On November 7, 2017, Dallas voters approved a bond to invest in the city’s parks system. That bond included $4 Million to build a flagship skatepark in the city.
On November 7, 2019, Dallas Parks & Recreation Department released a “Request for Qualifications for Engineering and Consulting Services for Skatepark at Bachman Lake, CLZ1871.”
Couched in that small governmental blurb is one of the most exciting moments in Dallas skateboarding history, because it means that the money voters approved to build a skatepark for Dallas are ready to be used to design and build a flagship concrete skatepark in Dallas!
After the bond successfully passed in 2017, Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax committed to a 5 year implementation of the projects the bond funded, which would be very fast relative to past bond programs from the city of Dallas. So to arrive at the RFQ release, just 2 years after the bond vote itself is a testament to the City of Dallas, and also the tireless work of the advocates and friends of this project.
The skatepark will be built at Bachman Lake, on the location of an existing Parks department maintenance facility. The location is amazing because it is near DART, and the soon to be expanded Bachman Recreation Center. Additionally, the site has a beautiful stand of mature trees, which are a important feature to preserve in the design of the new skatepark. Bachman Lake is an important gem of the city of Dallas, and there was a recently concluded city task force which helped determine the path forward for a range of competing issues at the lake.
Skateparks for Dallas is excited to see that the RFQ reflects the goals that this community set forth and have been on the front page of this site since we launched in 2017
Dallas Skate Park Goals:
Phase 1
A 30,000-75,000 square foot, permanent, poured-in concrete skatepark
Features suitable for skaters of all levels
A venue that can attract community contests and events
Accessible by multiple modes of transit, including DART and bike/walk
A true public amenity, where families can skate together, or just watch the talented young people of the city of Dallas, with benches and shade.
Skateboard appropriate lighting for night skating
A skatepark master plan for permanent concrete skate spots in each city council district
Other highlights of the RFQ include the following paragraph, which speaks to the untapped potential that this skatepark can bring to the city, just as skateboarding becomes an Olympic sport in 2020. This skatepark RFQ is designed to attract the best skatepark builders from across North America and the world.
The City of Dallas is building a flagship skatepark that is expected to be a regional and National draw, owing to its proximate location to Dallas Love Field Airport, and other prime amenities of the city. As a result, all vendors should illustrate their prior experience building the largest, most prominent skateparks in major national and international cities. Experience building regional flagship skateparks is a key success criteria because magnitude of the financial bond the citizens of Dallas have approved, and the long-awaited nature of a concrete skatepark in the city of Dallas.
Here are the important dates for the skatepark design firms:
City of Dallas Contact Information and RFQ Website: Any inquiries or concerns regarding the specified Request for Qualifications procedures or processes shall be directed to the RFQ website:
http://dallasparks.org/541/Bachman-Lake-Skate-Park-RFQ
Please utilize the registration form on the website to submit questions.
Pre-Submittal Meeting: There will be a pre-submittal conference on Monday, November 18, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. at City Hall, 1500 Marilla, Room 6FN, Dallas, TX 75201. Attendance is strongly encouraged.
Submittal Due Date: Qualification Statements are due on Friday, December 13, 2019, by 2:00 p.m. to the City of Dallas Business Development and Procurement Services Department, Room 3FN, City Hall, 1500 Marilla, Dallas, Texas 75201.
Finally, the arrival of the RFQ is another step in this journey to having a skatepark built in Dallas. But our work as a community is not over. As we have seen in Garland, getting a skatepark built requires the people who want a skatepark to show up and advocate. Since the first Garland meeting in April, to collect community design input, there was a subsequent meeting in August 20th, And November 6, 18th and 19th. Here was a flyer we posted, and Jordan Guin in a Ribs Man T addressing city council to advocate.
Ribs Man fan club at Garland City Council courtesy of Jordan Guin
Here is how you can help keep up the momentum
Share our site with your friends
Join the email list. Our email subscribers get notified directly of big news
Attend skatepark advocacy meetings that we post about on our facebook and instagram
Donate to the Dallas Parks Foundation’s Skateparks for Dallas fund. Every $10 donation is a signal to the city that the skate community is behind this project. Your donations will support creating programming for kids at the skatepark
Here is how you designate your donation to the skatepark fund