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A COVID-era DIY skate park on the Portland State campus gets a new home next week.
The Courts is projected to open in August of this year, but will break ground June 8 at its new home behind PSU’s old arts building. Attendees will get an exclusive look at the project design plan, and hear about the vision, impact, and next steps for the skate park.
The first version of The Courts, now known as “The Courts 1.0” came about in 2020. PSU’s classes had shifted online; local skaters found themselves with pent-up energy and time on their hands. So PSU students started to bring ramps and ledges to the abandoned tennis courts outside of Shattuck Hall. The lot became known colloquially as “the courts” and brought in skaters from around the city. It’s part of a decades-long history of DIY and community-built skate parks and spaces in Portland, such as the now-legendary Burnside Skatepark, which was also built without oversight or permission.
The space was meant to be temporary, but Nicholas Pelster, a member of Skaters for Portland Skateparks and a PSU student at the time, saw a future in the project. He reached out to PSU faculty and met with representatives from the surrounding buildings and apartments. After six months of meetings, and listening to concerns about graffiti and the deteriorating ramp quality, he came to an agreement with PSU to let The Courts continue as a pilot program until the empty lot was needed. Partnering with the Skaters for Portland Skateparks, Pelster, alongside community members, fixed and upgraded ramps, cleaned up debris, and collaborated with the students to paint murals around the DIY park.
In the four years The Courts lived at the old tennis courts, the community street spot was skated by professionals and students alike. It was featured in Thrasher, used in a Microsoft commercial, and hosted meetups, events, and memorials for the skate community. It closed in 2024 after construction began for PSU’s Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design, built over the lot.
“Our time in this space is ending, but we made such an impact in this space that we’re working with PSU to have a future space for the next five to ten years on campus,” Pelster told skate publication Adjacency Bias in a documentary about The Courts. “It’s bittersweet, because this space is so important, but I think all the energy that we’ve made from this space will be transferred.”
Two years after The Court’s closure, Pelster secured a $300,000 Community Livability grant from Prosper Portland and partnered with PSU, alongside local design firm Walker Macy and Portland-based skatepark builder Collective Concrete, to build a new home a few blocks from the original location. The new lot is around half of the size of the former, and is currently un-skateable, but the grant will be used to flatten and smooth the ground, as well as add in raised seating for community members. The ramps and ledges built for the previous park will return.
SEE IT: The official groundbreaking ceremony for The Courts 2.0 will take place 4:30–6:30 pm June 8 at the park’s new location, 2033 SW 4th Ave.
