Tony Hawk Helps Open Up New Skatepark

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- There was a lot of activity in Carnegie Park Monday afternoon.

Professional skateboarders with the Birdhouse Skateboards team thrilled young admirers, in a newly constructed skateboarding park.

Legendary team leader Tony Hawk was the center of attention.

His foundation helped to build what is destined to become a popular destination.

The idea for Pitcher Park Memorial Skatepark grew out of a terrible tragedy.

When brothers Vincent and Stephen Pitcher drowned six years ago, their mother, Mary Pitcher, made the decision to build. She teamed up with the Ken and Carol Schultz Foundation, which provided the lion's share of the $600,000 construction cost.

Miki Vuckovich of the Tony Hawk Foundation says the new skate park is world class, something we "don't see too often."

He predicted that the 17,000-square-foot surface would draw skate boarders from many different states, and different countries as well.

Jon and Brady Pitcher are the two remaining brothers. But their mother says the other two are never far away, guiding her way as she raised community support for a skatepark they would have loved.