South Haymarket Skatepark Reveals Final Design, Crushes Fundraising Goal

We were like the dregs of society on our skateboards… it’s changed dramatically.

Local skaters flooded the Lincoln Children’s Zoo on Memorial Day to raise money for the city’s forthcoming state-of-the-art skatepark and see the project’s finalized design.

The evening, hosted by the Lincoln Skatepark Association (LSA) and the Pat Clinch Peace Project, brought the skate community out in full force. Local bands took the stage, pop-up shops sold everything from watercolor art to retro tees and board repairs, food trucks lined the parking-lot entrance, and riders of all ages and wheel types—skateboards, scooters, BMX bikes, and even a few inline skates—zipped through the crowd.

Just past the entrance, attendees huddled around a poster board showcasing the final design for the South Haymarket Skatepark. Once built, the $25 million dollar project will be Nebraska’s largest skateboarding facility, occupying 8.5-acres near 7th and “N” Street.

More than just a skatepark worth the drive, the entire park includes a playground, trail system, amphitheater, dedicated dog park, green spaces — and yes, plenty of parking.

High resolution photo renderings shared with KLIN News can be viewed below. The City plans to break ground in summer 2025, with an expected opening date in spring 2026.

South Haymarket Skatepark (Facing North) – final design by Spohn Ranch.

Phil Burcher, President of the Lincoln Skatepark Association. (Photo: Pat Clinch Peace Project)

After emceeing the opening skate demonstrations, LSA President Phil Burcher, 65, was among those cruising around the event. He tells KLIN the turnout was better than anticipated, no doubt aided by nice weather, and feedback from local thrashers on the park’s final design was positive.

But one comment stood out.

A main organizer for the Pat Clinch Peace Project said the fundraiser was perhaps the first time he’d ever seen skateboarding received in such a positive light.

“I’ve always dealt with the social stigma around skateboarding; that it’s a negative thing for the youth or whatever. When I was young, we were like the dregs of society on out skateboards… We liked being outsiders. We wanted to tell society that it sucked. It was a punk rock DIY ethos,” said Burcher. “But as I’ve gotten older, it’s changed dramatically. Society has become more accepting of it, and I think it’s because of groups like ours.”

The year-long design process was heralded by the Los Angeles based skatepark design company Spohn Ranch, who have tweaked designs based on community feedback since their first open house in Jan. 2024.

One of the key changes compared to the initial concept is the new “flow bowl” on the park’s west corner. To the layman it may resemble three circular swimming pools converging on each other. This new feature was personally conceived by skateboarding legend Lance Mountain in collaboration with Spohn Ranch, who remixed an idea from Poods Park in L.A. and brought it to Lincoln.

“We’ll be able to say a famous pro-skater helped design our park. That talking point will get people excited to come from other places,” said Burcher.

Top-of-the-line facilities for local skaters will, in turn, boost local talent, according Burcher.

“We’ve been riding small stuff for a lot of years, because we don’t have anything bigger around. But now we’re going to see the level of skateboarding get better because younger skaters will finally have a chance to ride big stuff and get on-par with skaters around the country,” said Burcher.

The skaters were pleased. The designs proved brag worthy. Burcher’s misfit past had come full circle. All that mattered now was hitting their fundraising goal of $20,000.

“We definitely hit our goal, and I think we did better than that,” said Burcher, after taking a few days to tabulate all the funds. The project netted $15,000 from event sponsorships and at least $5,000 during the event—that number going up as more donations are processed.

Pat Clinch (Courtesy: The Pat Clinch Peace Project)

The Pat Clinch Peace Project, the local “flash” fundraising group that led the event’s charity efforts, called it a success. The “BIG BASH” (as they named it) landed on the exact 10-year anniversary of Pat Clinch’s passing on May 25, 2015.

Clinch, a local arts connoisseur with a passion for community projects, recorded his final basslines and vocals with his band Strawberry Burns shortly before his death following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. The band reunited on stage at the event to perform a tribute set in his memory.

“We’re all working for the same cause: celebrating Pat’s life. Having his family in attendance, there was lots of good emotion and good work that we got done,” Burcher reflected.

At many moments, the event felt like a love letter to Clinch, and a heartfelt thank-you to Burcher. Karl Hinkley, leader of the Unadilla-based Nowear BMX stunt group, recalled how Burcher used to lend them his backyard ramp in their early days.

“I’ve known Karl for many years,” Burcher laughed. “I’ve always been the guy who says, ‘I don’t give a crap what you’re riding—inline skates, scooters, skateboards, BMX—everyone is welcome in my eyes.’ As I got older and was able to afford to buy a house, I built a ramp in the backyard and would invite those guys to come over and ride with us too.”

At the event, the Nowear riders—ages ranging from teenager to early 40s—used a ramp to catch serious air and amaze the crowd with death defying stunts.

Inclusion is a core tenet of the South Haymarket Skatepark, or as Burcher puts it, “Bring whatever you ride. We don’t care.”

His only ask: “Take it easy on the concrete… because we want this to last for 50 years.”

While $20k feels like a “drop in the bucket” for the $25m project, LSA appears to be the only group engaged in continued fundraising for the park. They raised $10,000 last fall through a benefit concert. The project coffers current sit around $16 million.

“If we had 25 or 30 groups like this, we’d probably have quite a bit of money right now,” Burcher said, putting out the call. He’s not sure what’s next for the fundraising effort, but teased another benefit concert, possibly involving Michael Semrad of the Lincoln-based Red Rebel Media.

“Maybe two days, 20 bands? I’m just making stuff up. But I want to get that whole section of the community involved. This park is for everyone,” Burcher said.

For more information about the campaign, visit southhaymarketpark.com. To learn more about LSA, visit lnksa.org.

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Special thanks to Travis “AYYE Trav” Turner for additional photography.