As skateboarding enters the Olympics just next year, Toronto needs a true internationally recognized skateboarding landmark.

In may of this year, the Government of Ontario announced it would be accepting redevelopment proposals for Ontario place. Their website announces that they are launching a worldwide search for a private partner or partners to transform Ontario Place into a world-class destination that could include sport and entertainment landmarks.

This could be the opportunity that the rapidly growing skateboarding community in Toronto has been praying for. As seen in the documentary “Taking Space” Over the past few years the City of Toronto has demolished multiple DIY skateparks that have been created by skateboarders out of necessity.

 While Montreal and Vancouver City Councils have come to learn the benefits of working directly with skateboarding’s corporate and community stakeholders in creating and preserving community skateparks and spots (i.e VANS Montreal olympic stadium bowl, Montreal’s historic BIG-O, Montreal’s  P45, Vancouver’s Leeside DIY Skatepark Community Group), the City of Toronto still mostly sticks to the outdated, costly, slow, non-synergistic and non-community engaging model of auctioning off expensive contracts to single-interest build companies.

Just in the past two years, VANS, Skate Loft, Dickies, Kadence, and Build For Bokma have demonstrated an alternative community based model to creating legal, free, creative and engaging space for skateboarding in Toronto but have not yet had the opportunity to do so in a permanent location. ( Bentway’s OnCite with Build for Bokma, Kadence’s ALLEY JAMS, VANS’s House Of Vans)

The goal of this petition is to start a conversation with all possible parties involved, including any possible International partners that are awarded with redevelopment contracts.