The saws are buzzing. Workers are scampering.
In less than a month, the construction activity will be replaced with skateboarders and BMX riders spinning and flipping through 13,500 square feet of ramps, rails and bowls.
“This has been really, really tricky to build,” said Evolve Action Sports Park manager Chris Olivier who, aside from “a few misguided years in a real job,” has spent most of his life pedaling.
Olivier, 42, is not talking about the perfectly seamed, precisely transitioned ramps. He’s talking about permits for the indoor skatepark.
It’s taken more than a year of intensive review by the city of Denver to reach this point.
As the only indoor skate-bike-scooter park in the city, Olivier and his team are forging a new path.
“Zoning codes don’t have a category for this. There’s no precedent for this. That’s why these parks aren’t everywhere,” he said, noting how his facility falls closest to a church in city zoning laws and city inspectors initially proposed handrails lining every ramp.
“I told them people would die if we did that. Luckily they listened,” he said.
Finding an empty warehouse in Denver was another monumental task. Sprawling, open-floored facilities in industrial districts are in high demand by marijuana growers who pay top dollar.
“Prices are going up by the month, and so many owners are waiting for that kind of money,” said Olivier, who locked down a long-term lease on the warehouse in south Denver’s Athmar Park neighborhood along the South Platte River. “This has been a fight on so many fronts.”
The struggle ends soon, with Olivier and his team planning to open next month.
Evolve is different from similar facilities like snow-centric Copper Mountain’s Woodward or in that it will host only wheeled riders. Moveable ramps and rails will allow shifting flow lines across the facility.
The idea behind Evolve is to develop a community of athletes where all levels of riders on skateboards, bikes and scooters can mingle in a controlled environment that is safer than an outdoor city park. Pro-level employees — like Evolve’s skate director, pro skateboarder Edward Sanchez — will help foster safety and etiquette as well as help develop skills, said Olivier, who plans a steady regimen of camps, clinics and programs for young athletes.
“We want to promote kids for just trying and pushing,” he said. “Our whole plan is based on educating people.”
Today’s action sports — from Olympic freestyle skiing in the halfpipe and slopestyle snowboarding to aspiring Olympic events like BMX street riding — are progressing so rapidly that it’s no longer possible for podium-level athletes to compete without technical training in facilities like Woodward or Evolve. Tricks are developed by spinning into foam pits and honed in carefully sculpted environments before they are brought to concrete or snow.
The new facility in Denver could seed the next crop of Colorado-bred athletes aiming for X Games stardom.
“We have a ton of top-notch action-sports athletes in Colorado, but they don’t have a dedicated facility like this to help them reach the next level,” Olivier said.
Most BMX and skateboarding pros call California home, where they can ride skateparks year-round. An indoor facility like Evolve could help Colorado usurp California’s action-sports crown.
“We have the potential to bring Colorado athletes who have made it in the action-sports world back to their home, where they grew up,” said Rich Vossler, a former ski coach from Ski & Snowboard Vail who serves as marketing director for Evolve. “Colorado athletes don’t have to live in California now.”
Colorado BMX legend Brian Gavagan travels the country teaching kids bike skills and wowing crowds with his Yellow Designs stunt team. An indoor facility with rolling mentors helping to guide development will supercharge the Front Range bike and skate scene, he said.
“I’ve seen it in our own camps. Just a few hours with an expert rider and you can learn so much in comparison with trial and error in a public park,” Gavagan said. “Having an indoor facility like this, run by riders for riders, is just huge.”
While Olivier expects sold-out crowds in the winter, keeping the indoor scene rolling in the warmer months will be a challenge, especially in a state with almost 200 outdoor skateparks. He’s hoping the controlled environment and educational focus will harvest steady traffic. He’s planning weekly events, from Friday night parties and food trucks to art shows and concerts in the warehouse. With support from a long-term investor from Florida and Durango — an avid cyclist who prefers to remain behind the scenes, Olivier said — the plan is to open Evolve parks in more cities.
“Our hope is to make this profitable as soon as possible and prove our model,” Olivier said. “It is an easy model to move to other locations.”
Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jasonblevins
