David Toole stood at the top of one of the concrete bowls at the new Owens Field Skate Park, bundled against a biting cold wind but feeling a certain warmth deep inside.

“I’ve been wanting a skate park in my town since I was 11,” said Toole, 36. “I remember the first time I was busted for skating (on private property) in Irmo, I told the cop there wasn’t anyplace we could skate legally.”

The officer recommended Toole work with public officials to get a skate facility built. Twenty-five years later, the area finally has a first-rate, public skate park. The 14,500-square-foot custom concrete park, which opens this weekend, replaces a small skate park many local skaters considered inadequate.