ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — With so much talk of teen takeovers, some are saying teens have nothing to do.

One organization is hoping to change that with a new indoor skatepark in Chamblee.

SKATE ATL opened Saturday with hundreds of skateboarders eager to let loose. It was all made possible thanks to Allan Minter.

“It feels very rewarding, if we’re being totally honest - I almost started crying in there,” Minter said.

The park also teaches anyone who wants to learn.

“This all started with my daughter wanting to learn how to skate and I couldn’t find any organizations right here in Atlanta. So we want to be able to just help kids learn the basics and help them build their confidence,” Minter said.

Michael Manion is one of the instructors.

“However hard you wanna skate, or however you want to push it is how far you can go with skateboarding. We’re just here to help along the way. We haven’t had an indoor park in at least 10 years, so we’re really excited to finally have an indoor skatepark and finally have a place for people to go when it’s raining, bad weather, when it’s too late,” Manion said.

Skateboarding is both a great way to stay active and a way to keep teens out of trouble. Statistics show that areas where skateparks are built usually see a decrease in crime.

“I mean, even me personally at a young age, if I didn’t get into skateboarding, I would have been in all the same dumb stuff that a lot of people are into,” Manion said.

According to a public skatepark guide advocacy group, 47% of officers observed a decrease in overall youth crime where skateparks have been created.

“Skateboarding since I was a kid has always kind of had a bad rap, which is ironic because skateboarding has literally saved people’s lives before,” Minter said.

SKATE ATL will be open seven days a week. Click here for membership rates and pricing.

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