Sacramento, CA ( June 13, 2023) - Community members, elected officials and loved ones of the late Tyre Nichols gathered June 11 at Regency Community Park in Natomas for the ribbon cutting of a skate park named and redesigned in Nichols’ honor.

A passionate skateboarder, Nichols grew up in Sacramento. He was murdered in January by Memphis, Tenn., police officers in a case that sparked national outrage. He was 29 years old.

The skate park at Regency Community Park was Nichols’ local skate spot until he moved to Memphis. It was here that he found community, lasting friendships and nurtured his lifelong love for skateboarding, his family said.

This past spring, Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, who represents the district, asked that the skate park be named after Nichols. The Sacramento City Council unanimously approved.

Kaplan worked with the City’s Youth, Parks and Community Engagement Department as well as Nichols’ close friends on the redesign of the park, with funding and support from Tony Hawk’s Skatepark Project and the shoe-company Vans. Additional key organizational partners included California Skateparks.

The Tyre Nichols Skate Park now features Tyre’s name emblazoned on the concrete between skate ramps as well as other physical improvements.

“Naming this skate park after Tyre is a small gesture. The real honor will come from our community filling this skate park with love. At its core, this is a place for friends to gather with a shared passion, and THAT is how we remember and honor Tyre Nichols,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

During the June 11 ribbon-cutting ceremony, a large crowd of community members, including local skaters, gathered to hear speakers and pay tribute to Nichols’ legacy.

“The Tyre Nichols Skate Park is a beautiful way to honor Tyre and give his fellow skaters a welcoming place to keep his passion alive,” Nichols’ family said. “Our family could feel Tyre looking down with a big smile during the opening ceremony. We are endlessly grateful for the support of our community in turning these hard times into positive change and their help to keep Tyre’s legacy alive.”

Kaplan also spoke at the event and celebrated Nichols’ memory.

“Six months ago, we stood at the Regency Community Park honoring the life of Tyre – gathering as friends and strangers in the midst of tragedy that no mother should bear,” Kaplan said. “In that midst, an idea took hold: How can we honor Tyre and provide hope for a better future? Yesterday, that hope began at the Tyre Nichols Skate Park, carrying on his light, love, and legacy.”

After remarks were delivered, Nichols’ family, alongside Kaplan, cut the ceremonial ribbon and welcomed the public to the reimagined park. Nichols’ friends were asked to be the first ones to skate the area.

The Tyre Nichols Skate Park will serve as a space for the Sacramento community to come together and find unity in the face of injustice as well as an ever-present reminder of the life Nichols lived, officials and Nichols’ family said.

It is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All photo credits: Jace Angelo, @thejaceangelo