A Dundee skatepark – the UK’s first purpose-built indoor extreme sports arena – will close next week.

The Factory Skatepark in Douglas will shut on February 10 before being converted into a £200,000 family entertainment centre, complete with soft play and adult obstacle course.

Mark Selvey, The Factory’s deputy chief executive, said the move was due to a declining interest in skating.

He said: “We are sad and this is going be disappointing news for hardcore fans, but there aren’t enough of them.

“There has been a clear decline in wheeled sports over the years and if it wasn’t for scooters, the decline would be much worse.

“We are going to revamp into a family entertainment centre with ninja warriors for adults and a soft play area.”

He added: “We are going to fill up 23,000 feet worth of space for the new entertainment centre so it’s going to be big.”

Mark also confirmed plans to lease out the neighbouring building – which hosts the Fun Factory soft play centre – and move elements of the soft play facility into the existing skatepark arena.

The Factory took over the premises in 2004, after The Gate church had first invested £43,000 into a skateboarding facility in 1998.

Mark added: “The sport has changed massively. But one of our main aims has always been to develop it and concentrate on youth work by making a difference to people’s lives through the sport.

“One of our users moved away to Australia to became an inline skater and he mentions how his life wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for the skatepark.

“It is definitely a huge part of Dundee’s heritage.

“But the current model of how the skatepark is run has become unsustainable.”

He said work on the new centre will begin the day after closure and it will reopen on March 28.