Skate park will wear clothing company name

Alicia Robinson

A first-of-its-kind partnership between the city of Costa Mesa and

local skateboard clothing company Volcom will get rolling, following

the deal’s approval by the City Council on Tuesday.

The 10-year, $300,000 sponsorship deal gives the company naming

rights to the city’s skate park, which will be called the Volcom

Skate Park of Costa Mesa. The park is now under construction at

TeWinkle Park and is expected to open this summer.

Volcom also gets to put its logo in three places in the skate

park’s bowls, add a shade shelter in the shape of its logo, and

reserve two weekends a year for events at the park, among other

benefits.

“I think it’s going to be a great fit for Volcom and the city to

work together,” Volcom founder and President Richard Woolcott said.

“The bottom line is I think the community and all the kids are really

going to enjoy the park.”

The company’s contribution of about $30,000 a year for the next 10

years will offset the cost of electricity to light the park and

maintenance.

The council also agreed to an operations plan that would open the

park between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. daily. The park won’t be supervised

because it increases the city’s liability, but the city will post

signs to let skateboarders know they’re required to wear safety gear

such as helmets.

Neighbors in nearby Mesa del Mar, who have questioned whether

TeWinkle Park is the best location for a skate park, are waiting to

see how the park’s operations pan out, Mesa del Mar Homeowners Assn.

President Lisa Reedy said.

“I can’t really see it impacting the community too much,” she

said. “I think the few people that are going to be verbal complainers

[about the location] are certainly not going to compare with the

number of kids that are going to benefit from this facility.”

Reedy said the partnership with Volcom is a great idea, but not

everyone was pleased with the deal. Mayor Allan Mansoor voted against

the sponsorship agreement because he objected to some of the items

listed on the music page of Volcom’s website. As part of the

agreement, the city’s website will include a link to the Volcom site.

“Some of what was on there consisted of four-letter words and

graphic language and talking about things that I didn’t believe were

appropriate for the city to put its name on,” Mansoor said.

The council’s discussion of the deal Tuesday generated a possible

balm to smooth another rough patch in the skate park’s evolution --

lights for the Bark Park. Dog owners who use TeWinkle’s Bark Park

wanted to expand into the space that was designated for the skate

park, and some worried about parking problems and conflicts between

pets and skateboarders.

Councilwoman Linda Dixon asked city staff members to research how

much it would cost to light the Bark Park, which now closes at dusk

like all unlighted city facilities.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at alicia.robinson

@latimes.com.