Eastern Skate Revival
As park budgets shrink, Painesville Skateboarding Association’s grassroots effort aims to bring a world-class skatepark to Lake County.
PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Donovan Knebusch, owner of Eastern Revival Skate Shop, has an ambitious vision for the city’s skate scene.
Donovan and a group of local skaters formed the Painesville Skateboarding Association, or PSA, with the goal of building higher-quality, more accessible skateparks and ultimately turning Painesville into a destination for skaters nationwide.
The initiative, which includes a proposed partnership with specialized skatepark design and construction firm Grindline, comes as Lake County Metroparks face a looming funding crisis.
Despite park usage reaching roughly 4 million annual visits in 2020 — with an additional 4.8% increase reported in 2024 — a new local government funding formula will significantly reduce financial support for the park system.
Under funding measures passed by Lake County communities in 2024, Metroparks funding will be cut from $200,000 annually to $100,000 per year for the next five years. After that period, county funding will be eliminated entirely. As a result, Painesville parks are operating on just 68% of their previous budget, including Kiwanis Recreation Park, locally known as the rec park.
Rec park is home to Painesville’s existing skatepark, which features a ledge, beginner and intermediate quarter pipes, a spine, handrails, box jumps, and a sub box. The park is open to skateboarders, inline skaters, scooter riders, and BMX freestyle cyclists.
PSA is advocating for a new skatepark constructed from poured concrete rather than prefabricated equipment, which the group says requires frequent and costly maintenance.
A concrete park, such as the one proposed by PSA and Grindline, would be a permanent installation requiring significantly less upkeep. Grindline previously rebuilt Cleveland’s “Crooked River” skatepark near the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Beyond long-term cost savings, Donovan and PSA believe a professionally designed concrete park could elevate Lake County’s skate scene — and potentially establish Painesville as a must-see destination for skaters across the region and beyond.
“Eastern Revival,” the name of Donovan Knebusch’s Painesville skate shop, carries a dual meaning.
Donovan opened the shop in part to fill a void left by the closure of Ohio Surf & Skate, a Willoughby shop that shut down in 2009. After its closure, Donovan said, there were no dedicated skate shops serving the area.
By reviving a local skate shop and becoming involved with the Painesville Skateboarding Association, Donovan hopes to spark a broader resurgence in the skateboarding scene east of Cleveland. On a cloudy Monday afternoon, he spoke about that vision inside his shop.
Donovan said his passion for skateboarding began when he was 11 years old.
“I fell in love,” he said. “The challenge of everything, the madness you go through, the discipline — running through private property, jumping fences, waiting for businesses to close, avoiding security guards. Everything about it, I love.”
Skateboarding offers a controlled environment where participants can test their balance, endurance, and persistence. Beyond the physical challenge, the culture encourages traits often highlighted by community advocates and journalists, including independence, creativity and a willingness to challenge authority and social norms.
“For me,” Donovan said, “it’s about what the sport gave me. To a lot of people, skateboarding is art and culture. For me, it was more like the nitro. The adrenaline. That feeling when you’re going down a hill, flying by cars, or just trying to pop a flip trick or do a grind.”
“When you lock in,” he said, “it kind of gives you chills down your spine. It’s like a drug.”
Donovan traced his roots in the local skateboarding scene back to Ohio Surf & Skate, a Willoughby shop that closed in 2009.
“I was bred out of Ohio Surf & Skate,” he said. “A lot of people in the community were. We all went there. We knew Tim and his mom, and that place was the most important place in the world to a lot of us.”
He said broader economic changes in the late 2000s, combined with the rise of online retail, made it increasingly difficult for small businesses like Ohio Surf & Skate to survive. As operating costs rose for the Rigby family, the shop ultimately closed.
“There was a void for a long time,” Donovan said. “I learned everything about opening a business when I opened a pizza shop with a friend. So I did it. I opened a skate shop.”
Keeping Eastern Revival open has not been easy. Donovan said he has taken on a range of side jobs to cover expenses, including driving for Uber and Lyft, tree removal work and home installation jobs. He said the effort is worth it if the shop can remain a place for skaters to gather.
Donovan also plays a central role in the Painesville Skateboarding Association.
“There’s a big group involved,” he said. “Quite a few of us went to the city and talked about needing a new skatepark. At first, it was brushed off, but then the Painesville Community Improvement Corporation reached out to us.”
That outreach helped the project gain momentum, he said. While Donovan has remained closely involved in coordination efforts, two fellow skaters, Jerod Mulqueeny and McLean Adams, have taken on expanded leadership roles.
“They really took it on,” Donovan said. “From there, we started raising money and got approved for a new spot for the skatepark.”
The proposed site is at Morse Park, 244 Jefferson St. in Painesville, adjacent to a parking lot and across the street from the Morse Park Community Center.
Donovan said the project carries high upfront costs, including a $12,000 land survey and a $50,000 construction document review.
“Between grassroots fundraising and grants,” he said, “we have about $500,000 right now. We’re trying to push that to $1.2 million.”
The photos above show the three proposed phases of construction for the skatepark designed by the Painesville Skateboarding Association and Grindline. The full design concept is available for public viewing here.
Donovan said that if the project reaches its $1.2 million funding goal, the skatepark could be built all at once rather than in three phases.
The proposed park includes multiple pools and bowls, ledges, bumps, quarter pipes, rails and a pyramid feature. Phase three of the plan also adds amenities such as a drinking fountain, restrooms, benches, and a full perimeter walkway.
“The city provided some grants,” Donovan said. “There were other government grants as well, including one through former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown. The city also helped us secure county and state funding.”
“In the grand scheme of things,” he said, “the city has about $5 million earmarked for revitalization. We’re hoping they take some of that and put it toward the skatepark.”
The Painesville Skateboarding Association hopes to complete the skatepark in its entirety, either through phased construction as funding allows or in a single build if full financing is secured.
Association leaders said a professionally designed concrete park could attract skaters on regional and national tours, making Painesville a regular stop rather than an afterthought. They said increased visitation from skateboarders, BMX riders and inline skaters could provide a meaningful boost to local tourism.
As park funding declines and Painesville continues broader community revitalization efforts, proponents say the project represents an opportunity for long-term investment in recreation, youth engagement, and economic activity in Lake County’s seat.