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‘Looking for consistency’ — Founder of The Bay tapped to take over Railyard events

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Skate Art Music Festival

Years before he was hired to manage the Railyard, Mike Smith and his skate park, The Bay, hosted a skateboarding event at the venue.

Journal Star file photo

Peter Salter

Bay High is a high school focus program that creates upward mobility and opportunity for young creators. It’s created in partnership between The Bay (a program of nonprofit Rabble Mill), Lincoln Public Schools and Nebraska’s business and charitable community.

Currently, there are extremely creative, talented and passionate kids needing an alternative way to learn, grow and succeed. They need a seat at the table.

Bay High will prepare and equip students to be innovators in the progressive world of entrepreneurship, emerging technology and content creation — rooted in the creative disciplines of skateboarding, music, fashion and digital art.

We believe this next generation of students has the power to be the trailblazers for the future of digital new media and the next leaders in our local communities.

To learn more, donate, or (for potential students, teachers and parents) be notified about recruitment opportunities, visit thebay.org/BayHigh.

A small-town skateboarder turned motivational speaker is the latest choice to try to revitalize The Railyard.

And no, it’s not going to be easy, Mike Smith said Friday.

“It’s no secret it’s been difficult down there. They came to us hoping we have different ideas.”

Smith launched his career by starting The Bay, an indoor skate park, art space and outreach center. He’s since traveled the country, delivering his message — here’s how to leave your legacy — to thousands of high school students, and has reached millions more though his video series.

Now a new company with his experienced production staff from Mike Smith Live will manage the outdoor venue just south of the Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Railyard

Mike Smith said he wants his company to help the remaining businesses — and to attract others — by drawing more people and more spending money to The Railyard.

Audrey Hertel, Courtesy photo

HeyMike will be the third company in about five years to manage the space, which opened in fall 2013 in the newly developed West Haymarket. The venue can fill up for special occasions — Husker football gamedays, and when the arena hosts concerts or basketball games — but has struggled on other days.

The Railyard’s owners, WRK Real Estate and Chief Industries, hired Spectra, a subsidiary of Comcast, to manage the area in 2017. Two years later, it hired Lincoln-based digital-marketing company Hurrdat.

But several original tenants of The Railyard have left, citing high rental rates, and some sued over the spending of their lease payments on maintenance and events.

HeyMike will focus on programming, Smith said. Not property management.

“We’re there to manage the entertainment district. That’s our job — to create experiences and set the culture. We have nothing to do with people’s rent checks.”

Small town to big time: Nebraskan Mike Smith skating, speaking for change

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Still, he wants his company to help the remaining businesses — and to attract others — by drawing more people and more spending money to The Railyard.

“It just doesn’t have to be Friday or Saturday nights when people are going there. We want to make it a place that is activated during the other days. It’s all about revenue.”

His strategy? He doesn’t want to create new crowds in The Railyard; he wants to recruit established groups to head to the Haymarket.

“What we need to do is find the communities in Lincoln that already exist and have them come to The Railyard and have a great experience.”

Lincoln marketing company takes over management of Railyard, wants it to become destination

For its first event, HeyMike is hosting a makers market from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, with more than 20 artists, makers and craftspeople selling their products. But Smith is also thinking about all of the other niche groups in Lincoln. Nonprofits. Sports groups. Dungeons and Dragons fans. Yoga.

He wasn’t ready to set a goal for the number of events HeyMike will try to host. “I’d say it’s more about how many different types of communities can we interact with, versus how many different events can we throw. We’re looking for consistency. We want people to know it’s open during the weekdays.”

Smith graduated from high school in Chase County and started The Bay as a skate park in Gateway Mall in 2010 after serving as a youth outreach worker for Cedars. But it grew from there, and now his 20,000-square-foot building on Y Street also serves as a performance venue, a digital art lab, an emergency food pantry.

And starting in 2022, The Bay and Rabble Mill — the nonprofit that runs it — will collaborate with Lincoln Public Schools to host Bay High, a focus program devoted to content creation and digital media for 100 high school students.

‘Bay High’ — LPS, Rabble Mill partnering on new focus program centered around content creation, digital media

He started talking with The Railyard’s owners in December, though the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic made it difficult to draft specific plans or expectations.

But they liked his general approach to reinvigorating the space, he said. “Taking the community route is what Chief Industries and WRK wanted to do this round,” he said.

Will Scott of WRK couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, but he cited Smith’s team — and its record of creating community impact in Lincoln, and around the country — in a news release.

The Bay grand opening

Cory Foster (left), of Lincoln, accepts his award from event emcee Shane Adams for winning the trick competition at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln. The event featured appearances by Red Bull skateboarders Ryan Sheckler and Felipe Gustavo. 

The Bay grand opening

John Everton walks past a wall of art at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln. The event featured appearances by Red Bull skateboarders Ryan Sheckler and Felipe Gustavo, and a skateboarding competition with a $1,000 prize for the best trick. The Bay serves as an indoor skatepark and eventually will have a full art gallery, according to Amber Smith, founder Mike Smith’s wife.

The Bay grand opening

Red Bull skateboarder Felipe Gustavo signs a skateboard for fan Michael Hartfod, of Grand Island, at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Red Bull skateboarder Ryan Sheckler signs shoes of his own design for fan Damon Rogers, of Fremont, at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Cory Foster, of Lincoln, hugs Red Bull skateboarder Felipe Gustavo after winning the trick competition at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

A skater lands a trick while warming up for the trick competition as a part of the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Ashton Noudaranouvong (11) and Taylen Lebo (12), both of Lincoln, sit outside The Bay skate park after the grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Cory Foster, of Lincoln, performs his winning trick at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

The Bay skate park is cleared out after the end of its grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Several boards snapped during the trick competition at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Skate for Change founder Mike Smith talks with others at the grand opening of the organization’s new The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

A skater performs a trick while warming up for the trick competition as a part of the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Cory Foster, of Lincoln, lands a move off the rail in warm-ups for the trick competition at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

A skater performs a trick while warming up for the trick competition as a part of the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln. The event featured appearances by Red Bull skateboarders Ryan Sheckler and Felipe Gustavo.

Photos: The Bay indoor skate park

The Bay grand opening

Cory Foster (left), of Lincoln, accepts his award from event emcee Shane Adams for winning the trick competition at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln. The event featured appearances by Red Bull skateboarders Ryan Sheckler and Felipe Gustavo. 

The Bay grand opening

John Everton walks past a wall of art at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln. The event featured appearances by Red Bull skateboarders Ryan Sheckler and Felipe Gustavo, and a skateboarding competition with a $1,000 prize for the best trick. The Bay serves as an indoor skatepark and eventually will have a full art gallery, according to Amber Smith, founder Mike Smith’s wife.

The Bay grand opening

Red Bull skateboarder Felipe Gustavo signs a skateboard for fan Michael Hartfod, of Grand Island, at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Red Bull skateboarder Ryan Sheckler signs shoes of his own design for fan Damon Rogers, of Fremont, at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Cory Foster, of Lincoln, hugs Red Bull skateboarder Felipe Gustavo after winning the trick competition at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

A skater lands a trick while warming up for the trick competition as a part of the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Ashton Noudaranouvong (11) and Taylen Lebo (12), both of Lincoln, sit outside The Bay skate park after the grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Cory Foster, of Lincoln, performs his winning trick at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

The Bay skate park is cleared out after the end of its grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Several boards snapped during the trick competition at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Skate for Change founder Mike Smith talks with others at the grand opening of the organization’s new The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

A skater performs a trick while warming up for the trick competition as a part of the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

Cory Foster, of Lincoln, lands a move off the rail in warm-ups for the trick competition at the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln.

The Bay grand opening

A skater performs a trick while warming up for the trick competition as a part of the grand opening of The Bay skate park on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 in Lincoln. The event featured appearances by Red Bull skateboarders Ryan Sheckler and Felipe Gustavo.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7254 or psalter@journalstar.com.

On Twitter @LJSPeterSalter

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