The popular skatepark at UN Plaza is getting upgraded and expanded in early February, with several new beginner-friendly, skate-able features being added, and Converse is hosting a skateboarding event in the park on February 15.
The 13,000-square-foot UN Plaza skatepark, opened a little over a year ago in November 2023, is about to get an upgrade with an additional 2,100 square feet of of skateable surface added. As SF Recreations and Parks announced in a release, construction is already underway, and the additional area will "feature three unique, skateable geometric art pieces, which are being designed by Olympic skateboarder, MIT-trained architect, and Converse CONs skate rider Alexis Sablone."
A Skate UN Plaza kickoff event will officially christen the new skate area on Saturday, February 15, from noon to 3 pm, hosted by Converse, along with Tony Hawk's The Skatepark Project, and Skate Like a Girl. The event will feature giveaways, trick competitions, and live demos, and Rec & Parks is hoping to bring in skaters from across the Bay Area to watch and participate.
"San Francisco is one of the most skateable cities in the country, and [the Skatepark Project] is proud of our longstanding partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department,” said Benjamin Anderson Bashein, CEO of The Skatepark Project (formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation), in a statement. "We're especially pleased to be unveiling Alexis's skateable sculptures, which combine public art and skate spot architecture to engage both novice and experienced skaters alike. This innovative installation showcases the fusion of skateboarding, art, and design and reimagines public spaces as hybrid playscapes."
"Our public spaces are part of what makes San Francisco great, and improving them will be central to our comeback," said Mayor Daniel Lurie in a statement. "The expansion of UN Skate Plaza will make this critical space more welcoming to our families and visitors. I want to thank the Skatepark Project and Converse for being partners in this project and our city’s revitalization."
Rec & Parks estimates that the skatepark has already attracted around 340,000 visitors, and officials say it has led to a 79% reduction in daytime drug-related incidents in UN Plaza.
The construction of the skatepark, along with several other recreational areas featuring chess tables and an outdoor gym, came amid a pre-election effort by Mayor London Breed to improve street conditions around UN Plaza and Seventh Street.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that this pushed illegal activity further down Seventh Street to the area around the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building, and over onto Sixth Street — which has been the site of yet another crackdown under Lurie's watch this past month. That effort has yielded over 200 arrests, but it's unclear if it's made any lasting impact.
Rec & Parks would like to think it has.
"The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department has been proud to lead the way in transforming the Civic Center area into a vibrant, welcoming space for everyone," says SF Rec and Parks GM Phil Ginsburg. "The Skate Plaza has become a national model for creative spaces that bring people together."
Previously: And Just Like That, UN Plaza Becomes a Skate Park
