RIVERTON, Utah — If you can’t find Sam Arguello, odds are he’s probably at a skate park.
“It honestly makes me feel free," said Arguello. "Like even sometimes I fall, and I'm like, okay, that wasn't fun. It just, it's my home away from home."
Sam has been on wheels since he was 5 years old, and feels skating kept him out of trouble and gave him a sense of belonging.
“You go to this place, you meet all these people that push you and drive you and know you, and it's a community,” he shared.
While he lives in South Jordan, every skatepark in the southwest Valley feels like Sam's home, except for one place he can no longer go to.
“I can't go to Riverton anymore and ride because we don't have a skate park anymore," he said. "So honestly, it's very upsetting because for the kids that I know that went and they would go every day after school, and they'd go and ride."
According to Riverton City, the skatepark was demolished in 2025 due to safety concerns, and another park never took its place. While there are nearby skateparks, getting to them can be a long and potentially dangerous ride for those on skateboards.
“There's a lot of people whose kids wanted to play here, and they want to know why. Nobody's doing anything about it. I mean, it was so quick to be torn out,” said Riverton resident Randy Shurtleff.
The mayor feels kids should have a place to go in their own backyard.
“I'm hoping that the city of Riverton will give back to the kids of Riverton," the mayor added. "I mean, literally, there is a lot of youth here. We don't want it to go away from here because this is where it started. It needs to stay here.”
After hearing feedback from residents, the city now has plans to build a skatepark in the northwest corner of Riverton City Park. According to a city statement, a bid has been sent out to receive designs for the proposed park, which will be 5,000-10,000 square feet and be completed in 2028.
"Our goal is to provide a quality skatepark for the community to enjoy," the city said in a statement.
