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A ribbon-cutting Thursday morning marked the official opening of the new skate park at Youngs Park in Knoxville, as well as the completion of the first phase of improvements there.

The new skate park, climbing tower and shelter have been built on the south side of the property; Parks and Recreation Director Brandon Nemmers tells KNIA/KRLS News they’re satisfied with the end result.

“We started this project, would have been April of ‘18, and so we’re…basically finishing up now, just a couple small things here on the building and we’ll be complete. The grass is coming in, pretty nice; we’ve got a little bit of damage from bikes and so forth, but that’s going to happen. Other than that, we’re about 99 percent complete,” Nemmers says.

Now it will be on to the next stage, which will include installation of a splash pad. Possible sites include the north side of the property near the Kiwanis Miracle Playground, and to the south near the parking area.

Nemmers says where the splash pad will wind up depends on the disposition of the adjacent Veterans Administration campus.

The ribbon-cutting was part of the first Out for Lunch event sponsored by the Knoxville Chamber; the KNIA/KRLS Lil’ Big Red Radio was on the scene, playing music and helping to entertain the crowd.