From tennis courts to kickflips: Skate Ohio opens new Bad Magic Skatepark in Mansfield

MANSFIELD — B.J. Price looked around Wednesday afternoon under partly sunny skies and smiled at what he saw happening all around him at the new Bad Magic Skatepark.

Youngsters — and those young at heart — were having a blast.

“It is kind of surreal, man. It’s all done. Everything’s in place. There were a lot of questionable moments, but it all came together,” the co-founder of Skate Ohio said minutes before the new facility at Maple Lake Park officially opened.

Price, who started the nonprofit organization a few years ago with Adam McElroy, praised every local leader, business and community member who helped rapidly bring the park to fruition once the idea was conceived last fall.

“It was fully a community effort to make it happen. Having a whole community coming together to get this done … that’s what makes it awesome,” he said.

The decision to pursue the skatepark came after Skate Ohio had a successful pop-up park in May 2025 at Maple Lake Park.

The organization — armed with a $12,000 donation and the cooperation of the City of Mansfield — decided to build a more permanent structure on a portion of the tennis courts at the park along Arlington Avenue.

“We are going to put a ‘micro park’ on the same tennis courts we did the pop-up event on,” McElroy said in October when announcing the grant from comedian Dan Cummings and his Bad Magic Productions.

Just before the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Price pointed out the true dollar value of what local residents could now enjoy.

“We tried to price it out and went through the company who originally made these ramps and everything … you’re looking at close to $150,000 worth of ramps that we were able to make happen for $12,000,” Price said.

He said Skate Ohio was founded on the premise of good things will happen.

“We do not let the possibility of bad things keep us from doing the good things. That’s a very important thing that we operate under. No matter what happens, we’ll fix it. It’s a good thing,” Price said.

“We want everybody to love this and take care of it. But listen, bad things aren’t gonna keep us from building more skateparks.”

He said the skatepark will operate under the same rules and guidelines and hours of operation as all other city parks.

(Below are photos taken during the grand opening Wednesday afternoon of the Bad Magic Skatepark in Mansfield’s Maple Lake Park. The story continues below the photos.)

One of the officials who celebrated the opening Wednesday was 5th Ward City Councilman Aurelio Diaz.

In 2019, as a citizen, Diaz was one of the people who unsuccessfully lobbied local lawmakers to open a skatepark at Maple Lake.

“If you recall, for those who’ve been here for quite some time, 2019 was a pivotal year for a lot of leaders within the community to come forth and advocate for the need of skateparks, not just in the city but throughout the county,” Diaz said Wednesday.

(Below left is 5th Ward Councilman Aurelio Diaz on Wednesday. Below right is citizen Aurelio Diaz speaking to City Council in July 2019 on behalf of a proposed skatepark that never materialized.)

“It was the leaders that you see here … so many people that’s made all these things possible within our community and I think in the process we’ve also helped knock down stigmas about skate culture.

“Skate culture is camaraderie … it’s friendship … it’s art … it’s physicality, it’s all these things. I want to thank everyone here for making this possible, helping us with rise through skateboarding and just making it more accessible to everyone,” Diaz said.

Mayor Jodie Perry, who took office in January 2024, said one of the things she knew coming in was the need for changes in the city parks.

“Residents had been talking about that for quite some time,” she said Wednesday. “Anytime we’ve been able to add features to our parks, I think, we just take huge steps forward.

“One of the things that we have said from the beginning is we’re going to follow the energy. We have been working at parks where there are residents advocating for work there who are willing to help.

“The money that we have goes much farther when we have partners like Skate Ohio. One of the things I love about the skater community is how much you’re willing to roll up your sleeves to make the park what you want and that was something that I really learned a few years ago. We’re happy to have it here in Maple Lake Park,” Perry said.

“We’re happy to be welcoming … for having younger kids learning how to skate to carry that on … and we hope this is just the beginning and we can continue to do more in the parks.”

Mansfield Public Works Director Louis Andres, who has played a key role in the rebirth of the local parks system, said he was happy to see the public/private partnership work.

“This is an example of partnerships. (Skate Ohio) coming to us and saying, ‘Hey, we’d like to revitalize these tennis courts into something that means more purpose for youth … a skate park,'” Andres said.

“I said, ‘Yeah, let’s do that.’ The sweat eequity is a lot in something like this. It’s not only the donors. A lot of it is the volunteers and that really is what makes our parks special. We do have a lot of groups and volunteers that are willing to put in the sweat equity,” Andres said.

After the ribbon was cut and the talking ended, Price and McElroy watched the huge group of children and adults enjoy free pizza courtesy of Hamilton’s on Main.

They fired up the sound system and got out their Skate Ohio wallets to begin awarding cash and prizes for events such as the Ugliest Kickflip Comp, Best Trick off the Fun Box, and Best Run on the Mini.

Skaters got busy on ramps, ledges, flat bars and handrails.

Mad Magic Skatepark was already delivering on its name.