MINNEAPOLIS — Skateboard shop Help Boardshop opened a new temporary indoor skatepark inside Uptown's Seven Points Mall on Monday, citing the lack of indoor spaces in the Twin Cities.
Help Boardshop business operations manager Ben Vanoss said opening the park was important to the local skate community.
"When winter hits, skaters get bummed because they don't have many places to skate," said Vanoss. "Our goal here is to open up a new opportunity for skaters to come indoors and skate."
The skatepark, which is located on Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street, is said to be the state's first pop-up style indoor park.
"There's a huge skate scene here [in Uptown] but to go to an indoor park, you either have to go to northeast Minneapolis or the suburbs," said Vanoss.
Bikes will not be allowed, but skateboards, scooters and inline skaters are welcomed.
"We want it to be open and accessible to those who ride but we aren't going to do bikes just since its not a really big space with tall ceilings," said Vanoss.
The park is in the former H&M store that closed back in August and is a part of a recent effort to redevelop Uptown including the recent opening of its next-door neighbor, Arts & Rec Uptown.
Vanoss hopes the opening of the park can spur the creation of more indoor parks around the Twin Cities metro.
"I would love to see something like this happen year after year, maybe in different spots touring around the Twin Cities and have a new option for skaters."
The park is still in construction until the end of the week but Vanoss said it will feature ramps, rails and an A-frame with a bump to bar.
He hopes the park will have a "downtown, urban street feel."
The park is funded primarily through donors from JSAW, a non-profit that "transforms action sports culture by making riders into disciples of Jesus."
The park will be open from Mondays to Fridays 3 p.m.-9 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-7 p.m. until the end of April 2023.
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