Isaiah Pinto

Rural Kentucky’s Hidden Skate Gem

Off the banks of Lake Cumberland in downtown Somerset lies a dark gray and crimson red tin building with Skatelite ramps and rugged coping hidden inside.

James Sullivan, better known as “Sully,” built an indoor skatepark located in rural Kentucky, the only free indoor skatepark, open 24/7. The park is named in memory of his cousin and childhood best friend Ty Savoca.

He was an influential and skilled skateboarder from Somerset.

“One night, I got this real strange dream about Ty, and I 100% got up the very next day, started tearing turf out of here, and started building a skatepark.” Sullivan said. “We were trying to come up with names (for) it, I don’t know, man, Ty’s Skatepark just fit.”

Around February 2017, Sully began on his passion project with his late cousin in mind. 

“A lot of this is just honoring him,” Sullivan said.

The former baseball training turned do-it-yourself skatepark has risen as one of Kentucky’s most popular skate spots.

“I built this because I needed it, something about it. Ty was one of my best friends, my cousin, dude. Me and him were like this,“ Sullivan said with crossed fingers. “So, I needed this for myself, and then I decided the public needs this.”

Inside the building features a massive spray paint mural featuring “Ty’s” scripted into a dark yellow arrowhead beside “Skate Park” in cloudy, white, blue and green lettering.

A near-lifesize mural of Ty nosesliding on a picnic bench by the entrance in honor of his passing.

“Ty, man, he was an arrowhead collector… that was his thing; if he wasn’t skating, he was in the outdoors looking for whatever he could find,” Sullivan said. “When we were trying to come up with something as a symbol, it’s literally the only thing I can think of is that arrowhead.”

Every year and a half, Ty’s Indoor Skatepark gets remodeled for a new layout designed by Sully. It’s intentionally constructed of wood with the ability to be repurposed.

In the fall of 2025, Sully reconstructed the park to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Savoca’s passing.

“Everything in here has a story, all the way down to the ramps,” Sullivan said. “The way I design them, put them, what Ty would’ve liked, how Ty would’ve liked it, all of that.”

Through donations, fundraising, and helpful hands, Sully’s vision for an indoor skatepark has remained alive despite being completely non-profit. 

“I was downtown skating, and I saw some kids, and I was like, ‘Man, why won’t y’all go to the skatepark?’ and they were like, ‘We can’t, the owner charges, and we don’t have the money,” Sullivan said. “I was like, ‘Your parents won’t give it to you?’ They were like, ‘No, they don’t even want us skateboarding.”

The next day Sully posted on Instagram declaring the park free-to-skate after only a couple months of the park’s grand opening.

Sully’s efforts have given the skate community of southeastern Kentucky a safe, cost-free venue to skate for skaters young and old. 

It’s one of two indoor skateparks in Kentucky. The other is a pay-to-skate spot in Louisville, nearly two and a half hours away.

Over the years, Sully has chosen to keep his skate haven free despite its growing popularity with skateboarders, rollerbladers and even BMX bikers.

Furthermore, Ty’s Indoor Skatepark has garnered attention from skate enthusiasts and a local recovery group.

Known as “Sober Sunday,” it consists of mostly middle-aged skaters with a past in alcohol and substance abuse and is frequently sponsored by Ty’s Indoor Skatepark. It was formed by a local skater and recovering addict, Jacob Parmely.

“This place is for skaters,” Sullivan said. “A lot of skaters around here get a bad rap from the rip here; we’re in a small town… (but) it’s been a getaway for a lot of kids.”

Sully believes the best way to support his skatepark is simply by skating and staying away from drugs.

“I’ve told people so many times that I would rather have a skatepark named anything else other than Ty’s Skatepark, cause it’s a consistent reminder that Ty died of a drug overdose,” Sullivan said.