopeful it’ll be completed and open by early summer 2027.

“This had always been on our radar,” Smith said of the project. “Knowing that we would want a concrete skate park to replace the old, bad-shape wooden one … was always something that we wanted to do.”

Smith estimated the new park will be around 75% of the size of the former park, based on the initial renderings.

Julia Brueckler, a representative of the American Ramp Company, said the park is currently in the conceptual design phase as the company collects community feedback.

Brueckler said the goal of the initial design was to add “a little bit of everything,” while having good flow. The design is concrete and mostly street-heavy with some transition elements that allow for progression. 

Street features refer to those which can be recreated in a street setting, including rails, stairs, ledges and hydrants. Transition features include those with a radius, like quarter pipes, mini ramps and bowls.

The conceptual design is made up of two different phases. Phase one includes a ledge, some stairs, rails, a flat bar and some ramps, with the city logo pictured in the center, among other features.

The design for future phases, which Smith said is contingent on interest and future funding, includes more ramps, ledges and a hydrant.

Phase one is made up of several features which Brueckler said can be used by both beginner and experienced skaters, bikers, scooter riders and people using other wheels of choice.

“We want to hear from the locals and really make a park that fits their wishes and needs because a perfect skate park looks different for every single person,” Brueckler said. “So it is really important for us to talk to the community, get their input and make sure that we build something that they are happy with.”

Tara Pitts said the initial design is “much bigger” than she expected, and as a skater, she thinks it’ll be a fun place to hang out.

“I think the teens will like it. I think the adults will like it, and the kids will like it,” Tara Pitts said, adding kids who skate likely won’t be able to drive out of town to go to another park, so having one nearby is an asset. “We really wanted a place that everyone in the community could come.”

Tara Pitts said she would like to see a little more curvature at the new park, but overall she was surprised at how quickly the project is moving and said she feels “heard.”

Evan Pitts, Tara’s husband, said, “I think Chad and the team here did a really good job of returning an actionable plan quickly.”

Evan and Tara have both used the park, but Evan Pitts said he remembers when the former park was first installed and he used it when it was new. He said he was distressed when they heard it would be torn down, but now he’s encouraged by the department’s interest in community feedback for the new park.

“(It’s) a very fast turnaround on a usable, feature-rich park that offers a lot for a lot of different skill levels and (it’s) modern and durable in a way that the wooden park couldn’t be,” Evan Pitts said.

Sarah Driver, who also attended the meeting, said she was interested in the new park because her son, who recently turned 8, started riding a skateboard.

“It was like this enlightenment experience for him,” Driver said of her son skating. “He told me, ‘This is like my soul coming alive.’”

But the next month, the skate park was shut down, leaving him with nowhere to skate. 

“I am very invested in what will be created next,” Driver said.

Driver said she appreciated that the design can be used for both bikes and skateboards and caters to a wide range of skill levels.

“It's been so nice to tell my son, ‘Don't worry, they already have the plans going in motion to set (the park) up again and build an even better one,’” Driver said.

Anyone who was unable to attend the meeting but would like to share their input on the design may reach out to Smith at chadsmith@cityofoxford.org or complete the feedback survey at americanrampcompany.com/surveys/oxford-oh-skatepark available through the weekend of July 25.