Tuesday, May 28

EXPN.com Chat: Love Park Closes

EXPN.com

	Stevie Williams at home in Love Park.

Welcome to the EXPN.com moderated chat room. On Tuesday, May 28, skateboarders Stevie Williams and Josh Kalis dropped by to host a special chat to discuss their thoughts and opinions surrounding the official closing of Philadelphia's Love Park.

Williams and Kalis are both Philly locs who skate Love like you do your local spots, and know the park as well as you do yours. Anybody could argue their use of the park is far more constructive and community based than that of the downtown office lunchers. But not the city of Philadelphia.

The park as we know it is a fine collection of buttery ledges, stairs, rails and gaps. It's a skateboarder's dream and has been featured in every skate mag you've ever even thought of reading. Despite the legendary status of Love Park it was officially announced closed on April 25th for a renovation project, which in this case just happens to also make it unskateable. So where's the love?

Check out the transcript of the chat below:

Moderator: Stevie and Josh are on-line and we're about to get started with the first question.

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Tyler, Columbia SC: I think this sucks. That place was awesome and I hoped to skate it someday. It is gonna suck to not see it in anymore videos or mags. How do you think this will effect the Philly skate scene?

Josh Kalis: I think it will just make the Philly skate scene a little more boring.

Stevie Williams: I agree with Josh.

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Syracuse: This sucks major nards man. I wanted to move to Philly, I still might, I am sure there is still good spots but Love was the place to be. Do you think Love will be a little skateable?

Josh Kalis: We have a good idea what's gonna go down... But we can't speak on it yet.

Stevie Williams: I'm eating right now.

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Woolz (Catasauqua 1 hour from Philly): Mr. Kalis, I heard you might move out of Philly specifically because the murder of LoVE. Is this true?

Josh Kalis: I'm undecided yet but I'll be here for at least another 8 months.

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Cambria(Huntsville,AL): I was wondering if you saw any girl skateboarders in LOVE park in the past. I'm a girl skater and just wanted to know.

Stevie Williams: There's girl skaters at the park.

Josh Kalis: There's usually like 4 or 5 there.

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Jessica from Philly: What do you think can be done to "free" Love Park, or get the city to open new skate parks? How can I help?

Josh Kalis: You can help by not coming to watch the X Games, no disrespect to ESPN, but it's the city that suffers.

Stevie Williams: You can run for mayor.

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Huphtur, Amsterdam: There is talk about boycotting the X Games? Do you guys think that matters?

Josh Kalis: I would love it.

Stevie Williams: Yeah, I'm not gonna skate.

Josh Kalis: I'm not going to skate, I'm not even going to show up. I don't think ESPN would have had any appeal to Philly if Love Park wasn't around at all. It took years of people like Stevie blowin' up Love for Philly to get the recognition that it got. And for Philadelphia to turn around and just get rid of it... They wanted to do that to us, so we're just thinking that Philadelphia doesn't deserve the X Games. And Philly isn't giving back to where it came from. They're giving all this money to the city on something that was originated by skating and biking. But then want to get rid of the park.

Stevie Williams: They're making $40 million off the X Games. They could at least give us a park... Damn. They're killing the whole next generation, it's crazy man, these kids are progressing faster then we were when we were coming up. And stopping something like that could ruin something that's great. But they don't even see it.

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Jester (San Jose, CA): Do you think boycotting the X Games is a good solution considering that most of the people that go don't really care about the core of the skating culture?

Josh Kalis: It wouldn't be directed to the people who come to watch, it's the principle of the whole thing.

Stevie Williams: It's all about money. The only way they're gonna see it our way is if they don't get their money.

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Brian(San Francisco): I am an avid X Games fan, and I feel dishonored when you say that Jessica shouldn't come out to watch the games. Why do you think the X Games have harmed LOVE park?

Josh Kalis: I don't think the X Games have harmed Love Park. I think the X Games can save Love Park, hopefully.

Stevie Williams: First of all I said she should try running for Mayor. Second of all I think the X Games could save Love Park if it's done right. If we put up enough of a fight and enough people have our back, hopefully they'll just give it back to us.

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Alex NJ: I agree with Stevie, it might be the only way to save Love Park.

Stevie Williams: What, if she ran for Mayor?

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Jester (San Jose, CA): So do the Love Park locals have other places to go? I mean, I visited last year for the X Games & it seemed VERY strict as far as anti-skating laws go. From what I understand there was some leniency given at Love, but now will there be another spot you can retreat to or is it just gonna be hit & run at different spots?

Josh Kalis: It will basically be like every other city now, pretty much hit & run at every spot.

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Steve, Long Island: I definitely support skateboarding, in fact I've been looking forward to skating Love myself, but do you see any reasoning in closing the park down?

Stevie Williams: I don't see a reason at all to close the park down.

Moderator: I just lost Josh, damn cell phone. So we'll have to finish up with Stevie.

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Brian: What was your favorite part of Love park?

Stevie Williams: There's three different levels in that park. The lower levels, the fountain levels and then there's the top. When I first started skating I had to learn my tricks on the lower levels. And had to learn my way to the top.

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Hugo (Portland, OR): Josh/Stevie... What's the current status of Love? Are you guys or others skating it right now?

Stevie Williams: Nobody's skating Love. It's gated off, they have gates around it.

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John: I doubt anyone has seen what has happend to the downtown area of San Francisco, but the skateboaders have ruined all the new marble work at it. The city has put a lot of money into thie renivation and now its all ruined. Do you think that LOVE park really should be used as a skate park, or should Philly be using its 40 million dollars to build a new real skate park that can be monitored?

Stevie Williams: It should be a place to skate. When they allow us to skate it eliminates a lot of the other hit & run spots in the city. If they allow me to skate the park, or the locals that have skated it for years, we will have a set place to skate at. A place we feel comfortable skating at. They don't have to do anything with the park, it's fine how it is. It's perfect.

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Adrian Lim (new Haven): Sup, I was wondering, how much did Love Park mean to you besides skating wise? I watch your videos and sh*t and they are hella tight, but I mean outside skateboarding, how did Love Park feel to you?

Stevie Williams: Basically Love Park felt like home. It was my home. Really it's unexplainable... I know everybody there and everybody knows me, it's like family.

Moderator: Stevie has be somewhere so here's his last words.

Stevie Williams: Shout out to Philly, Love Park original DGK members, Josh Kalis, LCOB and all the homeless people that kept Love Park looking gangsta'. Shout to all my fans out there, DC Shoes and DGK comin' soon. Thanks to the people who joined the chat, to ESPN and all the people that support my decisions.

Moderator: Thanks to all the people who submitted questions. Keep your eyes peeled for ongoing news about the fate of Love Park.