New Seaside skate park set to open Saturday

The City of Seaside is getting ready to re-open Cutino Park in a big event after a couple of years of renovation and improvement.

Cutino Park is a seven-acre multi-use park, and the city says it is one of the most popular ones in town. It is located at the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Noche Buena Street right next to the Boys and Girls Club.

For Seaside City Manager Craig Malin, the all-new turn field at Cutino PArk is all about baseball. Football, soccer and even field hockey are acceptable too, but it is a no go for lawn darts.

“We spent a lot of money on the field. No lawn darts. Can’t stress that enough,” said Malin.

The park is located in the heart of a Seaside neighborhood. It took a little over $3 million and two and a half years to get the park renovated.

The city put in new turn and vegetation, replaced old playground equipment and upgraded the restrooms, concession stands and storage facility.

Many people were enjoying the city’s first skate park on Wednesday.

“I like this park though. It’s the best park out in Monterey County, by far,” said Anthony Scott, a Seaside resident.

“I think it’s pretty nice. It reminds me of a lot of the parks that are in professional competitions,” said Freddy Albert, a Pacific Grove resident.

The city hosted two focus groups to come up with the rules and regulations for the skate park. Some of the concerns covered whether adult supervision is needed and if food can be eaten there.

Apart from the neat things Cutino Park now offers, the city says the greater benefit lies in bringing families together and providing youngsters a place to hang out.

“In the park is where kids first learn how to be citizens. It’s where I first learned how to be a citizen way back when in a park,” said Malin.

And for Seaside natives, having somewhere to hang out and stay out of trouble is critical.

“Kids like, when we don’t have money for the bus, there’s nothing really else to do than mess around and when you mess around, you usually get in trouble,” said Scott. “So this is going to help a lot of kids. A lot of Seaside kids skate.”

While the full skate park is already open to the public, the full Cutino Park will not be open until a grand re-opening event this Saturday starting at 11 a.m.

On the Beach Surf Shop is hosting a Skate Jam on Saturday to kick off Seaside’s first skate park starting at noon.