The countdown to the FIFA World Cup continues as the days keep ticking down, and it’ll have a notable impact on Vancouver skateboarders and potentially the larger Canadian skateboarding community.
We’ve already learned about some of the impacts FIFA is going to have on the city, including affecting events like the Dragon Boat Festival and even the B.C. justice system.
The City’s FIFA Fan Festival plans will see the closure of Hastings Skate Park, a crucial spot for Vancouver skateboarders, preventing the community from accessing a key training ground, the only one like it in the city.
Daily Hive spoke with members of the Vancouver Skateboarding Coalition (VSBC), Canada Skateboard, representatives of the City of Vancouver, and skateboarders to understand the nature and severity of this closure.
“Hastings Skate Park is a very, very important and very unique skate park, not only in Vancouver, but also in the context of Canada, in terms of the depth of the transition, in terms of the size and in terms of the general scale of the skate park,” said Oliver Tennant, VSBC director.
Why the park is being closed and how the closure works
Jarrod Au
The official FIFA Fan Festival will be held in Vancouver’s Hastings Park. It includes a store, a neighbourhood-style village, and a vineyard, among other amenities like a family hub and performance stage.
The red circled area of the map featured below is approximately where Hastings Skate Park is located, which will be occupied by The Vineyard.
City of Vancouver | VSBC
Tennant said the VSBC was informed that the skate park would close and that skateboarders could use another park.
“That would work if it were a typical medium-sized skate park in the city, of which there are many, but Hastings is not that. Hastings is incredibly, incredibly unique in terms of the level of skateboarding that can happen there,” Tennant said, adding that it’s about the legacy of the park as well.
The VSBC first learned of the impact on the park from the FIFA committee directly.
During a meeting with the committee, the VSBC attempted to negotiate something in exchange for the closure, like a fee that could go back to the community, or maybe allowing skateboarding for a limited number of hours. That negotiation went nowhere, and the committee told the VSBC its hands were tied.
The VSBC asked the committee to come to its AGM, which the committee denied, sending its own invite to a public information session.
Tennant said there was no real opportunity for feedback during this info session.
“They did quickly address the closing of the Hastings Skate Park. They had a short slide about it. They apologized and said it’s because of quote, unquote, ‘security reasons,’ albeit many other areas of Hastings Park are remaining open, even with the security concerns, so that just raises our eyebrows around the legitimacy of that,” he said.
The skateboarding community doesn’t exactly know what FIFA means when it says the closure is due to security issues.
“I’m disappointed in terms of the fact that the city couldn’t find any kind of workaround,” COPE Vancouver Councillor Sean Orr told Daily Hive.
We asked Orr for the City’s perspective.
“I don’t want to make excuses for staff. I also don’t want to throw the staff under the bus. But it’s a very small team that is working on this, but I think what it speaks to, also more, is how top-down FIFA is and how they operate,” Orr replied.
Orr brought up legacy projects that came out of the Olympics as some of the hopes he might’ve had for this closure, but as of yet, it doesn’t sound like anything concrete has been put forward.
Like we’ve seen in other communities during the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver, Tennant says the skateboarding community is disappointed with the lack of consultation.
In response to our request for comment, the City of Vancouver said, “Large‑scale events of this nature require strict security protocols. Due to the skate park’s location within the secure festival footprint, maintaining public access is not feasible.”
“The skate park is situated in a high‑traffic area that during the World Cup event will be enclosed by security fencing and directly adjacent to the site’s only zero‑grade accessibility entrance,” it continued.
The City added, “Keeping it open during the event would require significant additional
The City said skateboarders could use the nearby Leeside Skate Park, but we asked Tennant what the closest equivalent skate park would be.
“There’s nothing,” he said.
How severely could this impact the community?
Platon Kazantsev
Daily Hive spoke to Michelle Pezel, the president of the VSBC and co-owner of Antisocial, about the situation.
Pezel said when they first heard about the skate park situation back in January, no one believed it would actually be closed.
“I just didn’t think that there would be a need to fully close the skate park,” Pezel said, adding, “So when they had the meeting, I was actually in Japan, but they got together and met with the team, the FIFA team, and then they were like, wow, that was really different than we thought.”
Pezel quipped that she didn’t realize the “power of FIFA,” saying, “I think they just get to do whatever they want.”
Speaking to the lack of consultation, VSBC Secretary Stone Friesen said, “When we were finally brought into the conversation, their minds had been made up.”
Friesen also said that any suggestions he had for compromise were shut down.
Scott Kiborn | VSBC
We also spoke to Adam Hopkins, a Canadian skateboarder who has performed on the world stage, and Adam Higgins, executive director at Canada Skateboard, over the last week, about the Hastings Skate Park situation. They made time to talk about the closure despite being in Brazil.
“Hastings has similar features that we see on the competition circuit,” Higgins said, adding that while some of its features can be replicated in other parks, others can’t, like the deeper walls.
“It’s the spot that they train and work at,” Higgins said.
Hopkins, a highly experienced skateboarder, said there are two main bowls in Canada for Olympic training, including a park in Montreal and Hastings Skate Park. He said there’s another park in Kensington that features similar specifications, but that park isn’t supportive of the aerials and technical tricks you’d see in Olympic skating.
“We are at a huge disadvantage in Canada with progressive Park and bowl terrain like this, as it is so our skaters, the families, myself included, I spent months of my life over the years on Greyhound buses, living in a van, doing everything to get out of this country to go and train, and Hastings was the only place I had when I was competing.”
Hopkins also said Hastings is his favourite skate park in the world. He said if it’s a security issue, the community would be open to having bags checked or having security nearby.
We asked Pezel if this reflects some of the stigma the skateboarding community has faced over the years.
“I hope not. I think it’s more of an ego, FIFA, big money, Ken Sim’s in love with them, whatever,” she replied, adding that at this point in time, she hopes perceptions have changed as everyone skateboards.
Zoe Zollinger was also riding in the car with Higgins and Hopkins in Brazil, one of the top youth skateboarders in Canada, who is from B.C., and who is very upset about the closure this summer as she’s training for Olympic qualifiers.
“Being in Canada, especially on the island, I don’t have any skate park like that,” Zollinger said, adding that the closest place to go would be California, which isn’t ideal considering the situation in the United States.
What’s next for the park?
VSBC (Submitted)
The City’s skate strategy identifies Hastings as one of the city’s highest-use parks, in need of maintenance, and Friesen says a lot of that is done by the community itself, reflecting apparent neglect by the City that goes back further than the FIFA decision.
We spoke to ABC Councillor Mike Klassen, as the VSBC has had positive interactions with him regarding potential improvements to Hastings Skate Park.
“I’ve long admired the skateboarding community and the fact that Vancouver is globally recognized for its strong skateboarding talent. Furthermore, the Vancouver Skateboard Coalition has done a very good job of advocating for the community,” Klassen told Daily Hive.
Klassen reiterated that the closure is to accommodate security requirements, acknowledging that the closure is frustrating, while speaking to what the future might hold.
“I noted that this space is listed as a high priority in the Park Board’s own amenities strategy for renewal funding to refinish and repaint it. I’ve begun discussions with staff at the City, Park Board and PNE to explore funding for this work in the City’s upcoming capital plan. While it’s early days, I’m hopeful that we can find the needed dollars for this work,” Klassen said.
The VSBC is asking the community to get the word out by reaching out to the Vancouver Park Board, the PNE, the City, councillors and FIFA directly.
“I’m just hoping that this kerfuffle brings about how important Hastings is to the skateboard community,’ said Jeremy Nan, VSBC vice president.
“Hopefully, getting our voices out right now shows the City that this is an important space, and they will abide by the strategy that they’ve made,” Nan said.
For now, the Vancouver skateboarding community will have to watch this crucial space become a vineyard for the FIFA World Cup this summer.