In one sentence the largest and most comprehensive project to ever face the action sports landscape. The action sports facilities at the 10,000-acre Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia are an integral part of the $1 billion permanent home to the Boy Scouts of Americas quadrennial Jamboree, a national event that draws an estimated 75,000 visitors per day.
When the BSA and their development partners saw skateboarding and action sports as a potential game-changer, they met with large sports retailers, pro competition organizers and other major players in the industry. The only name that appeared on every list of recommended design/build firms was Spohn Ranch. No other company had best-of-industry experience in half as many skatepark and BMX park disciplines planning, risk assessment, design, engineering, general construction, specialty construction, operations, insurance, commercial commissions and professional competitions.
During the first year of intensive planning and design charettes, Aaron Spohn guided not just the site selection and design of the thirty-two planned skateboard and BMX parks, but the fundamental assumptions about user preferences, capacity, session length, and ability levels necessary to allocate budget resources. The result is a mix of concrete skateparks, dirt BMX tracks and specialty training zones encompassing an area over two times the size of any other existing or planned skateboard camp or municipal park in the country.