Oldest skateboarding park in Sydney, N.S., in need of repairs

A popular skatepark in Cape Breton is ready for a gnarly makeover.

For the past 20 years, the Andrew MacKinnon Memorial Skatepark in Sydney, N.S., has been a concrete paradise for those who use it.

“This is the oldest skateboard park in Sydney, and possibly Cape Breton,” said Kyle McPhee, treasurer for the Island Skateboard Association.

Lately, the facility has been showing its age.

A view from above shows significant heaving and cracking in the concrete and in the asphalt. Other pieces of the park simply need to be replaced.

“We’ve got a plan to completely rebuild the park with a professional skateboard builder, and we have been working with the province and the municipality to make this happen,” McPhee said.

Robyn Young has been skating in the park since moving to Cape Breton from Scotland four years ago.

Through her day job, she has seen firsthand the impact the sport - and this kind of infrastructure - has had on some youth.

“There’s some kids that don’t get into traditional sports, so the unstructured play that can happen at a skate park is so important,” Young said. “With my work with girls and youth groups, I’ve seen the confidence it can instill in people and the culture and community that can grow from a skate park.”

The repairs won’t come cheap, but between asks to different levels of government and an online fundraising campaign that is already well underway, organizers are optimistic they will eventually reach their goal.

“All told, the bill is going to come to just under $500,000 and our portion of it - we’re looking to raise $125,000 ourselves,” McPhee said.

Along with individual and business donations, the Island Skateboard Association has also started a GoFundMe.

So far, it has raised more than $8,000.

“At some point later in the year in 2026, we’re hoping to have this thing done and I’m pretty confident that we can make it happen,” McPhee said.

In the meantime, McPhee and others are counting on more community support so that the two decade-old skatepark might be around for more to come.

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