The Channahon Park District has made the difficult decision to close Skateland Recreation Center permanently. This is not a decision that was easy to come by. The District has commenced a wide-ranging study of options for the facility and determined the operation of the facility cannot be sustained. The original design and current condition of this facility is not suitable for future trends, cost recovery, or high-quality experiences for our community. The closure of Skateland Recreation Center has no impact on the availability of other District operated facilities to the public where we will continue to provide programs, parties, and other events that Skateland will fondly be remembered for. The proceeds from the sale of Skateland will be used directly to update, maintain, and grow our other facilities and parks as we strive to be the best provider of fun experiences that impact the lives of our residents.
The Channahon Park District sincerely appreciates the community’s support of Skateland Recreation Center for nearly 40 years. The memories made there will always be a highlight in Park District history and the history of Channahon. We look forward to making new memories within the community and our wide-variety of facilities, current and future.
We apologize for not being able to answer every comment and question that came in about Skateland Recreation Center on Facebook and wanted to take a moment to share more information and clarify some frequently asked questions:
1. THANK YOU! Thank you Channahon for the support, understanding, and most of all the memories. From couple skates, daddy daughter dances, and Monster Bash to weddings, birthday parties, and everything in between, that building holds a lot of memories.
2. It will NOT be another Dollar General
– the company whose offer was accepted is intending to transform Skateland into a commercial pickleball center!
3. No pipes burst. We have an incredible maintenance staff and even with their best efforts, as many of us know, you can’t stop aging!
4. The contents of Skateland – skates, lights, lockers, sound equipment, popcorn maker, ect – will first be repurposed throughout the district, and then sold as surplus. If you are interested in these items, please keep an eye on our website at
https://www.channahonpark.org/surplus-sales/ as items will be sold in the coming weeks.
5. For any other questions (when was Skateland for sale, how was the sale decided, where will the returns from the sale be used), please see the Transparency page on our website >
https://www.channahonpark.org/transparency/
As always, we welcome questions and invite the community to join us at our open board meetings (see Open Meetings Act on the Transparency web page listed above). We are excited about the future, and while we are celebrating the last 50 years of fun this year, we are already looking forward to the next 50!
