Owners of Eisenbergs Skatepark in Plano must vacate building by March 31

by Bill Conrad of Star Local News

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There are plans to relocate the park, although a new city and location have not been finalized.

For a decade and a half, Eisenbergs Skatepark has been a fixture in downtown Plano.

The long grey and white building predates the light rail track that runs parallel to it, and was in place long before trendy restaurants and boutiques populated 15th Street.

However, come March 31, Eisenbergs will be no more.

The land which the iconic skate park sits on has been sold to a Tennessee-based land developer, who plans on building a 316,000-square-foot commercial and residential development on the property.

"Downtown Plano was dead when we got here; it was nothing but antique shops," said Vicki Eisenberg, the park's owner. "We brought life to this part of Plano. The first day we opened there was a mix of excited kids on wheels and antique mall shoppers. Our phone didn't stop ringing all day with calls from the proprietors of the shops who were upset about all the kids."

Vicki said after a few days, the shop owners realized while the kids were skating, the parents were staying to shop. The influx of people to downtown Plano resulted in an instant revitalization of the area, she said.

One of the partners when the shop opened was Vicki's son Arlo, who is credited by many people as the inventor of aggressive inline skating. A gold medal winner at the 1996 X Games, Arlo was one of the biggest skating stars in the world and his star power resulted in the park being an instant success.

Arlo lives in California where he owns Gost clothing company, but still comes to Plano several times a year. Every fall, he hosts the Showdown at the Hoedown, a competition attracting many of the top professional inline skaters. Vicki said Arlo also has a hand in developing new ramps for the park and hosts instructional clinics each summer.

While there are now multiple skate parks in the area, including a publicly-owned one in Allen, that was not the case in 1997. The fact Eisenbergs was so ingrained in DFW's skating culture has made its closing especially hard for its employees.

"When we opened, we were one of only two skate parks in the Dallas area," said Essie Babaahmadi, the park's manager and Vicki's husband. "Since we announced we were closing, I have had kids and parents ask me every day where we are moving to and when we are going to reopen. It has been hard to not know what to tell them."

Southern Land Company, the developer who now owns the property, first attempted to purchase the land four years ago, but the recession threw a wrench into those plans. With the economy starting to turnaround, the sale was completed in 2011. Vicki said the process of losing what she considers her home has not been easy.

"It has been really emotional for me and it has been very difficult," she said. "I cry all the time and have good moments and bad moments. We called Eisenbergs a home for skaters, and people took us at our word. We have connected with hundreds and thousands of families, and I have treasured every minute of it. Every time I walked into the skate park I felt good, until recently when we have had to start taking things apart."

One of the skaters who will be losing his home park is Johmel Welborn, who said he has been skateboarding for about four years.

"Eisenbergs is a really fun place to hang out," said Welborn, a Wylie resident. "I think this is the best skate park around."

Luckily for Welborn and his friends, Vicki said there are plans to relocate the park, although a new city and location have not been finalized. She said an announcement could be forthcoming in the next few days.

"We have some really exciting prospects in front of us," she said. "If we get the property we are looking at, our plans are to have the retail store open on April 1 so there is no downtime. After that, it will take about a month to get the ramps set back up."

With only a few weeks left at its original home, T-shirts for sale at the park seem to sum up the feelings of both the employees and customers. The black shirts read, "Eisenbergs Skatepark 1997-2012 -- The end of an era in Plano, TX."

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