Ramalde Skate Park is one year old and it is in the process of expanding facilities

It is one year now that the city of Porto won its first Skate Park, in Ramalde and it has been such a huge success that the Municipality decided to enlarge its enclosure. These expansion works will be concluded early in the summer of 2021.

The Skate Park of Porto surpassed all expectations, as it boasts the best pipes for all street skaters; in fact, Porto City Hall invested circa 150 thousand euros in this 950 square meter skate plaza, designed by architect and skater Francisco Lopez "França", which can house up to 55 skateboarders and skaters simultaneously.

This way, athletes can enjoy a true skate park and not just a street spot, with the venue offering half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, fun boxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs, and stair sets, just to mention a few.

Wannabe skaters also started to adhere, not only to skateboarding but also to the other modalities, such as inline aggressive skating or the BMX freestyle, providing optimal conditions to host competitions at several levels, from beginners to professional.

“This was an equipment that the city was reclaiming for years now and it is part of the strategy to expand sports equipment in town. The expectation was that the project would be approved by the community and we were agreeably surprised that the project was such a great success...”, stated Catarina Araújo, councillor for Sports at Porto City Hall.

Free classes four times a week

As soon as the Skate Park do Porto opened, it offered free skate classes for beginners. At first, classes were held only on Saturdays and Sundays mornings, between 10am and 12 noon. However, due to the enormous demand the municipal company Ágora – Cultura e Desporto of Porto decided to extend free sessions starting in August 2019, with two weekly sessions, on Mondays and on Thursdays, from 5.30pm till 7.30pm, including the sessions over the weekend, every Saturday and Sunday, between 10am and 12 noon, weather permitting.

As of December of last year, circa 1.400 children and youth, aged between six and sixteen have benefitted from the free skate lessons at that state of the art facility.

Extension of the Ramalde Skate Park

The Municipality of Porto advanced that the Skate Park would benefit from extension works, which will enable to double the area, turning the spot a real skate plaza for skaters and ridders. Alongside, the Municipality of Porto will put benches, paper boards and enhance the park’s public lighting in the area.

The project is to be developed by Francisco Lopez, again, and the works should be concluded in the beginning of the summer of 2021. The investment amounts to 150 thousand euros.