Hastings Skatepark

Hastings Kiwanis to raise $200,000 to help build new community skatepark!

Want to help us build a new skatepark in Hastings? Send your contribution to: Hastings Kiwanis, PO Box 1293, Hastings, Nebraska 68902 or email [email protected].

As part of our annual Pancake Day event set for Tuesday, March 11, 2025, Hastings Kiwanis Club is excited to announce the launch of a new fundraising initiative, with the goal of raising $200,000 to help build a new and significantly upgraded community skatepark to be constructed where the current skatepark has been since it was installed in 2003.

The current skatepark is outdated and showing its age, with pieces that are worn and cause occasional falls and spills, especially for beginner skaters. The skatepark is located adjacent to the City Parks & Recreation offices at 2015 W 3rd Street.

“Skaters have asked for improvements, upgrades and new components for a number of years, and when we were looking for ideas for a new community project to support, a group of Kiwanians met with the city Parks and Recreation Department and this just rose to the top,” said Kiwanis member Marge Ormsby. “The new skatepark will have more features for beginning and advanced skaters, and will be a draw that’ll bring other skaters to Hastings to experience it. It’ll be great for young people and the entire skating community.”

While still being refined, initial designs from one of the top skatepark design-build companies in the country show that Hastings Skatepark will have a bowl, which is a new feature not found in nearby communities. It will also have a pump track, which would be new for Hastings, plus grind ledges, a quarter-pipe, grind rails, and stairs with a ledge and handrail. Another new element would be seating for spectators.

While the new skatepark will contain multiple new features, it will still fit onto the existing concrete pad, as the current skatepark has a number of large open areas that aren’t utilized.

“With a $200,000 goal, this may be the biggest project ever for our club,” said Kiwanis member Kathy Schultz.

The club’s last big project, the Musical Playground Project, launched in 2019 and was completed in 2020. That project allowed nine musical playgrounds to be installed at area schools.

“That was about an $80,000 project,” Schultz said. “So this is for sure a stretch for us, but we believe the community will support creating an amazing outdoor space for tweens and the skate community to gather.”

The Hastings Kiwanis Club board of directors voted at its February meeting to commit $50,000 to the project over the next two years. Those funds will come from a combination of dollars already raised by club members, personal contributions by members who aim to be “Skatepark Fellows” by contributing $1,000, and additional fundraisers.

Kiwanis will work to raise the $150,000 balance of the project through efforts such as Give Hastings Day on May 1, individual donations, business donations, grants and additional fundraisers, including some held in conjunction with area skaters.

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