Matt Jonsson Skatepark officially renamed on Dec. 11

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This article was published 03/12/2021 (1395 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Skatepark West will be renamed Matt Jonsson Memorial Skatepark in honour of the young St. James resident who passed away in February after a tragic accident. He was just 24 years old.

The process to rename the skatepark was initiated in the spring by Matt’s mother, Tish, brother, Cole, and local community builder Connie Newman. The trio contacted me with the idea to change the name of Skatepark West as a way of honouring and memorializing Matt’s life and his love for the park.

Matt and his brother Cole were avid BMXers and skateboard enthusiasts who helped design the popular park that opened in 2007 at the corner of Sturgeon Road and Silver Avenue. The skate park offers young people a safe place to develop their BMX and skateboarding talents.

Matt loved the sport and spent countless hours honing his BMX skills and teaching young people how to ride. He was trained in first aid and served as a skate park ambassador. Matt was part of a tight-knit BMX community, had a large friendship group and also helped coach basketball at Collège Sturgeon Heights Collegiate.

The renaming process included a review of the request by Welcoming Winnipeg. In 2020, Winnipeg City Council adopted the Welcoming Winnipeg: Reconciling our History Policy. The policy guides the city in making decisions regarding requests to create new, add to or rename place names to ensure Indigenous perspectives are reflected. The Jonsson family applied through the Welcoming Winnipeg review process as part of the name change request.

The family has offered to include a territorial land and water acknowledgement as part of the new park signage, as they believe it is what Matt would have wanted. Last month, city council unanimously supported the recommendation from the Welcoming Winnipeg committee that the request to change the name of the park be approved.  

A renaming ceremony and unveiling of the new sign will take place on Saturday, Dec. 11. Many local businesses and community members are contributing the new sign and other upgrades to the skate park. The Jonsson family would like to acknowledge the work and support of Stainless Concepts, Tailor-Made Metal, Signmeister, B & M Masonry, Durango Construction, Hrabchak & McLellan, Brock White and J1S Electric.

Several employees from the City of Winnipeg’s parks staff have also assisted the Jonssons through the process of placing the new sign. Everyone involved has been touched by Matt’s story.   

Matt Jonsson is an example of the power young people have to shape a community. He left us too early but we will honour Matt’s legacy by renaming the skatepark in his memory.  

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a  merry Christmas, happy holidays and happy New Year!

If you have questions or comments contact me at scottgillingham@winnipeg.ca or call 204-986-5848.