Missouri City skaters can look forward to a new facility just for them. The city plans to build a skate park with $305,000 set aside in the fiscal year 2016-17 Capital Improvement Program budget.

“That was one of the top five priorities that was listed in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan so that’s why and that’s how it kind of came into being,” said Jason Mangum, Missouri City Parks and Recreation director.

Before the city designs the park, however, the city will be seeking feedback from the skating community to identify any desired features. Mangum said the park will be built within an existing park, though he said the city has not chosen a site yet.

“We’ll need to build in a place that already has the infrastructure like parking and whatnot,” Mangum said.

He said parks and recreation has yet to complete a design for the project as funding will be available in the spring. He anticipated a design would be complete by June 30. And that construction would start shortly after.

Mangum said he did not have an accurate idea of when the skate park would be completed.

“Right now what we’re doing is we’re taking a look at different skate parks in the area and what makes them good, so when we’re ready to pull the trigger on designing and building this thing, we’ll have a better knowledge set of what makes a great skate park,” he said.

Mangum said there are several types of skate parks that could serve as a basis for the design.

One of them is a bowl design that he described as derived from old swimming pools. There’s also a flow course, with ramps that keep skaters moving around the park.

The other option is a street course, which mimics skateboarding in a city setting with features such as rails and curbs. The city will reach out to the skating community through existing parks and skate shops and homeowners association meetings.

“It’s kind of a tight-knit community and the word definitely travels fast through the skate community,” Mangum said.