Marion is a vibrant, growing town of 11,000 people located in eastern Arkansas. In 2004, Parks Director Andy Rawls noticed a growing number of skateboarders using various locations around the town to practice their sport, and he became increasingly concerned that they had no dedicated skatepark.

“The old adage is if you don’t have a skatepark, the city itself becomes a skatepark,” said Andy. “That was clearly happening to Marion. So I started doing a little bit of investigating and looking at the different skatepark companies to see what would best fit our needs.”

Early on, the City of Marion decided to use modular skatepark equipment so that they could periodically reconfigure it for a fresh rider experience. They chose Skatewave® modular equipment because of its durability and quality.

Andy invited the area skaters to look over the skatepark design, and suggest ways to improve it. “We asked them what type of set up they wanted for their park and we sat down with the kids, our committee and our Skatewave rep (Arkoma Playgrounds & Supply, LLC) and finalized the design of the park,” explained Andy. “Everyone had a chance to give their point of view, and this gave the skaters a greater sense of ownership.”

Skatewave handled the installation of the skatepark on a turnkey basis in September 2007, and Rawls scheduled the park’s grand opening for October. The skatepark has been busy ever since. “I am seeing a lot of new skaters from our community as well as those from nearby towns,” said Andy. “There are kids coming from as far as 100 miles away just to skate here in Marion.”

The City of Marion Skatepark includes the following obstacles:
Obstacle 1: 4' x 16' Mini Half Pipe to 4' x 8' Spine to 4' x 8' Mini Half Pipe with Platform Deck and 45° Quarter Pipe Corner Hip
Obstacle 2: Straight Round Grind Rail
Obstacle 3: 1' x 8' x 8' Bank to Bank with Flat Grind Rail and Grind Box
Obstacle 4: Skate Table and 1' x 4' Straight Jump Ramp
Obstacle 5: Skate Bench
Obstacle 6: Straight Flat Grind Rail
Obstacle 7: Grind Ledge
Obstacle 8: 45° Corner Hip and 4' x 8' Bank to a 4' x 8' Bank
Obstacle 9: 2' x 4' x 4' 3-sided Pyramid and 3' x 12' x 12' Bank to Bank with 3' x 8' Stairs and Stair Railing and Across-down Grind Ledge
Obstacle 10: 4' x 8' Quarter Pipe and 5' x 8' Bank Combination