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THIS RAD DESTINATION IS NOW A REALITY THANKS TO AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT FEATURING EXTENSIVE COLLABORATION BETWEEN JACOBSEN AND WOODWARD
PARK CITY — Access to coaching and instruction from world-class action sport athletes, for people of all ages, skill levels, and experience — this rad luxury is no longer so “far out” of reach for Utahns, thanks to the completion of Woodward Park City.
The unique lifestyle sports park opened for the first time to much fanfare on Saturday, Dec. 14 with all sorts of entertaining demos and tours for about 2,500 people in attendance. Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and other action sports celebrities were on hand to celebrate the Grand Opening.
Jacobsen Construction was honored to be Woodward’s building partner for this beautiful complex. The site — and the schedule — were logistically demanding, but Jacobsen and Woodward worked closely together to achieve their common vision of an action sports park that is the first of its kind in Utah and only comparable to four other such facilities worldwide.
“Jacobsen builds a lot of amazing three-story buildings. However, this one is filled with complete radness,” said Project Superintendent Dean Weaver. “It’s pure stoke.”
The challenging build was handled expertly through unprecedented levels of collaboration with action sports designers and leaders from Woodward Park City. Construction teams worked around the clock to ensure Woodward Park City got the launch party it deserved and was ready for winter season operation. After an extremely wet 2018-2019 winter and 2019 spring “kind of put us in arrears,” Jacobsen’s people, their Woodward partners, and subcontractors all “stepped up to the plate,” said Project Executive Reed Price.
“It was a sprint to the end in the last 8 weeks to 9 weeks,” Price said, and managing to complete the project in time for the launch party “was not only exhilarating, but very emotional for many people.”
There are many reasons to get stoked about the final product, which is a place where anyone with passion can learn new skills on epic ramps, halfpipes and other skill zones designed by big-name action sports celebrities. Learners of all kinds at Woodward will be provided progression-based coaching from world-class pro athletes.
“It’s pretty rad all the things that are happening in this one gigantic building. … When you’re trying to put 10 different kinds of action sports into one facility, it’s a very difficult thing to do,” said Nate Wessel, the Woodward designer, builder and longtime BMX pro whose vision shaped Woodward Park City into what it means for action sports fans.
Weaver said that working so closely with Woodward on its vision for the facility was the opportunity of a lifetime.
“It was fun being involved from the ground up as the design evolved. Being able to sit in meetings with world class athletes and talk about feature ideas, functionality of plazas, and ways to construct things was so much fun,” Weaver said.
Price praised Woodward for “changing the whole genre” of action sports with its facilities.
“Woodward Park City is a one-stop shop action sports arena — a four-season standalone,” Price said. “It’s the new future.”
With the completion of Woodward Park City, Jacobsen is making life better for Utah’s action sports community — and earning industry recognition along the way. Woodward Park City was recently recognized by Utah Construction & Design as the Most Outstanding Project for private builds over $10 million in 2019.
“Going to Woodward and riding their premier ramps, snow terrain parks, and skateparks is the dream of every skater/snowboarder that has ever pushed or slid a board,” Weaver said. “The fact that now there is one here in Utah and available to everyone is incredible.”