Skate Raleigh vows to keep going after trailer with skate park equipment stolen

The pop-up skate park at Moore Square was ending and the skate ramps, rails and boxes were packed up in Cody Charland’s trailer.

Charland, Skate Raleigh’s executive director, stored the trailer near his home in the Mordecai neighborhood, ready for the next event.

“This felt like the easiest thing to do,” he said. “We could just pull up anywhere in Raleigh, drop the door and build a skate park.”

On Wednesday, the trailer with over $20,000 worth of skate equipment inside it was stolen, according to police.

“Hopefully, you’ll keep your eyes out and someone will find this bland, gray trailer abandoned somewhere in town,” Charland said on Instagram. “Maybe this stuff will end up posted on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. Maybe and somehow, we get everything back we fundraised for, built together, and used one time.”

Skate Raleigh was the primary force behind the temporary skate park on city land that will become Smoky Hollow Park. With the end of Conlon Family Skatepark expected later this year, Skate Raleigh plans to hold pop-up events for experienced skaters and people who want to learn. It also wants to gauge the appetite for future skate and bike parks in the city.

“Really one of the coolest things about what was in that trailer, and what we did with what was in that trailer, is we’re really trying to be one of the entryways to skating within Raleigh,” Charland said. “We were trying to find a way to develop skaters, introduce people to the sport, and especially families into the sport.”

The nonprofit plans to continue pop-up skate park events despite the setback.

“There’s no stopping us,” he said.

This story was originally published July 11, 2025 at 9:39 AM.