Village of Chase seeking votes for new skate park

Jul 22, 2016 | 5:52 PM

CHASE B.C. — The Village of Chase is one of four finalists in the Kraft Heinz Project Play Contest. 

The Chase & District Skate Park was one 820 public spaces nominated for revitalization across the province, with each community hoping to win a grand prize of $250,000. Now, Chase is the only western Canadian community still in the running, up against much larger communities in Quebec, Newfoundland, and Ontario. 

On Monday, July 25, voting opens up to the public, but only for 36 hours. 

Kelsey Snelgrove nominated the community and is hoping all of western Canada will lend their votes. 

“The skate park isn’t just for skateboards,” she said. “Also it’ll be for bikes, and kids with scooters and we’re also hoping it will draw a lot of tourists into the area because there’s a lot of folks who travel around going to different skateparks so whether you are into skateboarding or not, it’s a great thing for the community.”

The park will be located at the corner of Pine St. and 2nd Ave. and has already been designed by a company called Spectrum. Snelgrove says they just need the funds to make the project a reality. 

She says people can vote many times to help them create a place for people to enjoy a pastime growing in popularity. 

“It’s not a fringe sport anymore, it’s mainstream” Snelgrove said. “There’s always kids going up and down Main Street on their boards, and they need a place where they can just do it and people can be happy that they’re contained and safe and having fun.”

As a top-four finalist, The Chase & District Skate Park is guaranteed at least $20,000.