JAMES CITY — A new skate park will be coming to James City County’s Warhill Sports Complex, replacing the county’s 24-year-old park at the parks and recreation center.

After months of planning, a draft for a new park is nearing the finish line, and the new skate park could be a reality by the end of next year.

The project goes back to 2021, when residents expressed a desire for an expanded skate park during the county’s master plan update. Due to the challenge of maintaining the aging park, the parks and recreation department instead began looking into building a new one, said Suzanne Yeates, the county’s park planner.

The goal is to create a larger, modernized skate park that will be all-wheel friendly, meaning it will be accessible to skateboard, rollerblade, BMX bikers and other users of all ages. The Warhill Sports Complex was chosen due to the site’s multiple sports usage, she said.

The project, approved in the capital improvement project budget in fiscal year 2025, will cost $1.5 million in design and construction. To gather input, the parks and recreation department held community workshops on Sept. 4 and Oct. 9, along with an online survey..

About 50 people attended each meeting and included parents with elementary-aged children, teenagers, William & Mary students and older, seasoned skateboarders who have been involved with the sport for decades.

“It was really cool,” Yeates said, “seeing multigenerational folks out there, skaters and people who have an interest in this, looking at the designs and (getting) really excited about it.”

The county has been working on the skate park with California-based construction firm Spohn Ranch Skateparks and engineering firm Kimley-Horn and Associates, as well as with local nonprofit Triangle Skateboard Alliance. The alliance helps build and improve skate parks throughout the Historic Triangle and has brought skateboarding programs to the county since 2018.

Built in 2001, the recreation center’s existing bowl-style skate park has 10,000 square feet of ramps and jumps for skaters. It also includes a paved half-mile, multi-use trail encircling both the skate park and recreation center. The new skate park would increase to around 15,000 square feet in size.

The site of the James City County Recreation Center skate park, located on 5301 Longhill Road. The skate park has been around since 2001 and is planned to be demolished ahead of the construction of the Warhill Skatepark. James W. Robinson/The Virginia Gazette

The skate park would join other public skating facilities on and near the Peninsula, including outdoor Woodland Skateboard Park in Hampton, Westgate Indoor Skatepark in Newport News and Brown Park Skate Spot in Gloucester.

Skate enthusiasts have long said there’s a need for more skate parks. In 2022, York County resident John Wiggins went to the county’s parks and recreation advisory board to request a survey gauging the public’s interest for a new skate park there. The survey received 2,100 responses with 90% strongly in support. The advisory board recommended that the county begin looking for a suitable site.

A draft image for the proposed Warhill Skatepark. The new 15,000-square-foot skate park should open by late 2026. Courtesy/James City County

York County spokeswoman Kelli Tatum said Tuesday that the county is still collecting data for its comprehensive plan and could have results to present to the York County Board of Supervisors in December.

Wiggins said there is currently no legal or safe place in York County’s parks to skate. A father of twins, he and his 13-year-old son Caleb have to travel to find skate parks. A park nearby would allow his son to skate more often and improve, he said.

“The skate park from James City County is going to be seen as a positive thing,” Wiggins said. “The same would be true for York County.”

James City County will have one more community workshop on Oct. 30 for residents to see a draft plan for the new, proposed Warhill skate park. Once a site plan is approved, construction will follow. Eventually, the old recreation center skate park will be demolished.

No dates have been set for demolishing or construction, but Yeates said the goal is to open the skate park by the end of 2026.

For more information on the Warhill Skatepark, visit jamescitycountyva.gov/4148/warhill-skatepark. To participate in a survey for York County Parks and Recreation priorities, visit yorkcountysurvey.org.

James W. Robinson, 757-799-0621, james.robinson@virginiamedia.com

https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/10/14/james-city-county-moves-closer-to-building-a-new-skate-park/