Las Vegas Skateparks Get A Boost From Tony Hawk
Tuck-knee mastery on his own ramp - Tony Hawk during the Vert Demo at Wynn Las Vegas. Photo: Anthony Acosta
Tony Hawk announced at a press conference on Sunday, November 7 at Freedom Park in East Las Vegas that the Tony Hawk Foundation is committed to building a new skatepark or improving an existing skatepark in the Las Vegas area each year that Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up for Skateparks is able to raise funds for such projects. With funding in place for two skateparks (an expansion of Freedom Park and a new skatepark in the Hyde Park neighborhood--thanks to pledges made by guests at the event on Saturday), Hawk also announced his hope to break ground on both projects in Spring 2011. Photo: Steven Perelman
Second-annual Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks benefit rocks the Strip.
11/7/10 (Las Vegas, NV) – With award-winning DJ Z Trip spinning discs and punk icons X providing the soundtrack to the day, the second-annual Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks benefit for the Tony Hawk Foundation attracted 800 guests to the Wynn Las Vegas resort on Saturday, November 6 for a day of fun, food, skateboarding, and music.
Mingling with the likes of Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Shaun White, Bill Walton, Chumlee and Corey Harrison from Pawn Stars, DJ Z-Trip, Erik Estrada, Holly Madison and Laura Croft from Peepshow, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, radio host Scott Ferrall, hotelier Steve Wynn, and punk icons X (Exene Cervenka, John Doe, DJ Bonebrake, and Billy Zoom), guests enjoyed the many activities and entertainment, all while supporting the Tony Hawk Foundation and its mission to help build free, public skateparks in low-income communities across the U.S. But the highlight of the day was the all-star Vert Demo that featured Hawk, White, Andy Macdonald, Bucky Lasek, Sandro Dias, Kevin Staab, Elliot Sloan, and 11-year-old ripper Tom Schaar skating Hawk’s personal ramp.
Now in its second year in Las Vegas, Tony Hawk: SHRED presents Stand Up For Skateparks has become the family event on the world-famous Strip. Taking over the Wynn Las Vegas’ European Pool area (usually reserved for topless guests), the family-centric action-sports carnival is a much-anticipated celebration of skateboarding and the many benefits that skateparks offer youth.
Its long list of notable supporters includes Hawk’s Co-Chairs, Shaun White and Stephen and Chantal Cloobeck, and Benefit Committee members Elaine Wynn, Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong, Ron Burkle, Jamie Lee Curtis, Miley Cyrus, Michael Eisner, Perry Farrell, Jon Favreau, Jeff Fine, Leeza Gibbons, Robin and Danny Greenspun, Mia Hamm, Mat Hoffman, Terry Kennedy, Bobby Kotick, Chuck Liddell, Howie Mandel, Sal Masekela, Andrew and Trina Pascal, and Paul Rodriguez, Jr.
This year the event raised $675,000 for the Foundation, including $73,000 to build a skatepark in the challenged Hyde Park neighborhood in Las Vegas ($25,000 of which represents a pledge from Hawk on behalf of the Foundation). With a high concentration of youth, few recreational opportunities, and limited access to the city’s existing skateparks, the youth of Hyde Park will benefit greatly from the opportunity to skate a quality, compelling skatepark in their own neighborhood. Thanks to the generosity of event guests, and other donors who have pledged online, the Tony Hawk Foundation will make these kids’ dream of a free, quality, local skatepark a reality.
You can still make a contribution to the Hyde Park skatepark project. Visit www.skatelasvegas.org, or text the word RIDE to 90999 via your mobile phone to donate $10 to the Tony Hawk Foundation*. Through Saturday, November 20, all text donations will go directly to the Tony Hawk Foundation’s Hyde Park Skatepark project in Las Vegas.
The Hyde Park skatepark project follows the Tony Hawk Foundation’s 2009 Pledge Drive, an expansion of the Freedom Park skatepark in East Las Vegas. Each year, another underserved Las Vegas community will be highlighted at the event, and a pledge drive will help create something for those skaters to call their own. Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks was made possible through the support of Tony Hawk: SHRED, Wynn Las Vegas, Ex Drinks, Kohl’s, Dynacraft, Zappos.com, and Quiksilver Foundation.
A charitable, non-profit organization, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established in 2002 by its namesake, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, to promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States—with an emphasis on the word “quality.” Since then, the Foundation has awarded $3,261,000 to 463 communities. The Foundation focuses on working with local officials and grassroots, community-based organizations that plan to hire designers and contractors with strong experience designing and building skateparks.
The Tony Hawk Foundation was established by a gift from Tony Hawk. Its directors raise additional funds through events, industry donations, and continuing contributions from Tony and other entities. In addition to skateparks, the Foundation also makes donations to other children-related charities, as chosen by its Board Of Directors. For more information or to make a donation, visit the Foundation’s Web site at www.tonyhawkfoundation.org.
* Text the word RIDE to 90999 via your mobile phone to donate $10 to the Tony Hawk Foundation. When prompted please reply with YES to confirm your gift. Full terms at mGive.com/a
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