Ooti Billeaud has been trying to get indoor parks built all across Louisiana. From New Orleans to Lafayette. The state has been fighting him for years but he has not given up. He has finally been given the go ahead to build one in Lafayette but he needs the BMX communities help. If you could donate it would help build a bigger scene in Louisiana and give more options to people of LA for a safe indoor spot to ride when its raining or even too hot.
Lafayette is currently one of the largest cities in the US without a skatepark of any kind and the largest city in Louisiana without one. Indoor/concrete skateparks here have come and gone and despite it all, Lafayette has maintained a tight-knit BMX community, a booming skate community, a newfound rollerskating community, and this doesn’t even consider rollerbladers and scooter riders.
Another factor at play is that Louisiana is the 2nd most rainiest state in the US and between the constant rain coupled with extreme heat and humidity, there is a real need for an indoor skatepark not just in Lafayette but in Louisiana as a whole as there are currently none in the entire state. There are also no BMX shops in Louisiana and as a lifelong rider, I’m going to be building a small, 500 sq. ft. BMX shop to serve and support the BMX community in Louisiana.
I’ve thrown countless fundraisers for indoor and concrete skateparks, I worked directly with Lafayette government from 2005 to 2009 to build a concrete bowl that eventually had apartments built over it (RIP Dustbowl), and I founded and have ran the advocacy website, Louisiana Concrete Skateparks, for the last 8 years. I’ve put everything I have into this and now I’m asking for your help in building an inclusive, world-class, completely Skatelite covered, indoor skatepark in downtown Lafayette, LA.
Thank you.
Ooti Billeaud, Magnolia LA
