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As South Omaha skateboarders protested the city’s decision to remove ramps from the tennis courts at Lynch Park, the removal got the attention of Tony Hawk.

Hawk is a professional skateboarder, a pioneer of modern skateboarding and the popular face of a video game franchise.

A spokesman for the Tony Hawk Foundation said the city’s choice was a “divestment in our youth.”

“We are encouraged by the outcry of public support that the skate park is getting,” the spokesman said in a statement. “We support the efforts of Omaha youth to create the kind of environment that they want to live in.”

Hawk's foundation offers grants to bring public skateparks in low-income communities.

The Nebraska Public Skateparks Council is advocating for a skate park to be built along the riverfront in downtown Omaha. Hawk made a video voicing his support for the project.

Omaha’s most popular parks

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