VIGO COUNTY, ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Grffin Bike Park has taken the state and nation by storm.
And the park has even gained some international attention.
“Sometimes the community doesn’t really know as much about it as people in New Zealand, who we just had visitors out last week,” explained Gene Griffin of Griffin Bike Park. “Or Texas, or California, or New York or New Hampshire.”
Now, the park is working to expand their trail system by 11 more miles, and add restroom facilities.
Four of those 11 miles will be dedicated to beginner trails.
“The other six or seven miles will be intermediate level trails and a couple of expert level trails,” said Griffin. “So we’re really rounding out the full vision of the initial park design that was formulated back in 2014.”
The total cost of the project is $700,000, most of which will have to come from a Next Level Indiana grant.
The park is currently in the application stage of the grant, and will have to come up with $140,000 via sponsors and community outreach before they can be awarded $500,000 in grant funding.
“If we have a hundred hours donated by an organization, that’ll be ten dollars an hour which is a thousand dollars,” explained Griffin. “And then they’ll contribute four times that amount, so it’ll be a five thousand dollar contribution.”
This is the biggest grant application the Vigo County Parks Department has ever seen.
“It’s not an opportunity that comes along everyday. So you know it’s never any guarantee for a grant this size,” said Superintendent of Parks Adam Grossman. “But to have that opportunity is always exciting.”
The parks department has written a letter of support for the project and will have a say in some of the improvements.
“We will still be involved in the design and it’ll still be within the conceptual plan of the park,” explained Grossman.
If the grant is awarded to the bike park, we could see expansion by January.
On the off chance the grant is not awarded, the park will continue to raise money to complete the project.
Griffin Bike Park is determined to hold their own as a nationally recognized park, and their expansion will help them reach a broader spectrum of riders.
“What warms my heart every time I go out there is seeing a young man, a boy, a child with their parents out riding together,” said Griffin. “The whole family is out together.”
