The weather was chilly, but the excitement was sizzling as the Superior Skate Park held its Grand Opening on Saturday, April 9.

Festive music played while Rodney Goins and Andy Cadman of the Town Public Works Department were flipping burgers on a charcoal grill. Frito Lay chips, Coke and Pepsi products were donations from their corporate headquarters.

Blackfoot Communications treated everyone for the lunch and Darlow’s Quality Foods covered the two sheet cakes along with the utensils and plates for the celebration.

Under a blue tent was a picnic table loaded with brand new skateboards, helmets and other skater apparel that were being given away from sponsors such as Scheels of Missoula, Montana Pool Service Foundation, Montana Skatepark Association - Chris Bacon.

The people and organizations that did the heavy lifting to make this happen are on a sign as you enter the skatepark built by Big Sky Machining in Superior.

“Three and a half years” was the answer given by Brenda Schneider when asked how long this wonderful addition to Mineral County has taken to fruition. “It’s open, it’s free and there are no fees. It’s outdoor exercise and any age can use it. It is a wonderful family destination,” she said.

When Roni Phillips, Mayor of Superior, was asked how this project came together, she didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Brenda Schneider! She put in for all of the different grants she found online, just like she does for anyone in the community. She finds a grant that might be helpful and sends it to them,” she said. “We pretty much ended up with every penny available that was out there (through grants) plus donations from other people and organizations.”

Phillips added that many of the city employees donated money for the prizes given out for the Grand Opening.

Jeff Ament, bassist of Pearl Jam, was a large contributor to the project and has been a skateboarder since 1976.

“We took a trip to visit our cousins in California and my cousin Gary had a skateboard and that’s all that we did, and that’s all that it took,” he said.

He has also been a major sponsor to the sport over the years.

“I think it’s around 30 now, I think”, when asked how many skateparks he’s helped develop financially. “I know we have five or six on the docket for this year.”

Ament comes from Big Sandy, Montana but now lives west of Missoula, and he said Pearl Jam is touring this summer with rehearsals in Seattle starting in a week.

Toward the end of the dedication, Schneider said, “A young man who won one of the drawings said that he had all of his own equipment and could he give his new skateboard to his friend. That was an awesome gesture and gift.”

Members of the Superior Volunteer Fire and Rescue were on hand and EMT’s were able to help with bumps and scrapes which were nonexistent as those taking laps were well protected with helmets, knee and elbow pads and knew their way around a skatepark. With picnic tables under Ponderosa pines in Eva Horning Park along with a manicured lawn, the skatepark makes for another destination that is special in Mineral County.