ASHWAUBENON (NBC 26) — A long-awaited opening is now here to connect youth to their community through sports.
Green Bay Action Sports Organization on Thursday cut the ribbon at its brand new facility in Ashwaubenon.
GBASO worked for 14 months to prepare for the big day.
Executive Director Shane Stout said there have been many highs and lows before it was clear where the new facility was going to be. But he said that was very much in the spirit of the founder of the company, Brian Schroeder.
“We were given a 60-day vacate notice when our last building sold, and we were really fearful of where we were going to end up. Where were the kids – the youth of our community – going to do without us?" Stout explained.
"So, to kind of go over what our founder Brian used to say, is ‘Function through fear.’ That’s exactly what we did. We got through it; we functioned through it, through all the fear and we’re bigger, better than ever – one of the largest skate parks in the Midwest,” Stout said.
The ribbon cutting took place at 4 p.m., and included members of the Greater Green Bay Chamber as well as the Ashwaubenon Village Manager Joel Gregozeski.
“It is a pleasure to stand before you at the threshold of our new facility: a symbol of our collective ambition, hard work, and vision for the future. A symbol of what we can achieve when we come together, not as individuals, but as a community powered by shared goals in mutual respect,” Stout said to the gathered crowd.
Just before the ribbon was cut, Stout told the crowd that Brian's dream was being realized.
“The opening of this new facility represents so much more than a physical infrastructure we see before us, it represents a dream from one man that saw our youth needing an outlet through action sports to develop their social, physical and leadership skills outside of the norm," Stout said.
GBASO will be open every day of the week, from noon until 10 p.m.
For more information, you can visit the GBASO website.
